ITV has issued staff with new rules over personal relationships, a news report claims – drawn up following the Phillip Schofield scandal.
According to The Sunday Times, staff risk losing their job if they don’t declare associations in a new policy circulated this month.
Furthermore, staff are said to be asked about the “nature” of their relationships on a Google Forms questionnaire. The broadsheet quotes one unnamed recipient as describing the document as “properly mad”.
The Sunday Times also notes former This Morning co-host Phillip left ITV earlier this year. The 61-year-old’s exit came amid reports of an affair with a younger male colleague. He resigned after admitted lying to ITV execs about the relationship, which he said was “unwise but not illegal”.
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Guidelines in the ‘Personal Relationships at Work Policy’ are said to define relationships as a family relative, a “close connection such as a partner or significant other”, “a person living in the same household”, and “anyone involved in a sexual, romantic or close relationship or friendship (whether short or longer term)”.
The document is said to inform employees: “If a personal relationship exists between you and another colleague (whether it started prior to or during the course of your employment or engagement with ITV), both parties must disclose this to the company at the earliest opportunity.”
This is said to cover relationships with freelancers, consultants, contractors, apprentices, agency staff, volunteers, and also those on work experience at the broadcaster.
Furthermore, breaches of policy could result in disciplinary action, and even the termination of employment.
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ITV also reportedly said the policy will be kept “under review”. It was previously updated in October 2022.
The broadcaster is said to have added: “It’s substantially the same policy. We have simply reviewed the language and the form is now easier to fill in.”
ITV’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall was grilled by MPs in June following the fallout involving Phillip Schofield.
She told the the culture, media and sport committee she did not “turn a blind eye” to the TV personality’s affair.
She said she first became aware of rumours in 2020, when Phillip came out. However, she also said ITV was given “straightforward categorical denials”.
ED! approached ITV for comment on The Times’ story. An ITV Spokesperson said: “ITV has had in place a policy on relationships at work since October 2022. Like all of our people policies we keep them under review and update them periodically. The relationships at work policy was most recently reviewed and updated in October 2023.”
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