Close Personal Associations and Relationships Guidance - June 2026
In this section
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Scope
- 3. Principals
- 4. Roles and Responsibilities
- 5. Definition of Close Personal Associations / Relationships
- 6. Defining a Relevant Team or Establishment or Work Area
- 7. Recruitment and Appointment of Employees
- 8. Requirement to Disclose a Close Personal Association
- 9. Where there is a Relationship Between Applicant and Manager or Team Colleagues
- 10. Authority to Appoint
- 11. When Issues Cannot be Managed Effectively
- 12. When a Relationship Breaks Down
- 13. Conduct or Performance Issues
- 14. Close Personal Associations between an Employee and a Child / Young Person or Vulnerable Adult
- 15. Colleagues Affected by a Close Personal Association
- 16. Provision of References
- 17. Financial Regulations
- 18. Associations with Contractors or Potential Contractors
- 19. Failure to Disclose a Close Personal Association
- 20. Ensuring Equality of Opportunity
- APPENDIX 1 - Officers' Declaration of Personal Interests
- APPENDIX 2 - Relationship Protocol
10. Authority to Appoint
Where, following consideration of all the factors in the above, the appointing manager considers that a candidate could properly be appointed despite a declared relevant close personal association, they must clear that appointment with their Director or Head of Service or a nominated officer.
To avoid questions arising later, the appointing manager is required to make a written record of the fact that the decision to appoint despite a declared relationship was made with appropriate authority. This record should be kept with the candidate’s original application form on their personnel file held by Human Resources.
ExampleSituationPeter is the recruiting Manager for a new post being advertised Peter plays golf with his brother at the weekend and he becomes aware that his brother has applied for the post that he has advertised. Manager’s ResponsePeter will need to declare this to his Head of Service and will not be involved in the appointment process. If Peter’s brother is deemed to be the most suitable applicant following interview and would be working in the same team or establishment as Peter, the implications of this should be considered and discussed at the end of the selection process. Where the appointing Manager considers that the candidate could be properly appointed despite the declaration, they must clear that appointment with their director or head of service or nominated officer. |
Where a close personal association involves a manager and a team member, the appropriate senior manager for the team or service area, in consultation with the HR Team, should in discussion with both employees:
Make alternative supervision / line management arrangement of the team member for issues involving a potential conflict of interest. These include matters related to pay, promotion, job opportunity and discipline issues. This will normally mean a change to this aspect of the line management arrangement whereby the team member is supervised by another manager2 but management of work-related functions remains unaltered.
Consider any other operational issues that might occur and how these might be managed. Specific operational issues in relation to financial responsibilities that need to be considered are the separation of duties, probity, and other financial safeguards within the Financial Procedure Rules. More general issues may include cover, particularly in small teams.
Assess any impact on service users and the general public, including issues relating to trust and confidence and the public image of the authority.
Consider if it is appropriate to communicate such agreed adjustments etc to other colleagues in the team/workplace to manage any concerns.
Expectations should be clearly defined and managed as appropriate. Refer to form Appendix 2; this should be used to record the agreed protocol between the manager and team member.
Example:
Situation
Because of certain behaviour between them that she has witnessed, Mary has reason to believe that Michael, one of the team leaders whom she manages has begun a romantic relationship with one of his colleagues (who he directly line manages) Clare.
Manager’s response
Mary calls a separate private meeting with Michael and Clare, states her observations to them, and asks whether or not they are, in fact, involved romantically. Both parties declare they are in a romantic relationship, and Mary provides them with the Code of conduct declaration of personal interests to complete and return. Mary works though the relationship protocol with both parties, and this is agreed and signed.
2 Please note that changes to line management responsibility may result in a re-evaluation of the manager’s post and could impact on the grade.