Company policy against hiring relatives..is it fair?

gOOD morning, Jen. Good discussion. I know alot of companoes have this policy & i can see the good & bad in it. I think having a good job nowadays is a blessing. I'm sure the couple that want to get married have all the perks of marriage except the name change.Knowing what i know now i would not quit a good job just to have my name changed. Of course i will admit i'm pretty cynical about marriage to start with, lol. Have a good weekend.

i think it makes sense not to hire relatives. but as to disallowing marriage between two employees, that is not fair. that part must be changed and thus allow these couples to marry. after all, they started as strangers and is not related whatsoever when they first landed the organization. there has to be someone to bring this matter to grievance.

i have 3 of my siblings currently employed under the same mother company but in different departments and all 3 have been working there for several years already. i, myself have worked with one of my sisters under the same project but in different departments too. i think company policies have reasons for being against hiring relatives. but there should be exceptions and provisions. the key word is in "hiring". when one is in a position to give a recommendation for hiring a personnel, he/she should inhibit him/herself from hiring a relative so as not to be biased or anything. let others decide. often, companies are just avoiding conflict. but what if the best person for the job is a relative of one of the staff? and that relative does not get hired because someone in the family is already working there. totally unfair. and it's also unfair for the case of the couple at your work. they have been already employed when they met and got together. i hope the company policies have a few allowances for such occurrence. to retain employment of married couples even if one has to move to another department, at least they still can keep both their jobs. one of the largest microfinance institution here in the philippines actually encourages marriage/relationship between fellow employees. it's a strategy to make the company family-oriented and be run with a heart and commitment. more people love their jobs because more is at stake if ever they would lose their jobs. there isn't any favoritism even or special treatment. one of the sons of the owners had to really work his butt off and started from the bottom. the owner is one of the most workaholic guys i've ever known and he contributes more than what he demands from his staff. and most of his staff have been with him for decades and his staff's children are now in the company as well. now, i'm not saying it's an ideal set-up. but i believe it can be worked out. it may not be for every company. but that's where a good mission and vision would be handy. i'd vote for a company policy review every so often to keep up with the needs and the modern times.

I think that hiring should be competency based. I do understand the risks any company is trying to avoid by hiring relatives, but then it may also seem unfair, just as the example you have stated. Also if an employee deserves a position more than anyone else then his or her status in the establishment's family line shouldn't be a problem. This particular person should be an asset but with such policy, the company is giving away a jewel, one that other companies will no doubt grab in a blink of an eye.

I have a whole gambit of thoughts with this question in mind. I wonder if sometimes the superior who made these rules had personal occurences or office occurences that made them make it a rule. I also wonder if due to the job market right now if that law couldn't be changed or modified. I do see both sides. And now days lving together is sometimes best because of the marriage tax laws and so forth. I can see alot that justifies the rule and alot that justifies a change in the rule. But how does a person change policy? Rules aren't always fair.

When my mom use to work her job at those requirements.I think they should only have that requirement if they work in the same area.Maybe, not have that rule and fire them if there is consequences. That is a tricky situation.That would be awful to fall in love with someone that you work with.

Personally in a lot of ways I actually think this a Good policy, but when 2 people want to marry you would think they would be able to make some sort of exception as long as the 2 people were not in the same department, and maybe even have them work different shifts. Where I work you are not allowed to be related if you work in the same department, and especially the same shift. They even make one person quit if they ever figure out the people are related. I guess they feel that in order to get more production and in all Fairness it is Best to not hire any relatives. (Sad in today's Economy there is still many places like this, but I am sure they have the Best interest at Heart.)

This is my take on this, these two people are already together as a couple and have been for a number of years so what does it matter now if they were to marry? No it's not fair. Not at all. I can see if they were already married then it would have to be one or the other who gets the job but they weren't already married so why can't they get married now? They met on the job which means after they got the job so that shouldn't count against them. They should be able to marry if that's what they want to do and then put in different areas of the job so they won't be working together on the same shift and yet still be able to see each other after work instead of being apart more because of different shifts.

Personally I think that as long as one is not reporting to the other, it shouldn't be a problem, especially if they work in different departments and/or on different shifts. But the company has the right to set the rules...

I think that couples should be allowed to work on different shifts or in different departments. As long as they do not work together, it shouldn't be a problem. I understand company's policies on this but at the same time it's a bit ridiculous as well. You can be married or in a relationship with someone at walmart, as long as you do not work the same department you're fine.

i think that is an unfair policy and always have, i never liked it at all.. i am glad they dont have that policy where i work, im at a hotel and im glad they are not that strict.. as one day my daughter may want to work there or my freind ha already showed an interest and been told when they hire again she is in line for next job.. but i have worked at factory jobs that were like you say really strict and it is just not right.. me and my hubby met at a factory where i live and his mom was my boss as well as his and his brothers.. and we have been married almost 10 years, but too bad the factory did not make it .. they lasted 3 years after i got on there and then went out.. now hubby is a team leader at anotehr factory and happy there as well.. i dont know why it would matter i mean if you have a problem with the employees that cause trouble i mean why not just get rid of them not punish all..

If that couple has been together for a while, and that there hasn't been any favoritism exhibited, then I think that policy is really unfair. The same goes for the other way around. If an employee is showing favoritism on a boyfriend or girlfriend (or anybody for that matter), I don't think the company can do anything as long as they are not married.

Some companies may have this practice in place to not hire relatives. This is to ensure the fare recruitment. But I don't like the policy, due to which one of the employee will have to leave the job if they marry within the company.

For employees under this rules against hiring relatives, I think it is not fair for they fall in love with each other during work. Because love relationship found upon long period supervising and interaction.So many couples meet their husband or wife in work. When they meet this policy to against relative work together, it is very hard to face. Otherwise, the couple work in same company, maybe they have strong obligation to work hard and much devotion. Everything have their front and opposite look. For the company initial rule, we can think they may encounter treasure loss or finance loss caused by relatives employees.In the world, there isnot a rule regulated without any dependent reason.So everyone or issue also are continual to improvement all the ways. So you can first to suggest company, do it. Everything is possible.

I once worked in a pvt architectural firm where there were two husband-wife teams employed and the boss also had no objections.However there are many pvt sector and public sector companies who have this policy of not having married couples in the same company or in the same department.One of my relatives is working for a nationalised bank and her husband is also working for the same bank but in a different branch.That is okay.To avoid embarassment for one partner or relative, in case one falls out of favour, many companies do have this policy which i think is quite fair.It is always best for a married couple to work in different companies as it avoids unwanted problems for the company and also for the couple.

Good Discussion first of alland it's a tough 1 too cause like you said it has it's pros and cons. Most places I ever worked at had the same po;icy and it's really sad when you have a good person that's qualified for the job but you can't hire him or her cause you are related. On the other hands it' hard because like you said there could be favoritism or if they were married it could bring marriage problems to the work place. I think everybody should get a chance at a job related or not.....then if it doesn't work out let him or her go and find somebody else. You can have a bad employee no matter what related or not

When I worked in the bank they used to have a policy that allowed married couples and relatives to work there provided it was in separate areas which suited most couples who although loved each other preferred not to spend every waking hour together. It is a shame that the company you work for has no middle ground in regards to this issue and I do feel for couples who are employed there and wish to marry. It would be a real predicament. Personally I don’t see why they can’t stay at the company and, as you mentioned, work in different departments or shifts.

I don't think it's fair at all. It's a very heavy handed management position. Especially for any existing employees that happen to get involved. At the very least there should be an exception made for them. Your employer is exerting too much control over people's personal lives. I can see controlling certain things, like not having relatives working in a position where there could be favoritism used, such as one having supervisory capacity over the other or even working in the same department. But if both are on the same level or work in different departments, I don't see any reason to ban it. It's too bad that there are people in management that have such a narrow mindedness about them. It shows a clear lack of understanding, tolerance and compassion for people, namely their own employees. I bet if it became a public issue, such as getting it on the local news, or through the ACLU or other group, maybe the company would re-think their antiquated policy. Maybe not but it sounds like they could use a little bad publicity either way.

I think that such policies are a bit mechanical.I fall in with you about what It makes no matter, if they work at different shifts or different departments,because if so, people are prone to spare offenders feelings when matters arise.And again,this kind of policy may lead to able men draining.

In my own point of view, the policy of not hiring relatives is fair. With this, bias in the workplace will be prevented especially that whenever one has a relative in work, special treatment is given to that person. The employer or the other employees may see this as unjust because everyone wants fair treatment at work.