Police are investigating a complaint that John Prescott broke the law by having sex with his secretary in his Whitehall office. So, what are the rules about sex at work?
Things just keep getting worse for deputy prime minister John Prescott.
Police are now investigating a complaint that he broke the law by having sex with his secretary in his Whitehall office.
Tracey Temple, his former assistant private secretary and diary manager, alleged that she had had sex with Mr Prescott in his ministerial office while he was supposed to be working.
He has admitted the affair but said many of her recollections were untrue.
Abuse
One in 10 workers in the UK claim they have had sex in the office, according to research by RPCushing Recruitment.
There is no law saying that people cannot have sex at work but it calls into question issues of appropriate behaviour.
In Mr Prescott's case, he is being accused of committing the offence of misconduct in a public office by having sex with his secretary in his Whitehall office.
If someone who holds public office abuses their position it is seen as a breach of the public's trust. As a civil servant Ms Temple could also be prosecuted for the same thing.
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Earlier this year a police officer who had sex with a woman he'd been called to help was given 200 hours of community service and lost his job after admitting misconduct in a public office.
And last year two policemen were sent to prison for 15 months and forced to quit their jobs after being found guilty of the same charge. They admitted having sex with a woman while on duty.
The offence applies to all public servants including councillors and government ministers.
For those employed by private companies, employers cannot ban relationships that start at work but they do have a right to expect some standards of behaviour on company time and on the premises, says the TUC.
Human rights
Sex at work could well be viewed as gross misconduct and a reason to dismiss a person immediately.
A fifth of UK companies have a formal or informal policy on what is expected of employees and their managers should love blossom and a further 20% are considering setting one up, according to law firm Fox Williams.
Some are considering following their US counterparts in setting up a "love contract", which can either ban office romances or require an employee to reveal a romantic relationship to management.
But firms could be in breach of the Human Rights Act if they try to persuade staff to sign an agreement that restricted workplace relationships, according to the TUC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4984182.stm
I don't think that it should be illegal to have sex anywhere!! What do you think?