JOBS ON LINE AFTER VERY PUBLIC OFFICE SEX ROMP –
A LATE-NIGHT romantic encounter in a Christchurch insurance office that was witnessed by bar patrons across the road could cost the couple their jobs.
The Marsh Ltd employees, who left the lights on in the Papanui Rd building, were filmed and photographed by patrons at the Carlton Bar and Eatery who posted images on Facebook and Twitter.
The photos have attracted thousands of likes and hundreds of shares. ‘‘The whole pub knew about it and was watching, while they were totally oblivious to it. And afterwards celebrating with wine,’’ one man posted.
‘‘They should have turned the lights out,’’ said another.
Marsh chief executive Grant Milne said the company was taking the Friday night incident seriously.
The man and woman had been identified and an employment investigation was under way. ‘‘We know who is involved. It’s obvious from the photos,’’ Milne said.
Executives from the insurance broking company flew down from Auckland to help deal with the incident.
Milne would not say if the man and woman had returned to work yesterday morning. ‘‘We take these matters very seriously. It’s not the type of behaviour we con- done. It’s very disappointing.’’
Milne said the online publicity was embarrassing for the company. ‘‘One of the challenges of social media is the inability to control things,’’ he said.
Rabobank, which has the naming rights to the building, said the late-night activity had nothing to do with it. Its branding was in the pictures only because it had naming rights to the building.
‘‘The pictures are of another office in the building,’’ a company spokeswoman said.
Employment lawyer Kathryn Dalziel said the question for company bosses would be if the encounter damaged the reputation of the company.
The open windows, the lights on and the location opposite a bar meant the couple could not have a ‘‘reasonable expectation of privacy’’, she said. ‘‘In my view, that made it an open place.’’
Marsh Ltd could have rules about the use of offices after hours or inter-office relationships, she said.
If a disciplinary inquiry found the encounter did not amount to serious misconduct, the couple might escape with a warning.
Marsh Ltd was previously based in the PGC building that partly collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake.