A majority (81%) of bosses are not aware that Valentine’s Day festivities could lead to costly compensation pay outs to employees, according to law firm Peninsula.

Mike Huss, senior employment law specialist at Peninsula BusinessWise, says: “When this event is transferred to the workplace it can often quite easily cause problems. It has great potential for unpleasant behaviour towards any given individual, perhaps manifesting itself in the form of unwanted attention through harassment or to a certain extent stalking; such as bombarding an individual with rude or inappropriate cards or messages.

“Although Valentine’s Day has innocent intentions it can have consequent effects in the workplace. For example jealously could easily set in if one member of staff receives more cards than a fellow colleague, thus leading to tension.”

The Penninsula research found that 36% of bosses admit that they have received anonymous cards on Valentine’s Day, and 24% of bosses admit to sending cards to other members of staff.