Traditionally it’s the day when birds choose their mate and when cards and flowers are sent by secret admirers.

Unfortunately, it can also be a day when the office stalker strikes, when rude Valentine’s messages cause all kinds of disruption and those in coupledom attempt to out-bouquet each other.

What many employers – 80 per cent, according to Peninsula BusinessWise’s latest survey – don’t realise is that they are responsible for their employees’ actions. So if one of your employees bombards another with rude valentines and you do nothing about a complaint, then there is a case against you.

Peninsula BusinessWise’s senior employment law specialist Mike Huss said: “St Valentine’s Day is traditionally a romantic interlude which brightens up a fairly dull time of year but when it is transferred to the workplace it can often quite easily cause problems.

“This annual event 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. This can be particularly harmful if the individual concerned is in a relationship or is simply not interested.

“Unwelcome attention such as this can be very difficult to deal with, especially if, for example, the identity of the individual is not known as a denial would be difficult to disprove. This can lead to an uneasy atmosphere and an unpleasant working environment which can have serious detrimental effects on workplace productivity.

“However if the offender’s identity is known the injured party can ask them to stop. If they refuse a formal complaint can be made under the company’s harassment grievance procedures and formal action can be taken against the offending individual.”