Are you breaking the office 'love laws'?

Anonymous admiration for a colleague on Valentine's Day could come as an unwelcome surprise, warns the Law Society.

Valentine's Day is a chance to celebrate love but the New Zealand Law Society is warning amorous punters to err on the side of caution when it comes to the workplace.

The society said it was not uncommon to find people who worked together in a close personal relationship, but in some cases attention or anonymous admiration from colleagues could come as an unwelcome surprise.

Law Society president Kathryn Beck warned the attention could be viewed as sexual harassment or stalking.

"You have to remember it is a workplace," Beck said.

"If your admiration is unrequited, keep in mind that you are going to be seeing this person eight hours a day and that might be uncomfortable for one or both of you."

Anonymous cards, notes or flowers could also cause unintended damage she said, no matter how good the intention.

"Some people can feel quite disconcerted at the thought of somebody watching or noticing them, or having feelings for them," Beck said.

"It can be perceived as disturbing in a workplace, where most people are simply there to work and get along."

"If it is unrequited love, and you might discover that on Valentine's Day, and there starts to be repeated and unwanted contact then that can constitute sexual harassment and a person could find themselves with some serious legal problems for misconduct," she said.

Office policy around work relationships should also be considered with Beck saying this could affect your work.

"You might be obliged to report the fact that you're having a close personal relationship," she said.

"So that there's no suggestion of conflict or favourable or unfavourable treatment of other people in a team."