Autumn 2007 Newsletter Contents Borrowed clothes? You want it when? The daily grind Knock knock Computers@home Stick to the facts It's personal Expense claims Cash down Plant buying Hobson's choice A helping hand Education, education Up with the Joneses Bills bills bills Done to a crisp Tax association

It's personal Office affairs are fraught with difficulty, which is why employers often discourage them - unless the employer is having the affair. In a recent case, a solicitor in a small practice started having an affair with his personal assistant. When he realised that she was having a relationship with another man, he fired her on the spot. She claimed unfair dismissal and sex discrimination. The solicitor knew that he was "bang to rights" on unfair dismissal - he had not followed the proper procedures, and he didn't have a reason that the law would accept. But he appealed on the discrimination issue, which would have increased the compensation payable. The Employment Appeals Tribunal decided that although this was perhaps to do with sex, it was not sex discrimination. The dismissal was purely because of the breakdown of the relationship between the employer and the employee.