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A&O hit with £3.4m claim from erotic-fiction-writing former associate

The lurid details notwithstanding (and Ms 'Dare' is hardly doing herself many favours by the sound of it...), at the heart of this case lies an interesting point: to what extent does an employer have the right to interfere with an employee's private life? 'Bringing the employer into disrepute' is a dangerously broad concept, and, ultimately, decided by whom? In this case, I guess, a firm's partners; but have they all been polled? Or is the firm acting corporately? I would doubt any policy exists to cover this within the firm, and one would have to ask whether partners were subject to the same strictures as employees. I think it's a can of worms. Do people think the firm has the right to dictate what an individual does during their spare time as long as it's not directly referencing the firm?

20-May-2010

5:43 pm