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| The ethics of workplace benefits | The ethics of workplace benefits |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Details of MPs' expenses claims have provoked a storm of criticism from the public, but who can really hold their head high and say they have never, ever bent the rules on workplace entitlements? | Details of MPs' expenses claims have provoked a storm of criticism from the public, but who can really hold their head high and say they have never, ever bent the rules on workplace entitlements? |
| You might call it the Stephen Fry defence. Buttonholed by a reporter on Monday, the actor, writer and humorist was asked for his reaction to the drip-drip of revelations about MPs' expenses claims. | You might call it the Stephen Fry defence. Buttonholed by a reporter on Monday, the actor, writer and humorist was asked for his reaction to the drip-drip of revelations about MPs' expenses claims. |
| "I've cheated expenses, I've fiddled things. You have. Of course you have," said a forthright Fry. | "I've cheated expenses, I've fiddled things. You have. Of course you have," said a forthright Fry. |
| "Let's not confuse what politicians get really wrong with the rather tedious bourgeois obsession with whether or not they've charged for their wisteria. It's not that important." | "Let's not confuse what politicians get really wrong with the rather tedious bourgeois obsession with whether or not they've charged for their wisteria. It's not that important." |
| Stephen Fry on MPs' expenses row | |
| Plenty of hardworking folk would disagree, but Fry alludes to an interesting point. Most of us know when we are breaking the law. We would not walk into a shop and take something without paying. | Plenty of hardworking folk would disagree, but Fry alludes to an interesting point. Most of us know when we are breaking the law. We would not walk into a shop and take something without paying. |
| But MPs have been keen to stress that while their claims may appear excessive, they have not, largely, broken the rules under which they can claim. They may, however, have transgressed the moral boundaries most of us hold. | But MPs have been keen to stress that while their claims may appear excessive, they have not, largely, broken the rules under which they can claim. They may, however, have transgressed the moral boundaries most of us hold. |
| But while rules are set out in black and white, morals are personal. | But while rules are set out in black and white, morals are personal. |
| Away from the House of Commons, in the more humble workplaces many of us occupy, the unsuspecting stationery cupboard throws up a dilemma or two. | Away from the House of Commons, in the more humble workplaces many of us occupy, the unsuspecting stationery cupboard throws up a dilemma or two. |
| Taking a ballpoint pen and slipping it into your rucksack to do the crossword on the train home is something most office workers would do without thinking. Few managers would see it as wrong let alone worth a ticking off. | Taking a ballpoint pen and slipping it into your rucksack to do the crossword on the train home is something most office workers would do without thinking. Few managers would see it as wrong let alone worth a ticking off. |
| But what if one of your co-workers bagged a box of pens? You might feel compelled to say something. But your colleague might equally seek to justify the act. | But what if one of your co-workers bagged a box of pens? You might feel compelled to say something. But your colleague might equally seek to justify the act. |
| Someone else's money | Someone else's money |
| Before the current slew of revelations about MPs established a firm moral framework in which they could be judged, they also thought they could justify their claims, says John Arnold, professor of organisational behaviour at Loughborough University. | Before the current slew of revelations about MPs established a firm moral framework in which they could be judged, they also thought they could justify their claims, says John Arnold, professor of organisational behaviour at Loughborough University. |
| "In this case it's clear that MPs tend to think they're underpaid and therefore convinced themselves that what they're doing is just addressing an injustice. | "In this case it's clear that MPs tend to think they're underpaid and therefore convinced themselves that what they're doing is just addressing an injustice. |
| "What they are saying is: 'I am not sufficiently esteemed or rewarded for a difficult and demanding job, therefore I will do anything I can to increase my reward up to something I think it should be'." | "What they are saying is: 'I am not sufficiently esteemed or rewarded for a difficult and demanding job, therefore I will do anything I can to increase my reward up to something I think it should be'." |
| It's human nature to abuse expenses Simon Webley, Institute of Business Ethics class="" href="/1/hi/magazine/8044758.stm">Who wrote the rule book? | |
| He says: "Without wanting to feel pious, I try to claim for things that have been absolutely necessary and appropriate and are additional to what I would have incurred had I been at home." | He says: "Without wanting to feel pious, I try to claim for things that have been absolutely necessary and appropriate and are additional to what I would have incurred had I been at home." |
| "It's always 'better' to spend someone else's money. But the question is, would they be prepared to spend their own money on these things?" | "It's always 'better' to spend someone else's money. But the question is, would they be prepared to spend their own money on these things?" |
| The world of workplace ethics and expenses is riddled with doubt and uncertainty. | The world of workplace ethics and expenses is riddled with doubt and uncertainty. |
| Simon Webley, head of research at the Institute of Business Ethics, casts a more cynical eye over the dilemmas thrown up by Expensesgate. | Simon Webley, head of research at the Institute of Business Ethics, casts a more cynical eye over the dilemmas thrown up by Expensesgate. |
| It is "human nature", he says, to abuse such areas as expenses - we feel compelled to test the limits of such a system. | It is "human nature", he says, to abuse such areas as expenses - we feel compelled to test the limits of such a system. |
| "It's a something for nothing culture. It is saying that you can get away with stuff that most of us are taxed on." | "It's a something for nothing culture. It is saying that you can get away with stuff that most of us are taxed on." |
| Allowances | Allowances |
| What if your work offered money for meals while away from base and you were not required to present a receipt? Would you spend the full amount? Would you pocket the change from an M&S sarnie and buy a book for the train ride home? | What if your work offered money for meals while away from base and you were not required to present a receipt? Would you spend the full amount? Would you pocket the change from an M&S sarnie and buy a book for the train ride home? |
| Some jobs are particularly open to these sorts of dilemmas. In the medical profession, drug company sales reps have tended to offer doctors free gifts, such as stationery, mugs or key rings - and sometimes more substantial gifts. | Some jobs are particularly open to these sorts of dilemmas. In the medical profession, drug company sales reps have tended to offer doctors free gifts, such as stationery, mugs or key rings - and sometimes more substantial gifts. |
| Fleet Streets in the 70s: the golden age of creative expenses | Fleet Streets in the 70s: the golden age of creative expenses |
| There is another job that was once in a similar position as MPs are today - one where it members used a system of allowances and arcane expenses to bump up their salaries, at a time when the economic climate meant wage rises were being restricted. | There is another job that was once in a similar position as MPs are today - one where it members used a system of allowances and arcane expenses to bump up their salaries, at a time when the economic climate meant wage rises were being restricted. |
| That profession? Journalism. | That profession? Journalism. |
| Veteran journalist Tim Gopsill reflects on Fleet Street's "golden age" in the 1970s and 80s that saw all manner of wheezes to raise the take home pay of the reporters. His reminiscences are also an example of the herd instinct whereby employees almost spur each other on, and justify their claims on the basis that everyone else seems to be doing the same. | Veteran journalist Tim Gopsill reflects on Fleet Street's "golden age" in the 1970s and 80s that saw all manner of wheezes to raise the take home pay of the reporters. His reminiscences are also an example of the herd instinct whereby employees almost spur each other on, and justify their claims on the basis that everyone else seems to be doing the same. |
| In the 1970s, the government made a deal with the unions to limit pay rises - and while those in the public sector had little chance of increasing their wages, there were ways for workers in private companies to boost their earnings on the side. | In the 1970s, the government made a deal with the unions to limit pay rises - and while those in the public sector had little chance of increasing their wages, there were ways for workers in private companies to boost their earnings on the side. |
| Newspapers and media companies were making good money and the claims were made with the full support of the bosses. It soon became a problem if you weren't taking part in it - an example of the limits of the system being defined by the behaviour of those in it.. | Newspapers and media companies were making good money and the claims were made with the full support of the bosses. It soon became a problem if you weren't taking part in it - an example of the limits of the system being defined by the behaviour of those in it.. |
| "People who were under claiming were often taken to one side and told they were letting the side down." | "People who were under claiming were often taken to one side and told they were letting the side down." |
| Mr Gopsill remembers all manner of ways the media used to get around the rules. One of the most famous was the Mirror Group's Hot Weather Allowance - a sum of £2.50 payable during sunny weather. | Mr Gopsill remembers all manner of ways the media used to get around the rules. One of the most famous was the Mirror Group's Hot Weather Allowance - a sum of £2.50 payable during sunny weather. |
| "This caused great amusement when it turned out the Mirror's Africa correspondent wasn't entitled to it because he didn't work in the office," he says. | "This caused great amusement when it turned out the Mirror's Africa correspondent wasn't entitled to it because he didn't work in the office," he says. |
| Eventually, though, these times of lavishness came to an end and, as even MPs will realise, all things must pass. | Eventually, though, these times of lavishness came to an end and, as even MPs will realise, all things must pass. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |