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This week's guru
Colleague now knows who ate all the pies
Violence in the workplace is no laughing matter, even when it is inflicted by a children's icon.
Pork factory worker Christopher Purvis failed to see the funny side when a colleague, nicknamed the Honey Monster, bellyflopped on him. He suffered four cracked ribs and a bruised spine.
Andrew Baldry, who at 23 stone must have eaten plenty of pork pies as well as honey, was convicted of causing actual bodily harm at Ipswich Crown Court.
The jury, like Guru, found it difficult to believe the Honey Monster's excuse that he "slipped" after a colleague reportedly shouted, "Go on Honey Monster, jump on him!"
In a spin over a faulty repairman
At last, someone has found a solution to the problem of unreliable repairmen. Personnel Today revealed that repairmen who do not turn up contribute to 56 million lost working days in the UK every year (News, 10 April 2001).
Last week, a woman who locked a repairman in her home after waiting 15 months to get her faulty dishwater fixed has been given a new machine.
Diane Plant, of Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, refused to let a Comet engineer leave her home when he said he could not fix the machine.
Five engineers had examined it over 15 months.
Comet has given her a new machine, says a report in the Manchester Evening News.
Hackles rise as hemlines go up
Guru was outraged for womankind on his recent trip to Barcelona for an HR management conference.
During a lucid conversation in a buffet carriage, Guru discovered that hostesses working on Spain's high-speed trains have been told they must wear short skirts.
The Spanish Supreme Court, no less, has said it is reasonable for the national railway company Renfe to demand that hostesses wear skirts at least 2cm above the knee.
