Heather Mills and the nanny dilemma

Paul McCartney's ex-wife, Heather Mills, has been taken to court by her former nanny, Sara Trumble, who says that in the aftermath of Mills's divorce, she was "rude and highly strung", making the lives of her staff a misery. Mills counters that she treated Trumble "like a daughter", which does make one wonder when Trumble's own nanny will be offering testimony. Still, Mills's statement rings true. It is well known that people tend to display their less admirable features when in the bosom of their loved ones. That's precisely why care should be taken to treat employees as employees – adults who have undertaken business contracts – rather than as children with some complex but undefined emotional stake in a hired family unit.