A storm has erupted in Westminster over the secretarial tasks performed by the wife of the former leader of the Conservative party, Iain Duncan Smith.

Betsy Duncan Smith has been working as a 'diary secretary' for her husband for the last 15 months, for which she has been paid around £15,000 a year. However, BBC investigative journalist Michael Crick

has published a scathing dossier, in which he claims the ex-Opposition leader's wife was highly overpaid for her tasks, and that tax payers' money has been inappropriately used.

It's clear that Mrs Duncan Smith possesses the skills to perform the role - she had previously worked as a secretary/PA - but Mr Crick's assertions have forced the matter to be taken to the parliamentary standards commissioner. Mr Duncan Smith - who has

angrily denied the claims - has been forced to put together his own dossier, giving full details of his wife's secretarial activities.

Mrs Duncan Smith has given administrative support to her husband since he became a Member of Parliament, over 10 years ago, and continued to do so after his election to party leader. MPs receive public funding for researchers and secretaries, and it is not uncommon for family members or friends to take on these positions. According to the deposed Tory leader, his wife worked 'considerably longer hours' than the 25 hours a week of

her employment contract, and he is threatening to sue over the allegations. The parliamentary standards commissioner, Sir Philip Mawer, is expected to return his verdict shortly.



HAVE YOUR SAY! Are you a parliamentary secretary? Have you ever worked for an MP? What's your view of 'Betsygate'? Email us at newsletter@deskdemon.com and tell us what you think

Many of us find the world of employment rights baffling, with new legal amendments hurtling across the Channel from Brussels on a regular basis. Appreciative of this, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has organised a legal road-show around the UK, called 'Employment Headaches'.

The workshops will visit a dozen locations throughout November, and help to give clear guidance on subjects including email & internet abuse,time off, discrimination and data protection.
For more information contact the CIPD enquiry hotline
Tel: 020 8263 3434.

If you have questions about your rights at work, check out also the excellent Department of Trade and Industry website, Tailored Interactive Guidance on Employment Rights (www.tiger.gov.uk). It's a user-friendly guide through various aspects of UK employment law.

One of the UK's most established secretarial organisations has officially changed its name, to reflect better the body of members it supports. The Institute of Qualified Private Secretaries is now the Institute of Qualified Professional Secretaries, the name change taking place at the recent international summit in London.

'This change allows us to retain the abbreviation IQPS and at the same time it updates our image in the workplace,' says Julia Philipson, General Administrator of the IQPS.

'We continually drive forward our goal of raising professional standards through continuing professional development and helping our Members develop within their careers. Our name change further endorses this belief.'

IQPS has also announced a strategic partnership, thought to be the first such in the sector, with recruitment specialists OfficeTeam. Their joint aim is to redefine the role of office professionals today, to plan for the future, and to challenge outdated perceptions of the role.

Surprise, surprise! The average working week for women has increased by 3.5 hours! Latest research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development shows that in the last five years, women workers have been spending an extra half a day a week at work. On top of this,

figures just out from the Institute of Employment Studies reveal that the average woman's income is still only 80% of the amount earned by male colleagues on average.

A big thank you to all those ON! readers who took the time to complete our recent questionnaire. We had a terrific response, with more than 3,000 questionnaires filled in. These will provide us with extremely valuable information about you, and what's important to you in your work. Although we will be

publishing a detailed report shortly - once we have collated the mass of facts and figures - a couple of striking findings emerged immediately. Money is not the main motivator for the vast majority of you; job satisfaction is.

A large percentage of you keep turning up every day because of the great satisfaction in a job well done. When we asked you what you enjoyed most about the job, three words came through loud and clear: flexibility, people-contact, and variety. And the final question - 'Are you proud of your

profession?' - brought a resounding 'Yes!' from ON! readers. Over 93% of you said you were. And quite right too! A full report will be available shortly on the DeskDemon site - so watch out for details.