Q What is your view of the recent report that offices across the country are being turned into hotbeds of anger? Do you think the workplace can ever be harmonious?

AThe workplace can be a very harmonious place. It is true to say that we spend more time with our colleagues in the office than we do with our loved ones, which can always lead to conflict.

It is a fact of life that people at work get stressed-out and can get a little agitated - that's the nature of business, I'm afraid. It is when regular outbursts occur and anger overspills to affect productivity that measures need to be taken. I see the biggest problem with this issue is that there is no hard and fast solution to anger management in the workplace. It is not like dealing with an employee who can be disciplined, or a budget that can be reduced.

Anger problems in the office are a social issue that must be dealt with by each business owner or manager in their own way.

Individuals can help themselves by speaking to their managers if they have an issue with a colleague who is causing disruption - as a business owner I can rightly say there is no such thing as "snitching" when the productivity of a business is at stake.

Q Do you think anti-drug policies in staff contracts is a good idea?

AI think it should be an essential part of any staff contract. I am definitely anti-drugs as the effects of drugs on an individual is completely against my whole outlook on life.

As for someone working while on drugs - if they did this as an employee of Bannatynes I would immediately call the police and have them escorted from the premises. Essentially, the problem lies in the fact that they are out of control and not of the right mind for working. Also, they need to realise that their own health is at major risk.

So overall, I believe in a very binding contract that is so tight that it deters any individual from becoming involved in drugs.

Q My staff are calling for increased flexible working hours so they can spend more time with their families. I think this is part of political correctness gone mad. When I was a starting out, I worked all the hours God sent to earn a decent living - as did everyone else I knew. As your health clubs are open outside normal office hours, how do you deal with staff flexibility?

A I agree with you up to a point. Before recent governments introduced more employee-friendly legislation, people would work to lot less flexible guidelines and, I think, to a degree there was nothing wrong with that.

Entrepreneurs and business owners work every hour possible either to ensure the security and prosperity of their business and the people working in it or simply because they enjoy working. Either way, most business people see what they are doing as benefiting their loved ones.

In today's business world, there is new legislation introduced every year that business owners have to take on board and deal with, and I'm afraid these employee-friendly rules are the same. What I would say is that these specific pieces of legislation affect different businesses in different ways, and they may have a detrimental effect on the productivity of your firm.

As my health clubs are open from 6.30am till 11pm, it is far easier to introduce flexible working hours because of our shift system. My staff are, though, more than aware that they cannot work every shift they desire and have to show some flexibility of their own.

Q What do you say to someone you have employed for several years and then you find out that she/he was dismissed from their previous job for a dispute over theft of petty cash?

AFirst off, I would check and double-check the source of information. I would go back to the references and find out the exact story. Maybe this person was implicated in the issue but not really responsible. Or if you fear that it is the truth, then it is essential that you talk to them directly and get the problem out in the open.

You need to make the employee aware that you know about the situation and what your position is on the issue. I would approach the matter afresh and set a strategy so they feel positive about the situation and can put it all behind them and start to do a terrific job.

Unfortunately, what starts as a clearing-the-air explanation can sometimes turn into something that sounds more like a confession of guilt. Everyone deserves a second chance.