This is really quite tax efficient when you think about it......
Free sex for Christmas bonusISP
By MICHAEL WARNER
19dec01MELBOURNE businesses are rewarding staff and clients with Christmas bonus sex jaunts.
Brothels told the Herald Sun yesterday they were flat out meeting business customer demands in the lead-up to the festive season.
"From now until the end of January it's very, very busy," said the owner of the Boardroom brothel in Melbourne.He said it was no secret many companies offered staff, colleagues and work associates end-of-year sex romps.
But the practice has outraged the Australian Family Association.
"I can think of better things one could give an employer or business associate," AFA spokesman Bill Muehlenberg said.
"Given all the problems we already have with broken families and sexually transmitted diseases it doesn't seem like the best gift to give for Christmas."
However, leading retailer Gerry Harvey -- executive chairman of Harvey Norman -- said the practice had been going on for as long as he could remember.
"It's always been like that. Generally speaking, no one could give a continental," Mr Harvey said yesterday.
The multi-millionaire furniture king was responding to claims some of his own staff had been treated to free sex by white goods distributors.
Mr Harvey said he did not know of the allegations but said it was no different to taking clients to dinner or sporting events.
"They're all big people . . . they don't have to accept the offer," he said.
"I'm not going to encourage my people to go and take people out to brothels or accept the offer from others -- but I'm not encouraging them to do dinner, either."
A Melbourne plumber told the Herald Sun he knew of bosses who celebrated Christmas by offering apprentices sex with prostitutes.
"It happens quite often in the trade industry," he revealed. "It's just a different kind of Christmas bonus."
The manager of the Daily Planet brothel at Elsternwick said employers often shouted fellow workers a trip to the brothel to mark the end of the working year.
"It's the festive season," she said.
"There's a lot of Christmas parties and work break-ups at this time of the year -- it's their treat," she said.
Brothel owners - who offer pre-paid Christmas gift vouchers - denied providing sex to workers was unethical.
"You're talking about the world's oldest profession; it's been around since the day dot and I don't think that argument will wash any more," one brothel owner said.