The law will be tested in a series of industrial tribunals later this year. In the workplace itself, staff are using new technology to beat employers at their own game. Free websites such as Hushmail and Safeweb encrypt email and web surfing. Back in Liverpool the 10 sacked workers will this week fight to get their jobs back. If we cracked a joke or passed a cartoon picture around, nothing would have happened.
People have mortgages and children to think about.
The battle over who has the right to say what is unsavoury and what is simply harmless banter has only just begun.