Catherine Sanderson, 34, was dismissed from her job as a secretary with the Paris branch of British accountancy firm Dixon Wilson last summer after bosses discovered her popular blog. The company claimed that she had brought its reputation into disrepute by writing an online diary, a charge Ms Sanderson vehemently denied.
The site, petiteanglaise.com, was written under a pseudonym and detailed expatriate life in Paris. Ms Sanderson said the blog rarely mentioned her work, and did not name her employers or their line of business. An employment tribunal in Paris yesterday disagreed with that decision, upholding a complaint of unfair dismissal and awarding Ms Sanderson damages totalling a year's salary of €44,000 (£29,900) plus legal costs. Dixon Wilson will also have to repay the French government for the unemployment benefit it paid Ms Sanderson immediately after her sacking.
Ms Sanderson has had the last laugh and may not need the money awarded - last July she signed a lucrative book deal with Penguin. The first instalment, based loosely on her online diaries, is due to be published at the start of next year.
