Sir Thomas Legge's decision to apply new rules about politicians’ expenses retrospectively has achieved something that I didn't believe possible: it’s made me feel sorry for MP's.

Justice is something we seek, strive for and want to see applied.  Organisational justice has a number of dimensions which include the fairness of procedures, the distribution of rewards and the extent to which people are valued and respected.

The consequences of not applying any or all of these types of justice includes: increased absence; dissatisfaction; reduced co-operation, all of which reduce peoples’ engagement.  Our MPs, feeling beleaguered in any case, have now been treated with a lack of all of the types of justice listed above and they will understandably be feeling frustrated and angry.

They have also been let down by their leaders who are more concerned about appeasing a hostile public than in ensuring fairness for their members,  all of which  smacks of expedient and poor leadership.

The politicians’ sensitivity will be exacerbated when they look at the huge bonuses being paid to staff in what are effectively state owned banks and the powerlessness of the government to prevent this happening.

We can all learn valuable lessons from this sorry episode. It  may be rarely discussed in business but make no mistake, the negative reactions that occur when justice is not  delivered are all very real.