The saga involving Carlos Tevez, the controversial Argentine footballer, drags on with today’s news that he’ll get a disciplinary hearing at Manchester City.

You don’t have to be a football fan to have heard about Tevez. He is one of Man City’s biggest stars and earns a ridiculous amount of money each week, but the press has been full of stories for months about how he isn’t happy and wants to go back to South America.

Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t go down well with either the fans or the club that is paying him so much money. When he then allegedly refused to play in a recent match (something he denies), this was the final straw and Man City launched an investigation. Tevez is now going to get a disciplinary hearing.

Now, most people who aren’t happy in their jobs just look for a new position and leave rather than sit around complaining and taking the money regardless of whether they are performing in their role or not. And therein lies the rub, if an employee doesn’t leave voluntarily, you can’t just sack them because you feel the person you employed isn’t doing their job anymore. You have to prove that the employee is in the wrong which is what, it appears, Manchester City are now having to do.

In the meantime, because he is contractually bound, Tevez can continue taking home the big money without even putting his boots on.

Now we aren’t advocating that the laws be changed so that employers can fire people at will. The laws are there to protect both the employer and employee, but sometimes it seems that a little more common sense and a little less bureaucracy would resolve the situation more quickly.

In Tevez’s case, both sides know the score. Call me old fashioned, but if he wants to leave and they want him out, couldn’t they come to an agreement? He would be released from his contract and free to go and earn squillions of pounds elsewhere, whilst Man City would be free of the distraction that these employment law shenanigans are causing for the whole club.

I guess common sense doesn’t really apply when so much money is involved, but if I was running a business and was faced with a similar situation, I’d certainly want to resolve the situation as quickly as possible simply to be able to move on. You don’t run a business and employ people to then spend your days dealing with petty disputes. You run a business to serve your customers and make money. Anything else is just a distraction.