ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING

A bitter feud left ambulance driver Gerald off sick for months while bosses racked up thousands in legal bills and all over a meal allowance claim for... £15

- SALLY HIND

A STRESSED-OUT ambulance assistant was forced to take his bosses to court in a row over an unpaid 15-meal allowance.

Gerald Paton, who has worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) for more than 30 years, says they racked up months of legal bills before agreeing to pay up.

Gerald lodged a case against his employer at Forfar Sheriff Court over expenses for three lunches. The 56-year-old, from Brechin, Angus, said he was left astounded” by the actions of his bosses and felt so let down that he ended up being off work sick for months.

He said: It has been extremely stressful having to chase money that I was entitled to.

“I feel let down by them and by the fact I had to go down the avenue of taking them to court.

“From start to finish, the fight for 15 has taken up so much of my time off when it could have been sorted within 15 minutes.

“I worked through Covid and you would think that after putting ourselves at risk in the face of the virus, our expenses that we are entitled to would have been paid within reasonable time.