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. It doesn’t make sense, they’ll appoint a solicitor that will cost thousands of pounds over a £15 lunch. I was off work for six months sick from the stress of it.”
Gerald eventually settled the case out of court and was given £43 to cover his food bill and the cost of lodging his small claims action, but says it took nine months of court dates and mediation with SAS lawyers to bring an end to the dispute. Bosses finally agreed to cough up just weeks after national strikes were called off amid a row over pay at the cash-strapped service.
He said: “Several times I was told this was all about protecting public finances but it has cost far more in public finances to get back my £15. It’s absolutely astounding.” Gerald, who works for the patient transfer service, is entitled to a £5 lunch allowance when he is working more than five miles from his base and meets a string of other criteria.
The row began when his claim for three lunches was disputed last year and he was told there were new terms and conditions in place, including specifying where a meal has been bought. He tried to settle the matter with bosses but says he was forced to take drastic action when they refused to pay out.
He said: “There were various excuses. I went back and told them I did meet the criteria but they said their hands were tied. The £5 allowance hasn’t changed in years. It’s not gone up with the cost of living and would barely get you a sandwich in Edinburgh Royal now.
“I thought someone would see sense at some point but they didn’t. It seems ridiculous but I went to the small claims court for the £15. I put in a claim for the meals plus court expenses, which worked out at about £43. I thought they would say, ‘You’ve made your point’ and give me my money but they appointed a solicitor.
“So for the past nine months it has been in and out of the sheriff court.” A sheriff suggested the case go to mediation and Gerald had discussions with the SAS’s litigation team before an agreement was reached.
He said: “It settled out of court before a sheriff made a decision. I then got my £43. I would imagine that nine months of them having to instruct a solicitor is going to have cost a lot more than that. I’m disappointed it came to this.”
Strikes were suspended earlier this year when members of health unions representing NHS and ambulance staff accepted an improved pay deal from the Scottish Government.
Then Health Secretary Humza Yousaf had been locked in negotiations with health unions amid the threat of industrial action. A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual cases.”
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