Boss jailed over tribunal forgeries

By Paul Thornton

A COMPANY boss who sexually harassed his former receptionist has been jailed for faking evidence at the employment tribunal where she fought for compensation.

Jason Robinson, 36, made repeated and unwanted advances towards Susan Moffat while she worked at his drive hire firm.

The mum-of-three took the company director to an employment tribunal and eventually won almost £29,500 in compensation.

But Robinson presented fake documents – including a formal warning and contract of employment – at the hearing in a bid to dodge a pay-out.

Mrs Moffat’s forged signatures were on the documents which were passed to the tribunal held in Edinburgh.

After seeing the documents Mrs Moffat denied that she had seen or signed them and produced paper work with her real signature as proof.

The tribunal tipped-off cops and Robinson made a full confession when he was interviewed by them.

And at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the dad-of-one was jailed for four months after he admitted perverting the course of justice.

Donations from Wills halved as charity begins at home

By Oliver Farrimond

SCOTTISH charities are missing out on vital donations from wills, with recession-hit families preferring to secure more money for their loved ones.

Slashed interest rates and plunging property prices have left Scots rushing to ensure that their families don’t miss out on vital legacies in favour of charitable donations.

Edinburgh-based law firm Gibson Kerr have estimated that the total value of charitable donations left in wills has HALVED over the last eighteen months.

Fiona Rasmusen, partner at Gibson Kerr, said: “We all know the credit crunch has had a huge effect on many people in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“Many people have investments in savings accounts, shares and property, but these have been badly hit by the economic downturn.

“One significant development of this has seen people opt to change the details of their wills to reflect these difficult decisions.

“With savings and investments worth far less than they used to be, people are deciding to leave more money to their families and loved ones – and less to external organisations. ”

Passenger numbers nosedive at Glasgow Prestwick Airport

By Shaun Milne

PASSENGER numbers have nose-dived at one of Scotland’s best known low-cost airports.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport said the number of people travelling through the Ayrshire hub are down 28 per cent year on year.

The plunge – to 152,000 passengers – was dismissed as being “in line with recent trends”.

But bosses are now pinning their hopes on winter-sun flights and summer bookings for 2010 to help see them through the recession.

Graeme Sweenie, chief commercial officer, admitted: “2009 has certainly been a challenging year for the airport.

Insisting that the airport’s prospects remained “excellent”, he pointed to the fact that operator Ryanair had recently laid on more winter flights as being a positive sign.