The Mind Boggles
Here's a recent news item from the BBC Scotland web site.
Now I must start getting my better half to open all my mail - in future.
Because that seems to be a complete defence against any alleged wrongdoing - as far as certain organisations are concerned anyway.
At the moment only the GTCS (General Teaching Council for Scotland) seems to have taken this rather other wordly stance - but who knows it may catch on further afield.
So my motto is 'be prepared' - in future get your spouse or partner to open all official looking mail.
Even if you're a highly educated professional person, don't - even for a moment - be foolish enough to get involved in your own household finances - even to check on how things are going.
Not that Glasgow City Council looks any better - I have to admit.
How is it humanly possible for someone no longer working with the council - still to be getting paid - more than two years after they left the council's employment?
The mind boggles at such inefficiency - ar at least mine does.
Remember this is the same council whose councillors recently agreed a £500,000 'golden goodbye' package - for a senior official who was not even a council employee - see post dated 17 January 2012 - 'Death Wish 2012'.
If the person/s responsible haven't been sacked - then I hope they're dealing with my council tax return next year - now that could be a small crumb of comfort.
Teacher still paid after she left
A teacher was mistakenly paid more than £80,000 by Glasgow City Council after she had left to work in another area.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland heard that Bernadine Hunter left Glasgow in 2006 to work at a school in South Lanarkshire.
Mrs Hunter continued to be paid by Glasgow for more than two years, receiving a total of £82,635.
The teacher was not punished after a conduct hearing heard of her difficult personal circumstances.
The panel heard that Ms Hunter's husband opened all her mail and had total control over her financial affairs.
The GTCS committee said Ms Hunter had not personally benefited from the money, which appeared to have been kept by her husband.
It was also pointed out that she had repaid a "substantial" amount of the money and continued to do so.
The hearing's judgement said it was "difficult to understand" why Glasgow City Council had continued to pay Mrs Hunter for two and a half years after she left to work at Coalburn Primary in Lanark.
The judgement said "while not removing any responsibility of the respondent to take appropriate action, the circumstances might not have arisen and any sums involved might have been considerably less had this not happened."
The hearing also heard from William Scott, head teacher at Coalburn, who said Mrs Hunter was "reliable and credible."
