Finance manager unfairly sacked

Mr Jones said he was delighted to clear his name

A Gwynedd enterprise agency has admitted it dismissed its finance manager unfairly.

Aeron Jones, from Llandwrog, was sacked from Cymad in 2006 after revealing its chief executive Elwyn Vaughan had forged two cheque stubs.

Mr Vaughan was later found guilty of false accounting at Mold Crown Court.

An employment tribunal at Abergele awarded Mr Jones £30,425 based on his loss of earnings, and £10,000 towards his legal fees.

Mr Jones was originally suspended from his job, and later sacked, after he revealed Cymad chief executive Elwyn Vaughan had wrongly filled in two cheque stubs.

There are two ways you can go in life, the wrong way and the right way - and I'd do the same thing again Aeron Jones

At Mold Crown Court last May Mr Vaughan denied the offences which were committed when he paid an employee for overtime, but filled the cheque stubs with different names.

He was found guilty and fined £500 with £1,841 in costs.

Mr Vaughan still works for Cymad.

Mr Jones said he had suffered from depression after being dismissed.

Struggling for years

He has found it difficult to find another job, he said, because the fact that he had lost his job at Cymad left the impression he had been dishonest in some way.

"I'm delighted that I've had this open tribunal after struggling for two-and-a-half years to clear my name," he said.

"At last I've been able to explain publicly what went on (at Cymad)," he added.

Despite his experience, Mr Jones said he was glad he had stuck to his principles.

"There are two ways you can go in life, the wrong way and the right way - and I'd do the same thing again," he added.

In a statement Cymad - which is based in Porthmadog - said it welcomed the fact there had been closure following the conclusion of the tribunal.