This is an update to a previuos thread. To cut a long story short…My mum has worked for a care home as a cook for just over 5 years, 3 years ago she was found guilty of benefit fraud. The manager knew about it at the time and so did the owner. My mum went off sick last September and was signed fit to return to work by her GP on August 18th. When she told the manager this, the manager said the new owner had given her job to someone else (which turns out to be a lie), the owner phoned my mum and told her she couldn’t just return to work when she wanted too. She than decided that my mum needed a new CRB check and depending on what was on it would decide whether she could return to work. Obviously my mum has a conviction for benefit fraud on there now. She went to an investigatory meeting a few weeks ago which was a shambles (the notes weren’t correctly taken, they were on plain papaer and not headed and were not signed) and now she has been told she has a disciplinary meeting for gross misconduct regarding what is on her CRB check. This is on Weds. The manager is now denying she knew anything about my mums conviction even though she had to make a statement acknowledging she wasn’t aware my mum was working and claiming and would discuss the court case with my mum. After this happened, my mum was still allowed to take on the role of team leader, administering medication and residents money. What grounds have they to suspend her on full pay(which she is getting by cheque and not by BACS as all other staff members are and also not getting it when due. She is still waiting for her wages which were due last week)She was deemed fit to return to work in August and it is now November. Why has this taken so long? She had nothing in writing to say she was suspended on full pay, she only knew she was suspended when the manager told her in a telephone conversation last week. There are other staff members who have convictions on their CRB but have not been treated as badly as my mum. When my mum asked why she needed a new CRB check, the manager said when the new owner took over the previous year, she updated the policies and procedures and added that anyone off work sick after 6 months needed a new CRB check done. This was not in the policies and prcedures folder in August even though it was supposed to have come into effect the year before. I used to work there and I looked in the policies and procedures regularly for my NVQ and this was not in there, there was also nothing to say new policies and procedures would be coming into place and my mum was not given a copy of the new policy until she received a letter about a disciplinary meeting.
Lisa Robson