Malicious complaint re alleged abuse of a vulnerable adult

PHILANTHROPIST

I hope somebody can help me with the following query which I am raising on behalf of a good friend who works in a South West based organisation (a mental health charity) who provide a secure day centre environment for vulnerable adults (not children).

My friend's manager is allegedly somewhat of a control freak and has been harassing my friend for several months now and threatening them with dismissal. My friend has stood up to such inapproriate behaviour and had raised complaints. The grievance has, however, sadly fallen on deaf ears because the charity's director is the manager's partner.

Anyhow, out of thin air my friend was a few weeks back accused of causing harm (psycholgical abuse) to a vulnerable adult - a male guest who suffers from a mental impairment and is routinely highly emotional, and often without good reason.

More disturbingly my friend's employer have made a formal referral to the local council's adult safeguarding team, who then appear to have told the charity to conduct an "independent" internal investigation and "report back".

My friend has not been formally advised that such an investigation is ongoing. In fact we only found out by accident when I had a round of golf at an open day and I ended up being teamed up with a lady from the local Council who guess what was a) a Safeguarding Officer, and b) when I mentioned in passing my friend's issue, the Council worker mentioned that she had heard that the charity were "looking into" such a incident on the Council's behalf.

To add insult to injury the Council Officer said that the charity could, and without any meaningful input from the council, just elect to refer the matter to the Government's Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), thus potentially barring my friend from being allowed to ever work again with vulnreable adults.

I do not want to go into specifics re the alleged abuse, but I am very confident, in fact certain, that there was no abuse per se. I have good reason to believe that my friend's employer is using the safeguarding "incident" as a cunning means of getting rid of my friend. I also believe that the "victim" is (regrettably) being used as a pawn by the charity.

If true, or even if reasonably suspected, this cannot be just. The evidence (or lack thereof) demonstrates that even the adult safeguarding referral made by the employer was a disproportionate, and potentially vindictive, act. There have been similar, if not worse, "incidents" at the charity in the past, including concerns expressed by the same emotionaly charged quest, and they have all been dealt with internally and without the need of a safeguarding concern referral. The whole referal appears to be a set up intended to demean my friend with a view to force them to leave the charity. A DBS referral would again be wholly disproportionate, but the charity would argue it is in their opinion, "justified".

This matter has a significant overlap with employment law procedures and the fair application thereof, but that is not the purpose of this query; my friend is in receipt of good advice re their employment rights.

My queries relate to safeguarding and it's application under the Care Act 2014, and are as follows:

1) The whole safeguarding and DBS referral process appears to be victim (or vulnerable adult) driven. At first sight this is understandable, but during the entire process there does not ever appear to be a reality check whereby the alleged perpetrator is given a right of reply via a truly "independent" body. The charity is not independent; they have a hidden agenda. There appears to be no right of appeal whatsoever against a safeguarding referral to a local authority. Yes, one can appeal against an ultimate DBS referral, but why should it get to that stage before an alleged perpetrator is allowed to give their side of the story, along with being given the reasonable right to put witnesses forward (and in this case there are many) who could counter the accusations that have been made. Even an investigation conducted by the police has to take account of the accused's version of events, and such testimony etc is taken into consideration before any charges are made.

2) If a malicious referral has been made by the charity and that can be proven, then what would, or should, be the repurcussions for the charity ?

Any constructive comments welcomed.

marlot

Is your friend in a union? This is where they can be very helpful.

I wouldn't have a paid job working with children or vulnerable adults without being a union member.

PHILANTHROPIST

marlot wrote: »

Is your friend in a union? This is where they can be very helpful.

I wouldn't have a paid job working with children or vulnerable adults without being a union member.

Will check, but don't think so.

For the main part in my own experience I have been disappointed with Union Reps.

elsien

Why should there be a right of appeal against a safeguarding referral to the local authority?
The whole point of the referral is to protect a vulnerable adult who may or may not have suffered abuse while the concern is investigated and if necessary a plan is put in place. The plan may include more detailed risk assessments and measures to protect staff as well as the person. And people who have made unproven allegations do get targeted on the grounds that if they complain they won't be believed. The service is acting responsibly in referring on - the whole point is so that it can be independently investigated because a service investigating itself not good practice.
It is better to refer and be proved wrong than not refer and allow abuse to continue. Perhaps the service has not referred before and been picked up on it? Or maybe, due to confidentiality and information only being shared on a need to know basis, checks have been carried out which you/your friend are unaware of.
I have worked in this type of setting and had allegations made against me. I would still prefer they were looked into than brushed under the carpet.

However if your friend feels any investigation is not impartial, that is the issue he needs to raise. Although at this point it would appear your friend only knows a referral has been made and has surmised it is about him. If there were serious concerns then it is likely he would have been suspended already. Your friend also needs to be very careful that he is not breaching confidentiality by passing all this information on to you, and for you to then discuss with a council officer - that would almost certainly end up with him on a disciplinary.

PHILANTHROPIST

Thanks Elsien.

I concur wholeheartedly with your view that referrals should be encouraged and looked into.

But (and I apologise if I am repeating myself) the charity appear to be doing their own safeguarding investigation which appears to be running in parallel with a (sham) disciplinary process. The same persons appear to be conducting both investigations and (as is often the case with "employers") the process(es) are more akin to a kangeroo court than good or fair practice.

Appeals to the employer have been pointless; as is often the case they fall on deaf ears.

The local authority officer I briefly met with (see original post) admitted that the Council only care about the apparent victim. To a degree that is apt, but an (alleged) perpetrator also has a right of reply. As far as I can see the first instance that an alleged perpetrator may hear of the outcome of a safeguarding referral and subsequent investigation may be when a letter arrives in the post from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) informing them that they are barred forthwith from working with vulnerable adults. Yes, one can make representations at that stage, but by then one's name has already been blackened, and in this instance I believe unfairly maligned.

The site below may be of assistance and appears to strike a chord:

http://www.factuk.org/

Tiddlywinks

The last thread you brought here about one of your friends turned out to be a work of near fiction:

Link

Plus, your opening post on this thread is full of judgement and misunderstandings about mental health / vulnerable adults etc. That, in itself, is surprising from someone who often offers advice on disability benefits issues.

PHILANTHROPIST wrote: »

I hope somebody can help me with the following query which I am raising on behalf of a good friend who works in a South West based organisation (a mental health charity) who provide a secure day centre environment for vulnerable adults (not children).

My friend's manager is allegedly somewhat of a control freak and has been harassing my friend for several months now and threatening them with dismissal. My friend has stood up to such inapproriate behaviour and had raised complaints. The grievance has, however, sadly fallen on deaf ears because the charity's director is the manager's partner.

Anyhow, out of thin air my friend was a few weeks back accused of causing harm (psycholgical abuse) to a vulnerable adult - a male guest who suffers from a mental impairment and is routinely highly emotional, and often without good reason.

---

I do not want to go into specifics re the alleged abuse, but I am very confident, in fact certain, that there was no abuse per se. I have good reason to believe that my friend's employer is using the safeguarding "incident" as a cunning means of getting rid of my friend. I also believe that the "victim" is (regrettably) being used as a pawn by the charity.

---

There have been similar, if not worse, "incidents" at the charity in the past, including concerns expressed by the same emotionaly charged quest......

You cannot be certain that there is no case to answer - you only have one subjective account of events.

There will be specialist practitioners in this area of law and I suggest your friend seek one out for informed advice.

IAmWales

Thanks for the link Tiddlywinks. The poster (and the name on CAG) has an uncanny resemblance to belinda1960 also.

(Little tip Phil - if you're going to post under multiple names, don't keep thanking your AEs. It's weird, really weird.)

kingfisherblue

PHILANTHROPIST wrote: »

My friend has not been formally advised that such an investigation is ongoing. In fact we only found out by accident when I had a round of golf at an open day and I ended up being teamed up with a lady from the local Council who guess what was a) a Safeguarding Officer, and b) when I mentioned in passing my friend's issue, the Council worker mentioned that she had heard that the charity were "looking into" such a incident on the Council's behalf.

To add insult to injury the Council Officer said that the charity could, and without any meaningful input from the council, just elect to refer the matter to the Government's Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), thus potentially barring my friend from being allowed to ever work again with vulnreable adults.

Are we to believe that a safeguarding officer from the council willingly discussed confidential information to a complette stranger on the golf course?

Tiddlywinks

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Are we to believe that a safeguarding officer from the council willingly discussed confidential information to a complette stranger on the golf course?

Small world too - what are the odds of randomly being paired with someone involved in such an issue?

PHILANTHROPIST

IAmWales wrote: »

Thanks for the link Tiddlywinks. The poster (and the name on CAG) has an uncanny resemblance to belinda1960 also.

(Little tip Phil - if you're going to post under multiple names, don't keep thanking your AEs. It's weird, really weird.)

Noted Wales. Nonetheless, this is a genuine post, so please kindly take the matter seriously. Thanks.

PHILANTHROPIST

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Are we to believe that a safeguarding officer from the council willingly discussed confidential information to a complette stranger on the golf course?

Sadly it is true. The charity is very well known and the officer was rightfully concerned to hear that the employer's allegations may be malicious. Thus, they simply alerted me to the fact that a referral had been made and the what the consequences maybe if my friend is DBS referred.

Anyhow, seeing a barrister later in the week so will await his advice.

Thanks for everyone's constructive input.