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Care manager claims Wirral care company falsified inspections


A MERSEY care home forged inspection documents and sent in the owner’s daughter as a "bogus" inspector, a tribunal heard yesterday.

Carole Boden, a 62-year-old care manager at Polder Care homes, in Wirral, refused to fake the documents and endured months of bullying and humiliation as a result, Liverpool Employment Tribunal was told.

Henk De Rooy, owner of the care homes in Melrose Avenue, Hoylake, and Knowsley Road, Rock Ferry, did not attend the hearing.

The company’s barrister, Leonard Murphy, suggested that Miss Boden was delusional and all the apparent bullying was in her imagination.

But Miss Boden, of Prenton, said: "Henk was always looking to avoid procedures if he could and falsifying documents when he could.

"Henk asked me to change my (in-house) routine inspection documents for Knowsley Road into Commission of Social Care Inspection (CSCI) regulation 26 documents on several occasions.

"I had always refused. Duncan Smillie, manager at Knowsley Road, had no such qualms."

She then outlined an incident, in November, 2007, when Mr De Rooy sent in his daughter, Jane, to carry out a CSCI inspection.

Miss Boden said: "The inspection must be carried out by an independent qualified person.

"Jane can hardly be described as independent. She was an employee at the time, the daughter of the owner and was working for Polder Care to repay a debt to her father . . . the figure of £11,000 sticks in my mind."

She was drawn into the "inspection" and said this incident was the catalyst that led to a series of grievances procedures against her, a six- month suspension, and her eventual resignation, in July, 2008.

Mr Murphy said these allegations were "red herrings" that had no place in an employment tribunal. He said: "Mr De Rooy has been running two care homes for 20 years in one of the most regulated industries in the country.

"It was my decision that Mr De Rooy shouldn’t be brought to this tribunal, as these claims are ill- founded."

But Robert Askey, for Miss Boden, highlighted the fact that the care home had not denied her allegations.

"To say that the things the company has done are just in her imagination, if this truly is the employer’s position, it is just about as offensive as you can possibly be and shows what an utter breakdown in trust and confidence there was between employer and Miss Boden."

He added: "Having not heard from Mr De Rooy to deny the allegations and as the only witness knew nothing about it, as she was not at Polder Care at the time, leads to his credibility being limited.

"This is what Carole Boden says and he does not deny it."

Employment judge Keith Robinson yesterday decided to reserve judgment.

This decision means that Miss Boden will wait for up to two weeks to find out whether her case for constructive dismissal has been successful

THE DAILY POST

Robert Askey is a bloody good Barrister - and a jolly nice man too

Some employers think they can get away with anything as the staff will be too scared to go as far as a tribunal, but there's always one that decides it's worth the leap.