SERIOUS Moral Crisis - Please help!!

[rufio89]

Hi All,
You may or may not know I work for a company that helps people with 'barriers' get back into work.

A few months ago, we got a lady a care job, going to elderly people's homes and looking after them. The lady in question was an ex-heroin addict. The company were aware of this and were happy to give her an opportunity.

Her consultant has come to speak to me and my colleague this morning, and said that she came to him on Tuesday and told him that she was back on heroin and had stolen some money from one of the elderly people she was supposed to be looking after. He came round asking what he was supposed to do, saying he was struggling to balance his moral obligations with not wanting to lose the his jobstart.

I absolutely am 100% on the side of morality. I think she needs to be out of that company right away before she can do anymore damage and that is what I will do if he doesnt do anything. I made my feelings on the subject perfectly clear and said if he doesnt do anything about it, I will.

What my question is, how long do I give him to sort it himself? The longer she's in work, the more risk these elderly people are under, but I dont want to swoop in and make things worse as I dont know what the correct procedure is for this sort of situation. I feel like I'm in way over my head here

[Skarlet]

You need to take that up higher. it isn't your responsibility to raise it- so report it to your manager. Thats what I would do if I was in your situation.

[Bel Bel]

I agree with Skarlet and sooner rather than later. If something worse occurs you will be filled with guilt for not doing something

[spacegirl]

pass it you a manager before you get tangled up any further. next thing you knpw it all goes wrong and when the finger of blame is looking for someone to target it'll be you.

[peecee]

Petal, you need to report this ASAP.

Whether this lady is on heroin or marshmallows, I don't care, and that's not for you to sort out. That's not the issue here - the stealing IS.

Stealing from elderly, vulnerable people can do them enormous damage; I've seen it happen several times (partly from my experience of running a nursing home in Wales, partly from my own experience of my own elderly relatives); they completely lose their trust in people who come into their homes, including loved relatives who have known them for ever, and they lose confidence in their own ability to live in their own homes, they lose their joy in life. Their quality of life suffers dramatically, and the police are very keen to crack down on thieving scum who take advantage of them.

Morals aside, I don't know how strictly your company is regulated - nursing homes are inspected and regulated to within an inch of their lives! - but if the authorities found that your company knew they were employing somebody who was stealing from vulnerable adults, and your company had done nothing about it, the company would be in 27 different sorts of very serious trouble.

Petal, I'm trying to explain (not very successfully... ) that it's not your responsibility to do ANYTHING but pass the problem up the line - but I want you to understand why you absolutely HAVE to do it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
pee

[rufio89]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies and I think it helped a lot to just write it all down! I was such a mess, I had to leave the office for half an hour to calm down, and when I came back I was still shaking with rage. Just to clarify to all of you though, I was always going to make sure it got sorted, I was just unsure of how best to approach it.

Anyway, in the end I was a bit weak really. I waited until my boss and my colleague were both sat down at the same time and then I went to ask her if she'd decided what she was going to do about this customer yet, so my bosses ears pricked up and they called her consultant round for a chat. We talked about it for a while and they decided the best course of action was to call the woman in question into the office, and then explain that we know everything and the best thing for her to do would be to tell the company what she had done and resign. She was due to come in at 2pm and by 3.30 she hadnt turned up, so it was decided that as she was supposed to be working that evening, she would have to be bypassed. My colleague rang the company and told them the situation.

So what the company said (which i think is VERY lucky for her) is that she will be fired, and the money she stole (which apparently wasnt very much) would be replaced from her wages. Our company has put her in touch with a heroin abuse facility and she should be getting treatment now, and we are investigating how to get her signed off on incapacity rather than jobseekers until she's clean.


This whole thing really upset me. I always say to people that ask that I love my job, because Im doing something that MATTERS, I'm getting people jobs who cant do it on their own and need their help, changing peoples lives, but with this I just think "do people like this DESERVE help??" She knew she had a heroin problem, which she was off when she was offered the job and yet she put herself in a situation that was high risk of relapse, and surprise, surprise she did, and instead of dealing with it herself, she stole from vulnerable people who she was supposed to be looking after.
However, I've never known people with heroin problems and so I know I dont understand the nature of that kind of addiction, I know its more complex than that.

Anyway, thanks again for your support guys

[whoopsie]

A few months ago, we got a lady a care job, going to elderly people's homes and looking after them. The lady in question was an ex-heroin addict. The company were aware of this and were happy to give her an opportunity.

Maybe your company will think twice in this situation if it were to arise again. I suppose something good has come from it.

[LemonJuice87]

At least it's getting sorted, thats the main thing.

My step Dad does a simular job to you Rufio, in the same area (He works all over). It would be funny if you two knew each other lol.