Felix (not his real name) worked in a care home. He and some of his colleagues believed that a manager was stealing from residents by recording money as being given to particular residents when they had received none.
Felix raised his concerns with the owners of the home and an investigation quickly found that Felix was right. The manager was dismissed and reported to the police. Unfortunately, working relationships became tense as the manager’s close colleagues objected to Felix’s actions. Felix was suspended over false allegations that he had mistreated the residents.
We advised Felix to address these allegations on their merits: they were false and he could easily show that to be the case. The allegations were found to have no substance but the owners decided to transfer him to another home anyway. We helped Felix to draft a letter explaining that he wanted to stay at the home and that transferring him after he had blown the whistle would send the wrong message to other staff. The owners reconsidered and Felix stayed at the home.
The manager was later convicted of stealing £1,400 from the residents and Felix was pleased that the atmosphere at work had improved.