Latest News

Theft from residents

Theft and misuse of residents’ monies is abuse. Misuse could include acts such as buying for example, a plasma screen television for the residents’ lounge with one resident’s money; or purchasing things that benefit the carer (such as the carer choosing a service provider that happens to be a relative or suggesting holiday locations to the resident in the hope of accompanying them). 

Those associations which provide residential care or floating support may have staff that have varying degrees of responsibility for tenants’ monies. The vast majority of care staff is committed to providing support for vulnerable people but care staff tend not to receive high salaries and times are difficult. So how do housing associations protect resident monies? It is also important that honest staff are able to protect their reputation against allegations (mistaken or malicious) by having appropriate safeguards in place. The amount lost may be small but the impact on the organisation may be much more significant.  

Recruitment and CRB checks
The first step is to recruit honest people. Recruitment and CRB checks need to be made and discrepancies should always be queried. Confirm that the person providing a reference is also legitimate and can be trusted. Are agency staff and volunteers vetted to the same degree as permanent staff? Where dishonesty is demonstrated – for example, completion of timesheets - management should consider other aspects of the staff member’s integrity.

Policies and procedures in place
Organisations should have policies and procedures in place regarding handling resident monies. These policies should be set out so that care staff can understand them. These should be overlaid with training and clear guidance on each individual based on their care plan and a risk assessment - can valuables be locked away by the resident? If not, why not? There will always be a balance between security and allowing the individual choice. Policies and individual plans should be reviewed and updated when they appear not to be working properly.

Management have a responsibility to oversee monies belonging to those within their care, especially those monies which they have laid down oversight roles. Managers should review records, undertake cash counts and undertake / re-perform reconciliations in a timely manner and document their work doing so in accordance with procedures. Staff should always be challenged if they are operating outside established policies. Clear responsibilities for checks should be in place at each location, overlaid with a corporate review that might include peers, senior management and / or finance staff visiting homes or other care facilities.

Responding to concerns
There should be mechanisms in place for residents, relatives and staff to raise concerns; for example by having a hot line, which is documented and disseminated to all. Concerns must be properly investigated, probably by an independent party. It is better if people can trust the association’s reporting mechanisms before they report externally to CSCI or social services. 

Fraud response plans should be in place for dealing with such reports, so they can be promptly and thoroughly investigated. All relevant staff should be aware of these. Investigators must be mindful that a prosecution is a likely outcome and that statement taking and preservation of evidence can be critical. Early contact with the police is normally useful. Some reports may be malicious, but these sorts of reports can be, and are often true (a jilted spouse may know a partner’s secrets).

Taking action
Staff who steal monies should expect prompt and severe disciplinary action, and this may not need to follow a prosecution if the staff member has breached procedures in any way. Controls may be adequate if a member of staff steals some money and this is detected promptly by the manager. If it transpires however that monies have gone missing for a significant period of time, questions need to be raised about the adequacy of the initial risk assessment, controls and indeed the supervision by the manager. Management (and not internal audit) has a duty to put systems and controls in place to prevent and detect fraud.

The fraud response plan should include consideration of how to handle press enquiries. It should also consider issues such as making reports to insurers, the relevant regulatory authorities, and the Tenant Services Authority, if the relevant threshold is breached. It should also consider liaison with the tenant and with their families and representatives.

If you have any thoughts or experiences of this type of fraud, log onto the discussion forum and share them with your housing internal audit colleagues. You can post anonymously.

Back to news page