A woman employed by a contract cleaning company has been removed from her job after she reported an incident of alleged elder abuse at a city nursing home. The woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was working as a contract cleaner when, she claims, she saw a woman in her 80’s thrown into a chair by a staff member. “The elderly lady was grabbed by an arm and thrown into a chair. She landed on her back. The person who did this was a carer employed by the nursing home, I was so angry, I had to report it to the nursing home management. At the time, they said I had done the right thing to bring the matter to their attention”.
She said she was “disgusted” as the elderly resident in question is “probably the most vulnerable in that home. She hardly speaks”.
The cleaner and a colleague who also witnessed the incident, but who was not involved in the reporting, were called to a meeting with the head of the nursing home weeks later and asked to go over the details again.
“But apart from that, I heard nothing more about it. I got on with my job, then one day, I was told that my bosses at the contract cleaning company were having a meeting with the nursing home”.
Eight weeks after making her report, the contract cleaner was called to a meeting with a member of management at the company.
“I was told I had crossed the line by making the report and that for the comfort of the client (the nursing home), I was being suspended without pay. I asked her if there was anything wrong with my cleaning work and she said no, but she had no other work for me”.
The suspended employee contacted employment rights officer with the Limerick Resource Centre for the Unemployed, Frank McDonald.
“We arranged a meeting with the company and I told them that they could not, under employment law, suspend a worker who had done nothing wrong. They followed no procedure, there were no warnings of any kind and this lady had done nothing but report something which was very wrong. When I mentioned that the suspension was illegal, they said that they had not used the right words – then they said she was being laid off”.
Mr McDonald told the Limerick Post that the company said they could only offer the cleaner “a couple of hours here and there and the hours were at times which would not work for her as she is a lone parent raising two children. She has lost her job because she spoke up and that should not be allowed to happen”.
Mr McDonald said he is taking steps to establish whether the complaint was investigated by the nursing home.
When the Limerick Post contacted the contract cleaning company, a spokesperson declined to comment.
