One of the largest housing associations in the South of England has announced the appointment to the newly created role of director of assets and sustainability.
May 5, 2021
Sue Daniels, who led Bexley Community Housing Association (BECHA) passed away suddenly on 14 April.
May 5, 2021
Knight Frank has been appointed as exclusive residential care home property adviser to Anchor Hanover.
May 3, 2021
Leeds Crown Court heard Gemma Richards had a cocaine habit and took the cash to feed her addiction. Richards, 35, was the manager of Haven Lodge residential care home in Normanton, Wakefield, when she committed theft between December 2016 and July 2017. Joe Culley, prosecuting, said the pensioner was vulnerable and needed help to manage her finances. Mr Culley said Richards, of Westbourne Mount, Pontefract, withdrew a total of £3,036 from the woman’s bank account. The offences came to light when the victim’s bank statements were discovered in the office during an audit at the care home when Richards was off work. The woman’s bank card, which was missing from the office safe, has never been found. Richards was identified on CCTV footage at a petrol station at a time which coincided with the bank card being used for a withdrawal. Mr Cullen said during her police interview Richards tried to blame other care home staff for the theft. Richards, who has no previous convictions, admitted theft. James Holding, mitigating, said Richards had suffered mental health problems and had abused drugs. Mr Holding said Richards is remorseful and has taken steps to address her drug abuse. Mr Holding, who said Richards now works full time for a large supermarket chain, added: “She wasn’t thinking about what she was stealing, she simply wanted to fund her habit.” Judge Mushtaq Khokar said: “What you did was despicable, disgraceful and I would say evil, to steal her money, £3,000, to fund your addiction to cocaine. “You were trying to blame other people. “There can be nothing worse for an honest employee to be accused or suspected of thieving from his employer.” Judge Khokar said Richards maintained her not guilty plea for three years. He handed Richards a 10 month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered her to do 250 hours unpaid work. Judge Khokar said he did not jail Richards immediately because of the length of time that has passed since the offence and because she has a young daughter. Richards must also pay £600 compensation.
May 3, 2021
A care worker who was sacked over a post on her Facebook calling Muslims ‘fanatical bigots’ has won a case for unfair dismissal, but has been given no payout. Linda Henderson was sacked after bosses at Ashgill Care Home in Glasgow discovered posts of her social media Muslims should ‘go back to [their] own country’. Other posts on her Facebook said there were ‘no decent honest Muslims’ and that the Scottish Government should focus on jobs for ‘our own kind’. She won her case for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal after the care home refused to consider a letter from her son claiming he posted the comments Her Facebook page named her employer, and she was found to have breached their social media policy. Ms Henderson admitted to writing the post railing against immigration but denied posting the statement about Muslims, claiming it was written by her son. But managers didn’t believe the claims and Ms Henderson was later sacked. She won her case for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal after the care home refused to consider a letter from her son claiming he posted the comments. Employment judge Robert King said Ms Henderson’s ‘culpable and blameworthy conduct in breaching the respondent’s social media policy was the sole cause of her dismissal’. He added it was ‘just and equitable to reduce her award by 100 per cent’. The tribunal heard that Ms Henderson began working at the care home in November 2015 as an activities co-ordinator. In January 2019, her manager, Rosemary Jalloh, received an anonymous text which contained screenshots from her Facebook page dating back to September 2014. One post stated: ‘Alex Salmond wants MORE IMMIGRANTS? ‘We can’t feed and support our own kind as it is we don’t NEED more immigrants we need jobs with decent wages for our OWN kind.’ The other read: ‘Why are the ‘SO CALLED DECENT MUSLIMS’ allowing their own kind to cause and create terrorism? ‘The answer is there are no DECENT HONEST MUSLIMS. ‘They are all fanatical bigots and it’s time we stood up to them and tell them THIS IS OUR COUNTRY. ‘IF YOU DON’T LIKE OUR LAWS THEN LEAVE. ‘GO BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY.’ Ms Jalloh saw Ms Henderson had named the care home as her employer on the site and found the posts breached the home’s social media policy. Ms Henderson appealed the decision and offered a letter from her son claiming he had written the post – but bosses refused to consider it as it had been presented too late. Judge King found this was an error and the letter should have been considered.
April 29, 2021
Cancer care provider GenesisCare has appointed Dr Eliot Sims as UK chief medical officer.
April 29, 2021
Triple Point has appointed Georgina Silvester as Chief Operating Officer, Leading and Lending.
April 29, 2021
Osprey Housing Group chief executive Glenn Adcook is set to retire after nearly 50 years working in the housing sector.
