Client/Employee Relationship
hrpagersd
12 Posts
We have 2 divisions to our agency. We had an employee who was working in a house that serves the mentally ill. She was accused of inappropriately touching (patting his knee when talking to him once) and wanting a relationship with a client that was living at the house. After an investigation, there was nothing substantiated regarding the allegations and she denied everything and nobody had actually seen anything other than her touching his knee while they were talking one time. We did decide to transfer her to the other division of the agency so she would no longer be working with this client. She was transferred, same hours, better pay scale, same benefits. She agreed to this move. This was about 6 months ago. She asked once after she moved if she would lose her job if she would have a relationship with this inpatient client and we said yes, she would lose her job.
This client is now no longer an inpatient client and is just seeking outpatient therapy services (approximately 1 time every 3 months). Our policy states that people working in the other division can seek services for family members, themselves, significant others or spouses. There is rumor again that she now has a relationship with this gentleman. There is still no concrete proof (just hearsay). The CEO wants to fire her because she met this guy while she was an employee and he was a "vulnerable client and found out about his financial situation because she was an employee, and that we could be held responsible if she gets in a relationship with him and "takes him for his money" because he is "vulnerable". I do not agree because he is no longer an inpatient client and we have other employees whose significant others or spouses seek outpatient services and what happens outside of work and their personal relationship is their business. I think that we could have a wrongful termination for firing her on hearsay, but he thinks that if we don't fire her and his family has concerns down the road we will have a bigger problem.
Your opinions please?
This client is now no longer an inpatient client and is just seeking outpatient therapy services (approximately 1 time every 3 months). Our policy states that people working in the other division can seek services for family members, themselves, significant others or spouses. There is rumor again that she now has a relationship with this gentleman. There is still no concrete proof (just hearsay). The CEO wants to fire her because she met this guy while she was an employee and he was a "vulnerable client and found out about his financial situation because she was an employee, and that we could be held responsible if she gets in a relationship with him and "takes him for his money" because he is "vulnerable". I do not agree because he is no longer an inpatient client and we have other employees whose significant others or spouses seek outpatient services and what happens outside of work and their personal relationship is their business. I think that we could have a wrongful termination for firing her on hearsay, but he thinks that if we don't fire her and his family has concerns down the road we will have a bigger problem.
Your opinions please?
Comments
I think if you have a policy that employees do not fraternize with patients, and you know for a fact that this employee has violated this policy, then I think you would be safe in a termination; after all, she was transferred to another position previously because of this and told (after she inquired) that she could be terminated for this.
We had a similar situation where a nurse in our facility was inappropirately "counseling" a patient concerning his marital difficulties and he became fixated on the nurse. We had a heck of an issue when the wife got involved and produced telephone records where they were calling back and forth numerous times and all hours of the day and night. The nurse was written up for inappropriate behavior and advised if she did not end this relationship and if anything else of this nature occurred, she would be terminated.
If your employee is using her position to gain access to this person's financial resources, then, in my estimation,she is acting in an inappropriate manner and subject to termination. Especially true if this person is of diminished capacity.
If your CEO keeps insisting that you just fire without an investigation, ask him how he would feel if an unhappy employee reported that HE was having an inappropriate relationship and you fired him. He would expect, at the least, for you to investigate the accusation.
If your investigation concludes that this employee has once again been acting inappropriately, then handle as you would any other employee who breaks serious policies twice.
Good luck!
Nae
I am wondering what client/employee relationships you do condone? Were you referring to the second to the last sentence in your original post?
Anyway, my mixed answer is. .outpatient or not as long as the person is still a client of your agency, I do not think a relationship should be condoned and IF proven should result in discipline for your staff member.
That having been said, a "pat" on the knee getting someone investigated? Geez, if I had been investigated every time I patted a client on the back I would have been in deep do-do.
Maybe you can provide some more information but bottom line, again, way too much hearsay, rumor etc.