Staff at Hohepa Homes have told of a darker side to the disability centre, claiming management regularly ignores their concerns, uses bully tactics and failed to tell them about a cut-off date for "sleepover" backpay, leaving 120 staff up to $850,000 out of pocket.
Hohepa began when the Hohepa Homes Trust Board was formed in 1956 to establish a residential community for people with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand.
Recently, though, the situation between staff and management at their Clive site has become so dire that employees said they could see no way out but to raise their concerns anonymously, through Hawke's Bay Today.
"It's getting to the point where we almost want to go out on the road with a sign saying, 'Hohepa mistreats their staff'," one worker said.
Hohepa general manager Andy White said staff unrest was a national issue among disability workers as the debate over sleepover back pay raged.
He also claimed complaints were dealt with using the correct procedures and denied any use of intimidation.
However, four staff members from Hohepa who came forward in breach of their contract would disagree.
One woman who has worked at Hohepa for nine years said things had rapidly gone downhill since 2009. Among other issues, staff were treated unfairly and management did not give their complaints due consideration.
"We look after the residents with very high needs," she said. "They can be quite violent. Staff get beaten up all the time but we don't get any extra for that. They are on $14 an hour, up to $15. I am trying to get my staff extra money, I am sick of them getting beaten up but I am fighting a losing battle."
Maintenance on the houses at Hohepa was also poor and damage took a long time to be fixed, with staff often doing temporary repair jobs, she said.
"This place is shocking, they just patch it up and they take a long time to do that. A lot of the time we end up fixing things. The residents are entitled to a home. Every bit of their benefit goes into this place and the maintenance is shocking."
Having voiced concerns about staff pay, a lack of manpower and maintenance to her superiors, the woman said she had been "bullied" into submission.
Mr White said Hohepa worked through payment matters in the same manner as any other organisation and was not aware of any issues. As for a poor response to damaged buildings, it was up to employees to notify management.
"I do know we are responsive to repair work and rely on staff bringing these to our attention."
Another bone of contention for staff was pay for shifts where they were required to sleep overnight at Hohepa.
Workers received $35 before tax to work a sleepover shift of about seven or eight hours and often had to get up to residents two or three times in a night, the staff member said.
"We are still not paid by the hour. Residents wet the bed, they're violent and are on drugs that are really bad - we try not to give them the drugs unless we have to. We don't like to see them walking around like zombies."
If staff woke up to assist a resident, however, they would be paid for the time they were required to stay awake.
That set overnight pay package would soon be replaced by an hourly rate after the courts deemed sleeping on site, to be available if needed, was equivalent to work and people should be paid on an hourly basis, even if they were not woken through the night.
New legislation formed by IHC, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Service and Foodworkers Union (SFWU) outlined how that new payment method would be phased in and back payment addressed.
Before Hohepa could implement an hourly rate, and pay 21 eligible claimants who put their request for sleepover backpay in before the September 2 cut-off date, management and staff must form an agreement on the basis of payment for phasing in new sleepover rates over two years.
"Unfortunately, rather than simply making the equivalent deal available to all providers as a result of [new legislation], the Government requires each provider to form the same agreement [or similar] with their current staff so that they could then be registered as a party to the legislation through an Order in Council process, which is then to be approved through Parliament," Mr White said.
Coming to a solution was not proving easy as Hohepa staff were upset and angry they were not informed of a cut-off date to apply for sleepover back pay, meaning 120 people missed out on up to $850,000, with only a small percentage of past and present employees receiving the payout.
One male staff member lost 6 years of sleepover backpay, amounting to $35,000.
"I was one of the people who believed management would bring the process to our attention but that didn't happen," he said.
Mr White said management was never in a position to give staff notification about a cut-off as they were unaware of it.
"The SFW union, MOH and IHC reached an agreement in last-minute discussions in Wellington that included the decision for a cut-off date to be imposed. There was no information to Hohepa management or other providers like Hohepa until after that date."
Another staff member claimed management could at least have given them guidance on how to apply for their refund and provided the claim forms.
"They told us we could make a claim, then two months passed and we were waiting for them to let us know what to do. I understand Hohepa may not have been aware of the cut-off date but irrespective of that, they could have kept us in the loop."
Part of the problem was there was no regulatory body checking up on management at Hohepa, the worker said.
"It's the Government, too, they won't send an assessor. They are meant to do a check no less than every two years but nothing has been done since 2009."
Those who missed out on a sleepover pay-out were offered $1000 (on average) compensation by Hohepa, as a "gesture of goodwill", something Mr White said they were not legally required to do.
"This came to a little less than $120,000 across almost 120 staff, which Hohepa will be funding without any Government funding assistance," Mr White said.
He said the payout was management "doing more than it is obliged to do or was funded for, as a way of recognising those staff who continue to work for Hohepa".
But staff described the gesture as a "lemon", saying it was management's way of sweetening the deal so Hohepa could get on the legislation.
"We are currently in sleepover pay negotiations, they want to get in on the act so they can pay the [21 claimants] who are owed $130,000. But the only way to do that is to go to the workers and offer 120 people $120,000 to get funding to pay those who made their claims."
While there were now trust issues between staff and management, Hohepa was committed to passing on all future funding they received for sleepover workers, Mr White said.
"Funding the increases for future sleepovers, which is being phased in over two years as was agreed by the union, MOH and IHC, will be from the Government but if Hohepa reaches agreement with staff to phase this in earlier than July 2013, we will have to pay this money set aside for other operational purposes," said Mr White.
"When we have an agreement with our current staff for that same funding phase-in process, the Government will start funding us and we will be able to start paying staff."