HSE is paying a fortune to home helps for hours not worked

The HSE has been criticised for paying for home-help hours that are never worked. In one region alone it has paid more than €40,000 for unworked hours, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The money is being paid to home helps who have set-hour contracts but are not being given enough work.

Some individual home-help workers owe as much as €4,000 for so-called ‘banked hours’. One woman has received a demand from the HSE to repay the money from her pension as she is retiring. This is despite a Labour Court agreement, seen by the MoS, that hours are reviewed every three months, and any discrepancies would be worked out within three months.

An extra €30m for the home-help sector was recently announced as supply outstrips demand which leaves workers baffled as to why they are not being given the hours stated in their contract.

A HSE spokeswoman said ‘there are very small numbers involved and the reasons for such a build-up of hours are often due to extenuating circumstances’.

She said an example given by the MoS was ‘highly unusual’ but was unable to say how many unworked hours have been paid.

However SIPTU officials have documents showing at least 2,500 hours at €15 per hour paid out in part of Co. Cork. The Independent Workers Union represents over 200 women with the same problem, some with more than 300 hours banked.

SIPTU’s Ted Kenny said: ‘No-one, even at national level, can explain to me how they [the HSE] are giving work to private operators and still allowing their own employees to bank hours.’