Unpaid staff sound alarm at NDIS firm
Troubled NDIS firm Cocoon SDA Care’s co-founder has received plaudits on social media for donation to a blind sports team, as a leaked email alleges shocking conduct in the firm’s Indian call centre.
Troubled NDIS firm Cocoon SDA Care’s co-founder has received plaudits on social media for a donation to a blind sports team, as unpaid staff grow desperate and a leaked internal email alleges disturbing conduct in the company’s Indian call centre.
Former bankrupt businessman Zaffar Khan and his firm have refused to answer questions since The Australian revealed on Thursday that federal authorities were investigating the company and that it was in turmoil after failing to pay staff.
With frontline workers still unpaid on Monday and becoming increasingly distressed, Mr Khan appeared on social media in a photograph with Pakistan’s visiting women’s blind cricket team.
“Thankful to Mr. Zafar khan (sic) Director Cocoon SDA Care to award five thousand dollars to Mehreen Ali best player of the series in Pak/Aus Women Blind Cricket Series,” the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council posted on Sunday.
The company was also credited on Facebook with sponsoring an event held at a Queensland theme park on Saturday, “Flavour of Ramadan: Eid at Dreamworld”.
An ex-staff member said former colleagues would be “infuriated” by Mr Khan being praised on social media and by the company’s event sponsorship while they were suffering and in the dark about their future.
Speaking before the social media posts emerged, several of Cocoon’s frontline workers said they felt they had been repeatedly misled by the company about when their wages would be paid, before communications were cut.
“We’ve got carers here who haven’t been able to send kids to school, who can’t pay rent,” one said.
Another said: “They have been misleading us into believing the money will be in our bank accounts day after day just to keep us coming in.”
A third was aware of houses being abandoned by clients who had moved to other providers.
Parent company Horizon Solsolutions Australia Pty Ltd is scheduled to appear in the Federal Court on Tuesday to force the National Disability Insurance Agency to hand over funding.
The company has blamed an NDIA audit for holding up payments and causing cash flow problems.
But an open investigation is under way involving watchdog the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and other agencies from a national fraud taskforce.
It is understood the NDIS funding was cut in early March. The firm says it would be inappropriate to comment while it has a case before the courts.
The case has refocused attention on the standards of companies who have flocked to the public funding on offer through the NDIS, forecast to cost $48.5bn this financial year.
It can be revealed senior managers at the firm were last month warned in an email of conduct and practices in the company’s Indian call centre including the “inappropriate” treatment of women.
The leaked email from a Cocoon SDA Care former team member states cost-cutting, negligence and misconduct were putting at risk the reputation of the company, which promotes itself as one of the nation’s best and fastest-growing places to work.
An “urgent investigation” was needed into the call centre being understaffed, its workers underqualified, data privacy violations, harassment, misconduct, delayed salary payments and unethical hiring practices, the email states.
The email about the Indian call centre was sent on April 22 from a worker with an internal email account, Jinesh Purohit, to Mr Khan and his fellow co-founder, Muhammad Latif, along with senior managers including executive director Pranay Kumar.
“I am writing this email to bring your immediate attention (to) a series of deeply concerning practices occurring within the after-hours team at the (India based) call centre supporting Australian operations,” states the email. “As a former team member, I feel a responsibility to speak up, not only for the integrity of the organisation but also for the safety and wellbeing of the employees and clients involved.”
Former staff have told The Australian that the call centre fields phone calls from Australian NDIS clients, workers and investors alike after business hours.
“Non-graduated and underqualified individuals with limited English proficiency are being hired, purely to reduce operational costs. This severely compromises service quality, especially for Australian clients who struggle to understand them during critical support calls,” the email adds.
“Sensitive personal information, especially concerning female support workers, is being mishandled. There appears to be no proper governance or privacy protocol in place to protect client and staff data.”
One of the most concerning aspects of the call centre’s operations was the treatment of women, according to the email.
Managers were urged to review surveillance footage and internal monitoring tools if available.
“It is with great discomfort that I report inappropriate behaviour by individuals in leadership roles. Multiple female employees have expressed unease due to repeated inappropriate comments and unprofessional behaviour. This type of misconduct must not be tolerated under any circumstances.
“This message is not driven by anger but by the hope that someone will take a stand for what is right. The reputation of your organisation – and the trust of those you serve – is too valuable to be compromised by negligence or misconduct.”
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