Dementia charity probed by watchdog

The Alzheimer’s Society is under investigation by a watchdog over claims it paid out tens of thousands of pounds to staff who signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAS).

A complaint to the Charities Commission claims as much as £750,000 has been paid out in recent years, though the charity has refuted the figure.

The complaint made by a former employee says the use of the NDAS could be seen as an attempt to silence staff.

The Alzheimer’s Society faced claims of “bullying” from employees who used an anonymous Twitter account to make allegations about senior managers.

The charity contacted the Twitter account – which has since been closed – to invite complainants to come forward.

The complaint to the Charity Commission about NDAS was made in February, 2018, but the commission failed to investigate the complaint or contact the whistleblower.

The commission’s director of operations, Helen Earner, is now investigating the complaint. She said: “We should have followed up on the complaint, and that did not happen.”

The complainant said the total cost of settlements in the last few years is over £750,000 for staff leaving the society with NDAS.

Corinne Mills, the Alzheimer’s Society’s director of people and organisational development, said: “We strongly refute the figure of £750k quoted for settlements. We have only used settlement agreements for legitimate reasons and only where other options for resolution have been explored.”