Work and Income’s ‘punch in the guts’
Work and Income has apologised after sending out 60,000 letters to people using out-of-date names. The letters, about the new Winter Energy Payment, were sent to people using the individuals’ birth names rather than by their new names. Some changed their names when they married, changed gender, or for other reasons. Work and Income is part of the Ministry of Social Development. Palmerston North transgender man Skye Shaddix said he legally changed his name in August 2013, and Work and Income had used it correctly since. ‘‘I got a letter on the 30th with the right name. And then the letter today with my dead name. So it literally happened over night,’’ he said. ‘‘I opened it up and instantly saw my old name, my heart sunk. There it was at the top of the page all in capitals, the dreaded name I fought so hard to change and leave behind.’’ Rebecca Brockwellauckland, an advocate for the transgender community, received a letter with a name she hadn’t legally used in 13 years. She has had two name-changes since. ‘‘For me I am not finding it particularly stressful, but for transgender people being dead-named in their letters it is not very nice at all . . . . It’s a big failure on their system. ‘‘It also means the letters being delivered to them in shared accommodation is outing them to people who didn’t otherwise know they were transgender.’’ Ezekiel Faigan, of Alexandra, said he got the letter in his former name. ‘‘My stomach churned and it was as good as a punch in the guts and being slapped in the face,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m pretty disgusted with [Work and Income] to be quite frank, and that’s putting it politely,’’ he said. Rainbow Wellington board member Jem Traylen said the mistake was a serious issue for the transgender community. She said transgender people regularly encountered problems when applying for police clearance, new tenancies and jobs. They were often forced to reveal their previous names, which was upsetting for some. She believed it was also a breach of the Privacy Act, which requires agencies to check personal information is correct before use. Ministry of Social Development’s client service support group general manager Dwina Dickinson said 780,000 letters were sent out to people. ‘‘We found out today for about 60,000 people these one-off letters had an old name, rather than their current name.’’