The Scottish Social Service Council panel banned the man from the sector after several incidents.
A senior worker at a Paisley care facility has been struck off after he “dishonestly” took sums of cash from both a service user’s bank account and a petty cash tin.
Richard McCaig was employed as a senior support worker by The Richmond Fellowship Scotland Limited when the incidents happened last year.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) decision stated that, “based on the facts, found your fitness to practise is impaired”. It imposed a removal order on his registration from the SSSC register for social care workers.
McCaig was found to have withdrawn £300 from a service user’s bank account – with their authorisation – but then “failed to deliver” the money to the user.
The incident happened in February 2024. The SSSC added that, in the same month, McCaig used the money for his “own personal use”.
The same month, McCaig accessed the service’s money tin, which “holds funds for the express purpose of paying for service users’ activities” and “without authorisation, removed a sum of £200”.
He was found by the SSSC to have acted “dishonestly” as a result of his activities.
McCaig also cashed a cheque for £150 on February 21 last year from an account belonging to his employer and failed to put the money into a petty cash tin as he had been supposed to do. He also failed to log this sum in the service’s petty cash expenditure book.
As a result of the charges, the SSSC ruled his fitness to practise was “impaired” as social service workers must be “trustworthy, honest and dependable, and must safeguard the wellbeing of the people who use the service”.
The industry body added that service workers “must not abuse their position of trust and take advantage of the people who use the services”.
The SSSC said: “You were entrusted with managing the money of vulnerable service users. You failed to uphold the trust placed into you and did not follow your employer’s procedure for managing the money of service user AA. You abused your position of trust.”
In relation to the petty cash sum, it added: “There is no evidence you took that money for your own purposes. However, this was a failing in your practise to record and account properly for service user funds.”
It said they “decided to impose a removal order, removing your registration from the SSSC register” after “referring to our decisions guidance”. It added McCaig also “failed to engage with the SSSC investigation”.
The SSSC did add it was “an isolated incident during his employment” and that he “expressed regret and remorse for your actions during your employer’s investigation”.
The SSSC said a removal order was “the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest.” It came into effect on April 19.
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