A social worker has been suspended for convincing a vulnerable woman to lend him money - and failing to pay it all back.
Leo Kirk, an agency worker contracted to Warrington Borough Council (WBC) at the time, had taken on the case of the woman who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression after a "severe bereavement."
Kirk, who worked for Wisemove Consulting, helped her win a tribunal decision against a benefits decision, which resulted in a £4,800 payout, but began mentioning that he was struggling with his mortgage payments.
Kirk was suspended from social work for 18 months after a hearing of the Health & Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS), which regulates the register of health and care workers.
A report from the hearing stated: "[Kirk] stated to Service User A that he had been a victim of fraud and about £3,000 had been taken from his bank account; as a result he was unsure whether he could make his next mortgage payment of £450 and Service User A then gave him a loan of £450, on about 4 November 2016.
"The Registrant left his post at WBC on 8 November 2016."
The tribunal heard the woman was allocated a new social worker on December 1, 2016, and revealed that she had given money to Kirk and had only received £100 back.
She showed her new social worker a text from Kirk stating: "I won’t forget and here is my personal number."
The matter was treated as a safeguarding concern by the council, who reported it to Wisemove.
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The agency conducted an investigation and on December 12 Kirk, now contracted to Salford Council, was called and challenged about the incident.
After initially denying he had borrowed the money he admitted the incident had taken place and "expressed regret he had let down Service User A and WBC."
Warrington council paid the woman back and were in turn re-imbursed by Wisemove.
Kirk was suspended and the matter was referred to HCPTS for investigation.
In a letter to the HCPTS panel, Kirk stated: "From the outset I have acknowledged and accepted that my behaviour was unprofessional and out of character. I also accept that I had caused one of my clients to be upset and distressed which I apologised unreservedly."
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He said he had used the time of his suspension "has been used constructively for self-reflection and help me look at the unfortunate incident in terms of my practice and how I allowed the professional boundaries to became blurred and subsequently crossed."
In a final hearing last year, the HCPTS panel stated: "The Panel finds that the Registrant has demonstrated a lack of integrity and abused his position of power in respect of a vulnerable Service User by reason of the misconduct arising from[the allegations]."
He was initially suspended for 12 months but this was extended for another six on April 4 this year, after the panel concluded Kirk had displayed remorse but had offered "limited insight" into his behaviour, suggesting he did not feel he needed retraining.
The panel stated: "In all the circumstances, the Panel concluded that [Kirk] had not discharged the persuasive burden upon him to demonstrate that he had acknowledged why his past professional performance was deficient and there remained a risk that he could repeat the behaviour.
"The Panel concluded, therefore, that his fitness to practise remained impaired on public protection grounds."
