Heem.lu, a relatively new home assistance and care network, was founded in 2019 and based in Esch-Belval, but is now facing serious allegations.
Its 150 patients and most of its staff have all been transferred to different providers, lawyer Benoît Entringer explained. He added that heem.lu is preparing to file for bankruptcy, as this is “the best solution for the staff, who have not been paid in February.” The home care provider was unable to pay its employees due to the seizure of company assets and an ongoing investigation.
The Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) claims that some of the staff are still struggling to pay their bills after not being paid in February. Some of the 50 employees have already found a new job.
The union also discovered that some people were not properly employed at the company. Some had freelance contracts that would not have allowed them to receive the salary provided for in the collective agreement. According to Pitt Bach of the OGBL, this looks like an attempt to circumvent the collective agreement.
The public prosecutor’s office announced last Friday that a person working in the home care sector had been remanded in custody on 22 February 2023 and that a “major investigation” was still underway.
The investigation was launched following several reports by the anti-fraud service of the National Health Fund (CNS). As a result, the manager is now under investigation for forgery, fraud, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, misuse of corporate assets, and money laundering, among other things. He is accused of billing for more than what his staff actually did in the homes of clients.
Nobody denies that there is a discrepancy between what was done and what was invoiced to the CNS, Benoît Entringer, the lawyer of the manager of Heem.lu, told RTL: “The CNS is correct in saying that certain things were invoiced that were not provided,” he admits.
