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Contractor at RBH presented ‘ritual bathing’ as cause of condensation six months after Awaab Ishak inquest
An interim employee at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) presented “ritual bathing” as the cause of condensation in a workshop on damp and mould organised by the housing association six months after the inquest into Awaab Ishak’s death, Inside Housing can reveal.
The workshop in May, planned and hosted by an interim staff member at RBH, was attended by around 100 employees.
It is understood that staff challenged the term.
During the inquest into Awaab’s death, it emerged that Awaab’s father, Faisal Abdullah, had repeatedly complained about the condition of their home.
Instead of helping, RBH staff blamed the family’s lifestyle for the state of the property. This included an assumption about “ritual bathing” based on a bucket being present in the home, and a “style of cooking by boiling food”, which appears to have been based on their race.
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The poor condition of the flat was down to an inadequate ventilation system.
Even during the inquest, when RBH’s barrister showed Nadhia Khan, director of customer and community, an image of an item placed in a bathroom sink during the inquest, she described it as “a tool used for ritual bathing”, despite the court confirming it had not formed part of the evidence in Awaab’s inquest.
After the inquest, RBH admitted it “did make assumptions about [the family’s] lifestyle” and said “we accept that we got that wrong”.
On the anniversary of the inquest last week (16 November), Awaab’s father told the BBC that he believes RBH was “racist” towards him and “did not consider him to be a human being”.
After the workshop in May, the former interim chief executive of RBH, Yvonne Arrowsmith, wrote to staff about what happened and said ritual bathing and lifestyle “are not, have not, and never will be” a reason or concern for damp and mould in the housing association’s properties.
She apologised to staff who were offended and upset by the incident and said it was “not acceptable” and she does “not condone it”.
Ms Arrowsmith said it was “so encouraging” to see how staff responded.
Amanda Newton, chief executive at RBH, told Inside Housing: “In May, we held an employee workshop on damp and mould, which was led by someone working as a contractor to RBH.
“Unfortunately, during the session, the contractor made a comment that we profoundly disagree with around ritual bathing.”
She said the phrase was “robustly challenged” by RBH colleagues who were present “and the session was halted”.
“This comment directly contradicted our policy relating to this issue, and as a result, we chose to stop working with the contractor in question with immediate effect.
“All employees and contractors working with RBH are given guidance around how to discuss issues relating to damp and mould, as well as a range of other issues.
“While this incident was disappointing, we take comfort from the fact that employees present were prepared to challenge the inappropriate comments that were made,” she said.
When asked how the person was hired, RBH said he was brought in through a “reputable recruitment company working” within the housing sector.
“We are constantly reviewing our processes around recruitment to ensure that they are as robust as possible,” an RBH spokesperson said.
Ms Newton told Inside Housing that when she was hired, she was questioned extensively on her views about equality and diversity.
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