Bank of Singapore takes action against employees for misusing medical benefits

The Bank of Singapore (BOS) has uncovered cases of misuse of medical benefits by its staff, and up to 40 employees left the bank last week.

Hundreds were involved in the internal investigation by the bank, and some were believed to have been sacked.

The investigation was first reported by finance industry career portal efinancialcareers.com on April 24.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a BOS spokesperson declined to provide details, citing confidentiality.

But the spokesman added: “Where wrongdoing is alleged, the matter will be investigated and reviewed according to the bank’s investigative and disciplinary framework.”

CNA reported that BOS, the private banking arm of OCBC, launched an investigation in 2023 into employee medical claims involving one of its company panel clinics.

ST understands the clinic in question is Thompson & Thomson (RadLink Medicare), which is located in CIMB Plaza. It is one of the panel clinics under Fullerton Health.

BOS’ medical insurance scheme allows employees to claim up to $10,500 for medical and dental expenses.

The list of claimable items is believed to include outpatient consultation and medication issued by a general practitioner or specialist, non-aesthetic dental services, vaccinations, X-rays and blood tests.

Some of the items for which staff submitted claims reportedly included supplements, bird’s nest and skincare products, which were not permitted.

It is unclear what triggered the investigations, and BOS did not answer ST’s queries on how internal claims checks were made and why the misuse of benefits was not discovered until recently.

But ST understands that staff who were found to have misused their medical benefits were told to repay what they claimed.

Some also did not get any bonuses given by the bank.

The BOS spokesperson said the bank has a “fair and robust process” in place and staff involved will be “given the time and opportunity to be heard”.

“Should any wrongdoing be found after the conclusion of investigation and necessary disciplinary inquiry, the appropriate disciplinary actions will be undertaken,” the spokesperson added.

The clinic at the centre of a Bank of Singapore (BOS) investigation into the misuse of medical benefits by its staff has no contractual relationship with the bank, the clinic said.

Though the Drs Thompson and Thomson (DTT) is under Fullerton Health, the BOS is not a client of the healthcare group, a Fullerton Health spokesperson clarified with The Straits Times.

On April 24, finance industry career portal efinancialcareers.com reported that the BOS fired up to 40 of its staff over medical insurance claims that infringed the bank’s medical policy.

A CNA report on April 26 named the clinic as DTT, citing an internal e-mail dated Nov 10, 2023, that informed OCBC Bank and BOS staff that the banks’ human resources departments would no longer reimburse invoices from DTT from that same day.

The BOS is the private banking arm of OCBC.

However, a DTT spokesperson said on April 27 that it “has no contractual arrangements with BOS” and the clinic is not on the bank’s panel of general practitioners (GPs). ST understands that OCBC is not a client of DTT and Fullerton Health.

On the media reports, the DTT spokesperson added the clinic “is not able to comment on speculations”. 

The Fullerton Health spokesperson added that DTT has been part of the healthcare group for over 10 years and so far, regular audits and checks have not flagged anything amiss in medical claims. “There are many safeguards in place to make sure the clinic and doctors do not claim from their panel clients for things that are not supposed to be claimed,” the Fullerton Health spokesperson added.

ST understands that since DTT was not in the BOS’ panel of clinics, the measures DTT and Fullerton Health put in place do not apply as the claims were made by the bank’s employees directly with the bank based on receipts they received from DTT.

A BOS spokesman confirmed on April 28 that DTT is not on the bank’s approved panel of clinics.

“To offer flexibility and convenience to staff, medical expenses incurred at the bank’s approved panel of clinics are charged directly to the bank. Staff can still seek medical treatment at non-panel clinics. Expenses incurred at non-panel clinics will be paid by the staff first before claiming reimbursement from the bank,” the spokesperson said.

BOS’ reportedly allows employees to claim up to $10,500 for medical and dental expenses.

The list of claimable items is believed to include outpatient consultation and medication issued by a GP or specialist, non-aesthetic dental services, vaccinations, X-rays and blood tests.

An internal BOS probe uncovered that some of the items for which staff submitted claims reportedly included supplements, bird’s nest and skincare products, which were not permitted.

The staff who were found to have misused their medical benefits were told to repay what they claimed. Some also did not get any bonuses given by the bank.

It is unclear what triggered the bank’s internal investigations, but some 40 staff have left the bank last week. Some among them were believed to have been sacked. It is also unclear why the misuse of benefits was not discovered until recently.

In response to queries from ST, a BOS spokesperson on April 26 declined to provide details of the investigations, citing confidentiality.

A BOS spokesperson said the bank has a “fair and robust process” in place and staff involved will be “given the time and opportunity to be heard”.

“Should any wrongdoing be found after the conclusion of investigation and necessary disciplinary inquiry, the appropriate disciplinary actions will be undertaken,” the spokesperson had said.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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