Summary: The job my wife and I left this past Friday (after about 21 years combined) had turned sour years ago; hoping that this serves as a cautionary tale to others, we’ve decided to show pension lapses, lack of payslips, and excuses that accompanied that for years

LAST night we wrote about Sirius ‘Open Source’ being in violation of payslips-related regulations — a subject that I kept warning about from inside the company. This post presents some supportive evidence, citing in particular one of countless times I raised this subject, sometimes repeatedly just in order to receive any reply at all. I even escalated several levels before receiving a very belated reply. Does that mean Sirius has negligent and lazy management? Does it mean it is hiding something big? Or many things combined?

Are funds being misused (like pre-allocation of separation fees)?

The issue with payslips is related to the pension issues, so presented below are those two inter-connected issues. It started with 2019 letters regarding problems that had started in 2018.

My wife Rianne received the following in 2019.

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Sirius Corporation Ltd
Date: 12 Mar 2019 18:39:02 +0000
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Mrs Schestowitz

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Sirius Corporation Ltd. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 11th February 2019 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
September 2018 September 2018

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our member support line on ???????????????.

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????
???????????????

???????????????
???????????????

In 2019 physical copies started coming as well. As we shall see (or show herein) later on, two years later it happened again, so this wasn’t just some one-off incident.

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Sirius Corporation Ltd
Date: 10 Apr 2019 11:10:28 +0100
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Mrs Schestowitz

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Sirius Corporation Ltd. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 11th March 2019 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
September 2018 October 2018

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our member support line on ???????????????.

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????
???????????????

???????????????
???????????????

And again a month later:

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Sirius Corporation Ltd
Date: 13 May 2019 10:39:24 +0100
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Mrs Schestowitz

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Sirius Corporation Ltd. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 8th April 2019 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
September 2018 November 2018

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our member support line on ???????????????.

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

In 2021 both of us started receiving the same again, e.g.:

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Schestowitz
Date: 11 Mar 2021 11:52:42 +0000
From: ???????????????
To: roy.schestowitz@siriusopensource.com

Dear Dr R

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions
Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension
contribution records and payments as provided to us by Schestowitz.
According to our records you were in their employment during the period
in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making
pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions;
to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and
to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension
contributions can be found here

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 10 February 2021 our records suggest that we have not collected
all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
Sirius Corporation Ltd May 2020

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline
for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial
fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or
may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first
instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other
aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our
member support line on ???????????????

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial
information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such
requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

??????????????? is a leading UK workplace pension provider. We look after
the pension savings of tens of thousands of employers and millions of
members from a wide range of industry sectors.

We have a clear mission – to fight for a fair pension system that
benefits everyone. Not only does this mean achieving the best financial
outcomes for our own members, but also playing our part in ensuring that
all pension savers get the retirement they deserve. We do this by
highlighting pension inequalities and campaigning for change.

We are the UK’s third largest auto enrolment pension provider by number
of members.

???????????????

???????????????

And hers (we assume other colleagues received the same):

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Sirius Corporation Ltd
Date: 12 Jan 2021 11:49:13 +0000
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Mrs Schestowitz

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Sirius Corporation Ltd. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 11 December 2020 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
May 2020 May 2020

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

???????????????
Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????
???????????????
We are the UK’s third largest auto enrolment pension provider by number of members.

???????????????
???????????????

And again:

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Sirius Corporation Ltd
Date: 10 Feb 2021 10:47:09 +0000
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Mrs Schestowitz

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Sirius Corporation Ltd. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 13 January 2021 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
May 2020 June 2020

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our member support line on ?????????????.

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

??????????????? is a leading UK workplace pension provider. We look after the pension savings of tens of thousands of employers and millions of members from a wide range of industry sectors.

We have a clear mission – to fight for a fair pension system that benefits everyone. Not only does this mean achieving the best financial outcomes for our own members, but also playing our part in ensuring that all pension savers get the retirement they deserve. We do this by highlighting pension inequalities and campaigning for change.

We are the UK’s third largest auto enrolment pension provider by number of members.

???????????????

???????????????

And one day later:

Subject: IMPORTANT – Missing Contributions reported to The Pension Regulator for Schestowitz
Date: 11 Mar 2021 11:52:42 +0000
From: ???????????????
To: ???????????????

Dear Ms R

??????????????? Trust (“the Plan”)

We are writing to you because we have recently advised The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that we believe there are gaps in the pension contribution records and payments as provided to us by Schestowitz. According to our records you were in their employment during the period in question. However it is of course possible that you were not making pension contributions at that time.

We are required by law to monitor the accurate payment of contributions; to report missing amounts to TPR after a prescribed period of time and to then notify members.

Further information about employers’ responsibilities around pension contributions can be found here http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/contributions-funding.aspx#s9380

Where are the gaps?

As of 10 February 2021 our records suggest that we have not collected all contributions in relation to the following months:

Earliest Month Latest Month
Sirius Corporation Ltd May 2020

What happens next?

TPR may now be in contact with your employer and may provide a deadline for them to rectify the situation. If they fail to do so then an initial fine and escalating penalties for your employer are likely.

If you wish to understand more about this situation and how it may or may not affect you directly we would ask that you refer in the first instance to your employer. If you wish to talk to us about any other aspects of your participation in the ??????????????? Trust please call our member support line on ????????????.

Important Note

We will never contact you by email to request or provide financial information or make any contribution payments. If you receive any such requests, please do not take any action.

Yours sincerely

???????????????

???????????????

???????????????

??????????????? is a leading UK workplace pension provider. We look after the pension savings of tens of thousands of employers and millions of members from a wide range of industry sectors.

We have a clear mission – to fight for a fair pension system that benefits everyone. Not only does this mean achieving the best financial outcomes for our own members, but also playing our part in ensuring that all pension savers get the retirement they deserve. We do this by highlighting pension inequalities and campaigning for change.

We are the UK’s third largest auto enrolment pension provider by number of members.

???????????????

???????????????

By that point, many payslips (which can verify if pension contributions were paid) were not being sent, neither physically nor electronically.

My wife and I were both impacted, so I asked:

Subject: July’s payslip?
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2021 17:41:58 +0100
From: ???????????????
Organization: Sirius IT
To: ???????????????

Hi ???????????????, can you please send July’s payslip? Thanks. Preferably every
month rather than in bulk once a year. As a matter of employment law,
too.

Regards,

Here’s more from myself:

??????????????? wrote on 09/04/2021 17:07:
>
> Please find attached payslips from April 20 – March 21. These will now
> be sent around the first week of each month going forward.

Hi,

We’re about 2 or 3 months behind now.

Regards,

It kept happening for years. Payslips had to be repeatedly requested again and again. Promises to send them were not being fulfilled. No properly-functioning company should be like this:

Subject: Re: Payslips April 20 – Mar 21
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2021 23:45:34 +0100
From: ???????????????
Organization: Sirius IT
To: ???????????????

??????????????? wrote on 09/04/2021 17:07:
> Hi Roy,
>
> Please find attached payslips from April 20 – March 21. These will now
> be sent around the first week of each month going forward.
>
> You will see they show bank holidays even though you didn’t take them,
> there was a default setting which we were unaware of however this should
> now only show on payslips if they are taken.
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> ???????????????

Thanks ???????????????!

The letters sent in the post are shown at the top. There were probably more, but we don’t need to show all of them, merely a sub-sample.

Looking back at the whole thing, the company turned into a total disaster, a train wreck. When I joined in 2011 there was devoted and properly-trained in-house accounting staff, not some ad hoc personal assistant, an imposter who pretends to be “manager”.

All the accounting people left later on (maybe around 2012), leaving a gap in checks and balances. Transparency was eroding and colleagues were leaving every year, many of whom never to be replaced (not with suitably qualified people anyway). Hiring of relatives who lack any suitable degree or work experience became far too common. Some people joined and left months later.

Meanwhile Sirius also changed pension providers (fragmentation), which meant staff had to keep track of several providers. A lot of the accounting was being outsourced.

In 2011 I was greeted by the in-house accountant, who wrote:

> Hi All
>
> ??????????????? would like to come and meet you all to run through some
> things with you, could you please suggest some dates that you would all
> be available to come into the office to talk with him about your
> individual pensions, I really need you all on the same day. I will
> confirm a day when I get your response.
>
> Many thanks
>
> ???????????????

Hi ???????????????,

I have just come back. I am catching up with mail. Is there a date specified yet?

A lot of these meetings never even happened as the person above left a short while afterwards. The company did not bother announcing this.

Fast-forward a decade and staff was running out of patience, especially in light of a pension lapse (again and again and again), not to mention a lack of payslips.

I wrote to the founder of the company on 12/03/2021:

Hi ???????????????,

I’ve just received a formal letter from ???????????????, not for the first time. It suggests that there’s some anomaly in the way the employer handles the pension. Rianne has been getting several of the same letters too. Does that mean someone isn’t correctly handling the accounting with them?

Regards,

Roy

5 days later still no reply. Nothing.

On 17/03/2021 I followed up:

Hi,

Any followup on this? I also think it’s important to still receive a payslip each month, whether as PDF of by post.

Regards,

And the following day again (already with more recipients (18/03/2021):

> Hi,
>
> Any followup on this? I also think it’s important to still receive a
> payslip each month, whether as PDF of by post.
>
> Regards,

Any update?

Later on the same day (18/03/2021) I was told that a week after the original inquiry there might finally be a response (or cover-up/excuses):

> Hi Roy,
>
> Yes there will be an update sent from ???????????????.
>
> As for the payslips, I will send a batch to you (this is taking longer
> than expected as I am also doing it for everyone) and then will send
> them monthly again.
>
> Kind Regards,

Thanks, ???????????????.

Of course payslips would not resume after that. I kept chasing them and early this year it was becoming pointless to even ask. On 01/04/2021 I wrote:

> As for the payslips, I will send a batch to you (this is taking longer
> than expected as I am also doing it for everyone) and then will send
> them monthly again.

Which day of the month will they be sent?

Thanks,

Over time the tone escalated somewhat. I wrote about half a dozen messages bemoaning that payslips stopped being sent. I also reminded the founder that it was a legal obligation to send these, as per the actual law. Their side of the contract wasn’t honoured and I barely even received a reply when raising these perfectly legitimate points.

What sane person would stay in such a company for another year?

Video download link | md5sum 69c685809248895ed0059c14b5229a4f
No Pension, No Payslips
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0

Summary: The company we left behind last week was a repeat violator of employment laws; to make matters worse, it led to its long-term or long(time)-serving staff becoming very baffled, having to contact the pension provider for clarifications

THE latest part in the Sirius ‘Open Source’ series (expected to last this whole month based on a tentative estimate) deals with several pension blunders, further exacerbated by a lack of payslips and a lack of response from management (enquiries originally ignored).

Should it take more than a week with repeated nags/reminders to simply receive an explanation for gaps in pension contributions? What if this happens for several consecutive months and repeats itself several years apart? Is this an accident or a company falling apart, or at best failing to juggle basic responsibilities?

The company I left last Friday probably won’t last much longer so it is important to talk about some of the warning signs. Running afoul of employment regulations, repeatedly even, is a wake-up call; it’s time to move on.

Sirius repeatedly broke these rules and was casually confronted about it. For the last 6 months or so that I was at the company it was a perpetual breach.

Summary: Today we turn our attention to pension blunders at Sirius ‘Open Source’; in recent years even something basic like pension contributions wasn’t smooth sailing

WE’VE just posted a meme that demonstrates the immunity (de facto impunity) for bosses who make serious mistakes that upset not only staff but also clients. There are many examples of this, but today we share one. We’ll also show some evidence tomorrow as it serves to show the depth of these scandals.

This text, which can be found below, is part of a report left when we resigned; we may come back to that later as it shows a pattern of cover-up and lame excuses after utter failure to do the job properly at the very top of the company.

Regarding greenwashing the cessation of physical payslips, and not to forget repeated failure to send electronic payslips, this subject may also be revisited later. We’ve been noticing similar experiences in other companies, not just banks and utility billing; the bogus excuse that sending E-mail (or using a Web site, “apps” etc.) is “green” overlooks the massive carbon footprint associated with manufacturing (power and waste) and operating (electricity) computers, even some of the more modern “phones” that need to be charged every day.

Here is the relevant part of the report:

Pension Not Now!

There’s no more in-house accounting, the person who set up the pension scheme also left, and all workers’ pensions got outsourced to some other company (so the pension scheme is now fragmented for long-serving staff).

Years ago several colleagues, including Roy and Rianne, were cautioned by the pension provider that the pension was not being paid; it wasn’t an isolated incident as this happened for several consecutive months and on numerous occasions over the years. The simplest and plausible explanation is that the company (Sirius) had financial difficulties, but the “official” explanation was that the portal had technical issues in it. There are several inconsistencies in the latter explanation, for reasons beyond the scope of this document. Later difficulties cemented the belief that under the surface there was a crisis of another nature. It may be possible that there were technical issues coming back every now and then (for almost a year). If so, staff should have been notified and fully informed, sparing the need to go through the hassle communicating with barely-accessible pension companies, sometimes behind the managers’ backs (this is bashful both for workers and for the pension providers). This seems like a managerial failure. Speaking of failure to pay, it’s crystal clear that the company (Sirius) failed to pay providers of services or clients’ providers of services. It’s like not paying the webhost for a very long time. These chronic issues of either neglect or miscommunication should be brought up; but in Sirius it’s seriously unwelcomed.

It may seem appropriate to note that one administrator has been on maternity leave and as a result staff has received no payslips for months already (it’s a strict legal requirement by the way). As a matter of fact, prior to that everyone received physical copies by post. Then members of staff were assured electronic versions would replace them. Then… they stopped coming. And then, only upon polite prodding they started coming again, sometimes in bursts several months apart (not every month). Nowadays staff may receive nothing at all as evidence of pay. There are many gaps in the sending of such payslips, even electronically. Who has been given the responsibility and where is the accountability? Staff should not have to repeatedly ask for payslips; it ought to happen automatically without the feeling that it requires perceived ‘nagging’. Roy and Rianne were chasing this many times as payslips had stopped coming. This even needed to be escalated upwards (to the CEO) before things got belatedly done, at least temporarily.

Inconsistent operations or ‘compliance in intervals’ had already become routine. Communication had been diluted into subtle hints and sporadic innuendo. Engagement with clients had descended to storytelling, with very rare admissions of guilt or apologies. Some clients demanded a refund (all their money back) for Sirius failing to fulfil its side (contractual obligations) of the deliverables or service levels.

Last week: In Week 46 (ONS Released the Full Provisional Figures Yesterday), Adults Aged 15-44 Saw 35.5% Rise in Deaths (2022 Compared to 2019)

Latest numbers here.

In week 47 of 2019, 283 adults aged 15-44 died in England and Wales.

In week 47 of 2022, 359 adults aged 15-44 died in England and Wales.

359 – 283 = 76 or 27% higher in 2022 than in 2019.

What’s the cause if it’s not COVID-19 and not “Long COVID”? One can guess and Germany studies the matter.

The following figures came out this morning (England and Wales total deaths per week):

England and Wales deaths per week, now with week 47 (it’s higher this year than it was last year)

Source: ONS

Here is how that compared to pre-COVID-19 years:

Deaths above normal in 2022, based on complete statistics, not a random sample. Values above 0 mean deaths higher than pre-COVID-19 for a given week. Counting the deaths since week 22, we have 37,000 more deaths in England and Wales this year than average prior to the pandemic. That’s a LOT of people.

Data: As ODF

Video download link | md5sum 4e251da456416f8e8155bd4f356340d3
Cover-up Culture at Sirius Open Source
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0

Summary: Cover-up and lies became a corporate pattern at the company where I had worked since 2011; it was time to go in order to avoid cooperation in unethical activities

IT has now been 4 days since I officially left Sirius ‘Open Source’ after disputes with the management. As the above video notes (near the start), we’re dealing with thin-skinned people who lie to staff and then get all “victim-like” because someone used the word “liar”. We’ll come back to this much later in this series.

The video mostly deal with the latest part of the report, which examines awful events nearly a decade old. There was an actual lawsuit, but it was hidden away from staff. The lawsuit had been filed after suspension/dismissal of someone alleged to have engaged in wrongdoing, along with his partner, who was of course innocent regardless of the merits of these allegations.

The use of the word “allegations” is key here because what management is alleging has historically not been trustworthy (and usually those allegations aren’t shared with staff or constitute mere smears). There’s a culture of dishonesty or a chronic culture of lying at the management. It’s something I was first made aware of about 4 years before joining the company. Someone credible (whom I first knew online, later met in person) told me that the Sirius founder had lied about his credentials (for media attention) and that litigation was considered over those lies; it was not worth pursuing for financial reasons, but the founder of Sirius was taking credit for things not actually one’s own achievement (misrepresentation or lying about one’s role in a British institution).

The saddest thing is that real people are hurt and even disabled people are harmed. They don’t do anything wrong, but for pseudo-political reasons they get punished regardless.

I never forgot what I learned down at a local pub before I joined the company; but I only saw it firsthand in more recent years. I was conveniently ignoring the lies for years, as they didn’t impact me personally and I didn’t participate in the lying.

Sirius shown to the public as women-friendly a decade ago

Summary: Sirius ‘Open Source’ was taken to court after it had wrongly fired a couple of employees, one of whom was blind; this was accompanied by lies about why the staff’s communication server was shut down

THE year was 2011 or thereabouts. Sirius hired a kind German lady, was also completely blind. Colleagues were happy to help, but clients were not being informed that she was blind and management feared that clients might find out that she was blind. A year or two later she was fired and simply ‘vanished’; nobody was allowed to talk about that.

This, among other incidents, is an example of a ruthless company that does not tolerate staff dialogue and relies on secrecy (or clients being blind to what really goes on). The relevant part of the report is below.

Blindness to Criticism

The foundations of the company need to be protected, not the personal agenda of pertinent, individual workers and/or cliques/factions of workers. Lack of communication blinds us to our weaknesses. Over a decade ago when the company-wide Jabber server was disabled (probably to prevent unity and sympathy among staff) workers’ ability to interact with colleagues was curtailed, leaving everyone in a position where supporting clients was a lot harder. The widespread belief at the time was that the server was intentionally offline (nobody wanted to talk about it, let alone lie) because the company faced a lawsuit from a couple wrongly accused/dismissed (at least one of them). Roy and Rianne have supported blind people’s charities for nearly a decade already, so recalling how the company treated a blind colleague, likely an innocent colleague, is a bit of deja vu in light of later sections of this document. Roy and Rianne poured in a portion of their income (received monthly from Sirius) into blind people’s charities after the company, Sirius, had unfairly dismissed a legally blind — and much-liked among her colleagues — vulnerable lady.

Sirius was not always criticised or fearful of criticism, certainly not as a whole (criticising one particular aspect of Sirius is not the same as just rejecting Sirius as a whole). In fact the company used to boast true transparency (also full access to the wiki, which Roy helped manage/install), like telling workers not only which clients were paying but also how much they were paying (so it was possible to understand the commercial side of things). In some sense, workers felt connected to the company, not left out to hang. Internal presentations in the company, or even the habitual workshop, gave all workers a lot of information. The accountant and other people met staff in person, offering good advice on a number of things. Not much was outsourced or left behind walled gardens.

Things have changed a lot since then.