A helper employed by the Active Ageing and Community Care Directorate has filed a judicial protest claiming she was the victim of abusive disciplinary action.

Tenerly Demanuele, 27, claimed that she was served with a written warning after her superior claimed that she had been missing out on visits to her elderly wards whose signatures she was allegedly forging so as to cover her tracks.

Not only did Ms Demanuele deny this allegation, she pointed out that one of her supervisors was willing to testify that none of the elderly patients had ever complained about their helper's shortcomings.

In the judicial protest, filed against the Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity, the director for Active Ageing and Community Care and Patrick Vella, the allegedly aggrieved helper stated that her reply to the warning had been completely ignored.

No handwriting expert was called in to examine the allegedly forged signatures and the warning had been issued on the basis of mere suppositions.

For this reason, Ms Demanuele requested the First Hall, Civil Court to declare that her fundamental rights had been violated since she was not given the opportunity to present evidence to contradict the defamatory allegations. She also reserved the right to take further legal action to safeguard her rights.

The judicial protest was signed by lawyer Luciano Busuttil.