A former manager at an emergency housing facility claims he is owed almost a year of wages by the Bermuda Housing Corporation.Laurelie (Larry) Thomas said he didn't have a contract for the ten months he worked for the corporation in 2006, but always believed he'd get what he was owed.“I thought it was OK because eventually I would be paid,” he said. “Then they started saying there was no proof I was working there at the time.”Mr Thomas said he started working for the BHC in 2006 following the closure of the Canadian Hotel, a facility on Reid Street that offered low rent accommodations to men who were struggling financially.He had worked as a manager at the facility since 2002, but it closed in 2006 because owner Thomas Powell was unable to insure the deteriorating building.Mr Thomas said he immediately contacted then Premier Alex Scott, concerned that the facility's residents would be left homeless.“He called me back and arranged to meet with me the next day,” he said. “He said he had found a place for everyone and he would like me to come along with them to work in the same capacity that I had at the Canadian Hotel.”In March of 2006 Government founded Langley House, an emergency housing facility in St David's, and moved the former residents of the Canadian Hotel to the new site.“St David's didn't want them,” Mr Thomas said. “[Government] had to put me there because I was the guy who helped keep them under control. They knew me.“I treated them like my children. Some of them were just not very responsible, so they needed that. I did my job and I did it well.”Mr Thomas said that he was repeatedly promised a contract for his work but didn't receive one or any pay until 2007. During that time, he said he was told by then BHC general manager Maj Glenn Brangman to use change collected in the building's laundry to purchase any necessary supplies.When the change was insufficient, he said he used his own credit cards, for which he was never reimbursed. He began to ask for just over $58,000 he claims he was owed in back pay after he was made redundant last year in BHC cutbacks.As proof he showed a certificate of appreciation, signed by Maj Brangman on October 11, 2008 thanking him for two years of service.Despite that he said the corporation still refused to pay.Since then, he said he has reached out to multiple MPs without success.“[Premier] Paula Cox decided not to do anything,” he claimed. “She passed it on to people who were incompetent. They basically said if we can get out of paying him, let's get out of paying him.“Minister Michael Weeks spoke to me twice, but the Permanent Secretary said they weren't going to be able help.“There were people who did support me, it was just the people who were directly involved in paying me. They just didn't want to pay.”He said he was particularly hurt as he'd supported the Progressive Labour Party. In a letter dated July 19 this year, Mr Thomas formally resigned from the party.“They think that because they are in power, and if you are a member, they can push you around and they figure they won't have to do their job. That's the attitude I think they have,” he said. “This whole thing is very distasteful for me.”The BHC said that Mr Thomas' contract clearly states he was contracted in 2007, not 2006.“There was no agreement for services in 2006 and no agreement to provide compensation for any services until 2007,” a spokesman said.“It should be important to note that this agreement was signed by Mr Thomas and the former BHC general manager Maj Brangman on February 13, 2007, and backdated for a start date on January 1, 2007, which confirms both parties agreed that there were no services provided that required compensation and no agreement for any services performed until January 1, 2007.”The spokesman also said there was no record, request or mention of compensation for any work until March 6, 2011 — four years after the work was allegedly performed.“The BHC management has made every attempt to assist Mr Thomas with his claims and on many occasions advised him that should he produce some documentation confirming he was an employee as he believed, then they would ensure he is compensated for the same,” the spokesman said.“However, to remunerate someone without supporting documentation goes against the BHC's financial policies.”