LTB 194/23 – Royal Mail’s Customer Service Points (CSP) – Further Advice to Branches and Members

No. 194/23

20th July 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Royal Mail’s Customer Service Points (CSP) – Further Advice to Branches and Members

Further to LTBs (Letter To Branches) 166/23, issued on the 29th June updating Branches and Representatives of Royal Mail plans to further reduce Customer Service Points (CSPs) opening times. These plans have now been rolled out nationally on the 10th of July.

These changes to CSP arrangements are the worst possible outcome, short of Royal Mail’s previous and initial plans to close near on half of all current CSPs. Equally, Royal Mail has been clear that there will be no opportunity to review or revise these opening times to reflect any local circumstances or local customer demand.

Sadly, and due to this approach by Royal Mail, we needed to set out in LTB 166/23 some initial advice on how to deal with such planned business-driven change. Based on the feedback now received in terms of the ongoing local impact resulting from the changes in CSPs opening times, we need to offer the following further advice to Branches, Representatives, and members alike: –

  • Where as a result of the local changes in CSPs arrangements, this has resulted in a surplus staffing situation, this would need to be addressed fully in line with the MTSF Agreement, which includes the requirement for local management to fully engage with the CWU.

To confirm, this would cover the direct points of any possible redeployment of individuals to other duties, the offering of VR (Voluntary Redundancies) voluntary Buy-Down in hours, and where there are any unresolved local surplus staffing situations. This would also include any possible pay protection issues resulting from this business driven-change. Any failures on the part of local management to apply the direct terms of the MTSF Agreement should be raised directly at Divisional level and in line with the IR Framework.

  • In the case of individuals covered with protected characteristics, caring, family, medical or other personal consideration, including those covered under the Equality Act (Disability, Discrimination Act in Northern Ireland) and that are displaced under these Royal Mail changes, it is mandatory that any such change in duty arrangements should have been carried out in line with the required legislation in such matters, and in advance of the change happening.

This means that ‘person specific risk assessments’ have been undertaken, whereby vulnerable and disabled workers (or workers covered by a reasonable adjustment arrangement) should be subject to robust reviews of their reasonable adjustment needs and workplace arrangements. This is done to ensure any protective measures and agreed reasonable adjustments are maintained or improved through the process of any workplace change activity. This should have been undertaken in advance of any change and fully documented to demonstrate the ongoing reasonable adjustment needs. (The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) guidance states: ‘Risk assessments are a working document and, as your business experiences change, this information should be recorded and updated’.)

Where there are any outstanding issues, concerns or non-compliance in terms of the above, including person specific risk assessments, this should be raised via the Workplace/Area Safety Reps and via the RMG/CWU Health & Safety Dispute and Escalation Process, as set out in LTB 692/19.

  • Additionally, where a member has protected characteristics, caring, family, medical or other personal consideration, including those covered under the Equality Act etc, and has been subject to redeployment or displaced under these Royal Mail changes, but in the absence of local management undertaking, the required risk assessment (including possible OHS referral), should now consult with their Branch on the need to submit an Individual Grievance on the grounds of a breach in the required process and possible discrimination.

To confirm, the removal of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to an individual’s duty/working arrangements without following the required process and in the absence of such required adjustments being replaced, based on a person’s needs, could be classed as unlawful under Employment Law. This could include being displaced and not aligned to specific and defined activities during your working day, including being referred to by Royal Mail as a ‘supernumerary or spare’. 

  • Given this, Branches, Representatives, and members are reminded that any consideration of an Employment Tribunal application based on believed ‘personal detriment’ for individuals covered by protected characteristics and the Equality Act (DDA in Northern Ireland) as a result of Royal Mail’s CSPs changes, will need to be logged within 3 months, less one day, of the point the detriment occurred.

Where this is a consideration, Branches and Reps who require further or particular advice in terms of members with caring, family, medical, or other personal considerations, (including those covered under the Equality Act/DDA), should not delay in contacting the Equality, Education & Development Department by email equality&education@cwu.org

In setting out the above, all members who have been impacted as a result of these changes by Royal Mail are directly and equally covered by the commitment of no ‘compulsory redundancies’, as set out in the RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation And Growth Agreement. In the event that there are attempts to exclude such members from the security agreement, these again should be raised via the IR Framework. 

Additionally, and to be clear, whilst there is a separate process and aspects for our IR and Safety Reps in terms of supporting members and dealing with any issues resulting from Royal Mail’s changes to CSPs opening times, both the IR Framework and Safety Dispute and Escalation Process should be used in parallel and it is not a case of one versus the other.

As set out before, the CWU would have much preferred to be in a position whereby we could offer a joint approach to what would under any circumstances be a difficult and challenging matter, but given the position of Royal Mail, this has not been possible. However, any group or individual members impacted as a result of this business-driven change of CSPs arrangements are covered by our collective agreements as outlined above, in addition, to wider employment protection in the case of members covered under the Equality Act.

Finally, we will continue to press Royal Mail on these wider changes to CSPs which we feel are both unnecessary and commercially short-sighted and we also believe that the CSP issue should be progressed in line and consistent with section 2.3 of the RMG/CWU BRT&G Agreement, “Achieving Growth” as part of expanding the role of postal workers along with exploring commercial services.

Whilst we will keep Branches and Representatives advised of developments, any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 532, email address: njones@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 194/23 – Royal Mail’s Customer Service Points (CSP) – Further advice to Branches Members