TEMPORARY AND AGENCY WORKERS IN ROYAL MAIL

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LTB 941/09 -TEMPORARY AND AGENCY WORKERS IN ROYAL MAIL (PLAN TO RECRUIT 30,000 TEMPORARY STAFF) - HEALTH & SAFETY.

No. 941/09
Ref P12
Date: 26 October 2009

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

TEMPORARY AND AGENCY WORKERS IN ROYAL MAIL (PLAN TO RECRUIT 30,000 TEMPORARY STAFF) - HEALTH & SAFETY.

Following last Sunday's high profile announcement through the media of Royal Mail's plans to recruit quote "an army of 30,000 temporary and agency staff" which is double the amount normally employed over the Christmas Pressure period, you will know that these plans have been challenged by the General Secretary and DGS(P).

Separately and in support of the Union's general concerns about the uncontrolled use of Temporary and Agency Staff, the Health, Safety & Environment Department immediately raised a number of crucial concerns regarding health and safety legal compliance in relation to the employment of these temporary staff as there is strong potential for widespread legal non-compliance, safety law breaches and risk taking. It was pointed out that Royal Mail's plans to employ double the number of people for double the amount of time could mean double the amount of health and safety issues!

Assurances were therefore sought from Royal Mail in relation to:

* Essential co-operation between Agencies and Royal Mail on Health and Safety as required by Law.
* The need for Royal Mail managers to accept the same standards and same legal duties regarding Health and Safety Risk controls and compliance apply to Agency and temporary staff as they do to full time Royal Mail staff.
* Royal Mail ensuring that temporary and casual employees receive adequate training, are provided with relevant information and given instruction about risks, safe working methods and the procedures to control safety risks before work placement starts and supervision regarding their duty to take care of themselves and other people they work with and others who may be affected by their work. Typically, manual handling, slips & trips, dog attacks, use of trolleys, cycles are common causes of delivery injuries and Royal Mail will need to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to protect the safety of temporary workers by ensuring the working environment and work methods are fit for purpose and safety rules are taken seriously and monitored.
* Agencies offering and Royal Mail employing applicants with appropriate training, qualifications and experience.
* Royal Mail assessing the temporary and agency workers’ suitability and competence at the outset of the work placement.
* Royal Mail providing health and safety training for the temporary workers matched to their needs.
* Royal Mail checking that temporary workers have understood the health and safety training given and that they continue to follow procedures correctly whilst employed
* Royal Mail providing personal protective equipment and clothing (PPE) as required, to the same standard as full time Royal Mail staff. (Alternatively for Agency workers, the Agency must provide it to the same Royal Mail Standard).
* Royal Mail considering the need and requirement to meet legal health and safety duties in other languages.
* Co-operation between Royal Mail and Employment Agencies throughout the work placement with Royal Mail and the Agencies do not ‘assume’ that one or the other is taking care of health and safety communications.
* Royal Mail ensuring that people working on their premises or on the streets who are Agency staff, directly recruited temporary staff or self-employed or who work for other contractors receive relevant safety information, instructions, wear correct PPE e.g. foot protection and weather protection etc and that they work safely in accordance with risk assessments and safe systems of work.
* Managers being made aware of relevant legislation and receiving relevant training, information, instruction in order to be competent to manage health and safety effectively for temporary staff.
* Depending on the risk assessment either Royal Mail as the employer or Agencies may need to carry out health checks for the workers concerned.
* Royal Mail must make provision for welfare for all these temporary employees.
* Royal Mail must ensure that the Working Time Regulations are complied with, setting out working hours and rest breaks. Royal Mail must check if the workers work elsewhere to ensure their total hours do not exceed the maximum limits set.
* Royal Mail must agree with Agencies who will be responsible for any RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995), accident reports in respect of Agency workers and ensure that information will be exchanged so that the relevant forms can be completed.

* Royal Mail ensuring that Agency and temporary drivers are adequately qualified, fit, healthy and competent to drive the vehicles concerned and that they are not working excessive hours and driving for excessive periods and distances for Royal Mail and other employers in combination.
* Royal Mail ensuring that Agency and Temporary staff don't use their own private cars on delivery without checking their competence, risk assessing the vehicle for safety and mail security, checking that full Commercial Business use insurance cover is held, checking that a full drivers licence is held and carrying out checks on the roadworthiness of their cars and that they have Tax, MOT etc.
* Royal Mail ensuring that there is full compliance by Agency and Temporary drivers with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, The Provision of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (in relation to any private Vehicles used), the Highway Code and both EU and Domestic Drivers Hours Rules.

* Royal Mail providing assurances to the CWU, Police, HSE and VOSA that the above requirements will be met in full.


In discharging their legal duty of care to provide a safe place and safe system of work, a workplace as defined in health and safety legislation is any place or places an employee frequents during their working hours.

See reproduced below the letter sent to Royal Mail Letters Director Safety Norman Smith on Monday 19 October and the reply received on Friday 23 October, stating that "This annual process is indeed earlier than usual for the Christmas surge due to the operational needs. Royal Mail will be conducting full safety induction training and ensuring that the sites used are safe and have the appropriate welfare facilities in place to ensure the health and safety of the temporary and agency staff is maintained."

Area and Workplace Safety Representatives will therefore be able to monitor the situation and closely scrutinise the maintenance safety standards and safe working methods involving Temporary, Casual and Agency staff.




Yours Sincerely



Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

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Our Ref: P12/DJ/kg

19 October 2009


Norman Smith Director Safety
Royal Mail Letters HQ

Dear Norman,

TEMPORARY AND AGENCY WORKERS IN ROYAL MAIL (PLAN TO RECRUIT 30,000 TEMPORARY STAFF) - HEALTH & SAFETY.

None of us will have missed Royal Mail's high profile announcement through the media, on Sunday, of the plans to recruit an army of 30,000 temporary staff, doubling the number normally recruited this time of the year, in order to both deal with the seasonal build-up of mail in the run-up to Christmas as part of the operation that successfully delivers the Christmas mail as well as to help clear any mail backlogs caused by the impending national strikes.

Be that as it may and I have no interest in debating the Industrial issues behind Royal Mail's decision on recruiting this number of temporary staff as our General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary are more than capable or doing that and it's not my area of responsibility. My concern is the crucial issue health and safety legal compliance in relation to these temporary staff and I foresee widespread legal non-compliance, safety law breaches and risk taking.

Royal Mail's announcement yesterday stated that there would be double the number of temporary staff recruited this year and they'll be employed much earlier in the autumn which potentially means double the problems for double the amount of time, health and safety wise. The announcement also said that these temporary staff would be "fully vetted" and "fully in line with all employment law". Forgive me for being so sceptical but if Royal Mail's past record is anything to go on, I cannot see that happening.

You will of course I know that I have spoken to you, Ian Stockdale Royal Mail Letters Head of CSR, the late Allan St John-Holt former Royal Mail Group Head of Safety and to Mark Dawson HSE about this issue.


I would request that you and Keith Scott Royal Mail Group Head of Safety both advise the Royal Mail Group and Royal Mail Letters Boards on their legal duties in relation to employing temporary staff as follows:

Co-operation between the Agencies and the employer Royal Mail on Health and Safety is essential. The same standards and same legal duties regarding Health and Safety Risk controls and compliance apply to Agency staff as they do to full time Royal Mail staff.

The Agency workers should be provided with relevant information about risks and the procedures to control those risks before the placement starts, which can help the Agency offer candidates with appropriate training, qualifications and experience.

It is important that Royal Mail as the employer assesses the workers’ suitability and competence at the outset of the placement. Royal Mail as the employers must also consider: -

what health and safety training the temporary worker needs
who will provide it
who will provide personal protective equipment (PPE) if required (Royal Mail or the Agency)
checking that temporary workers have understood the training and are continuing to follow procedures correctly (this may require providing these requirements in other languages)

If full time employees get PPE such as protective clothing and footwear then the Agency workers will also require the same standard of PPE if they are exposed to the same risks, free of charge. Royal Mail must stipulate to the Agencies the standard of protective footwear, clothing and other PPE that the Agency staff should bring along with them when they attend for work for Royal Mail, if the Royal Mail Office concerned is not themselves going to provide it and if this requirement must be notified by Royal Mail to the Agencies being used to provide the temporary staff.

Co-operation between Royal Mail and the Agencies should continue throughout the placement. Royal Mail and the Agencies must not ‘assume’ that one or the other is taking care of health and safety communications.

The host employer (Royal Mail) must ensure that people working on their premises or on the streets who are Agency staff, directly recruited temporary staff or self-employed or who work for other contractors receive relevant safety information and wear correct PPE e.g. hearing protection, eye protection, head protection, foot protection, weather protection etc. This can be done by providing them with information directly or providing it to their employers, in which case the host employer Royal Mail must check that the information and requirements are passed on. Managers should be aware of relevant legislation and should be competent to manage health and safety effectively. All employees, including senior management, should receive relevant training, information, instruction and supervision where required in order to manager temporary staff effectively.

Depending on the risk assessment either Royal Mail as the employer or Agencies may need to carry out health checks for the workers concerned.

Royal Mail must control the risks to health and safety that arise from the work activity, and make provision for welfare for all these employees. Arrangements need to take account of such things as who does the work, what training and supervision is needed, what equipment and materials are being used, where the work is being done and so on. In particular Royal Mail must ensure that what needs to be done is done. Royal Mail must also ensure the health and safety of others who may be affected by the work.

There are legal duties imposed on those who have control of premises which are used by people at work and 'premise' includes any place where work is done. This could be out on the streets, on location or in a part of a building.

The Working Time Regulations set out working hours and workers’ entitlement to rest breaks and to holidays. Royal Mail will need to check if the workers work elsewhere as their total hours could exceed the limits set.

Royal Mail should agree at the beginning of the placement with Agencies who will be responsible for any RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995), accident reports in respect of Agency workers and ensure that information will be exchanged so that the relevant forms can be completed. In any event the ERICA incident report form must be completed.

Apart from Royal Mail, the temporary employees have to be training, instructed and given instruction and supervision regarding their duty to take care of themselves and other people they work with and others who may be affected by their work, and to co-operate with their employer. Contractors or those who are self-employed must take care of their own health and safety and also that of anyone else who might be affected by their work whilst they are on the premises. Typically, manual handling, slips & trips, dog attacks, use of trolleys, cycles are common causes of delivery injuries risks are amongst those Royal Mail will need to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to protect the safety of temporary workers by ensuring the working environment and work methods are fit for purpose and safety rules are taken seriously.

Turning to concerns centred on questions regarding Royal Mail's health and safety responsibilities regarding temporary staff drivers and occupational road safety. I have discussed this matter with you and Keith and Ian previously on several occasions and written to you several times previously also. There were 5 serious road accidents involving temporary LGV drivers in 2007 and I am not convinced that the problem has been addressed.

Royal Mail must ensure that these Agency, temporary people are adequately qualified, fit, healthy and competent to drive the vehicles concerned and that they are not working excessive hours and driving for excessive periods and distances for Royal Mail and other employers in combination.



There is also the problem of Temporary staff using their own private cars on delivery without Business use insurance cover and without checks on the roadworthiness of their cars and no checks on the individual's drivers licence, Insurance, Tax, MOT etc. We have already seen one Agency worker stopped by the Police whilst using his private car on delivery and found to be driving without a licence, insurance, tax and MOT.

Employers owe the same duty of care under health and safety law to staff who drive their own vehicles for work as they do to employees who drive Royal Mail owned, leased or hired vehicles. The duty of care for Staff who drive under normal circumstances and travel extensively covering a programme of deliveries and collections rests initially with the employer under the HSAW Act 74 and the MHSW Regs 99 and PUWER 98 (in relation to the private Vehicle used). There are also duties to ensure Highway Code compliance and compliance with both EU and Domestic Drivers Hours Rules.


More people are killed and injured whilst driving at work than in any other work activity and a third of the annual road deaths a year in the UK are "at-work drivers" and there is increasing recognition by Government, Police, VOSA and HSE that company policies and practices are a factor in crash involvement. Work-related safety is a key issue and Royal Mail will to be held accountable for failings in managing occupational road safety where it can be shown that they have failed to properly assess and manage the risks created by their work activities on the road and also in relation to other motoring and health and safety offences on the road, for example where the Royal Mail failed to ensure that the vehicle involved was in a safe condition or the scheduling was unreasonable. Royal Mail must ensure that there are no failures in their employer/corporate liability duties. The HSE Guidelines, "Driving at Work", states that "health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities as to all work activities and the risks should be effectively managed within a health and safety system however, as we know only too well in Royal Mail this isn't always enforced with temporary, Agency Drivers!

Health and safety law requires Royal Mail to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of employees and temporary staff and to ensure that Royal Mail does not expose the public and other road users to health and safety risks. These duties apply in circumstances where workers use or drive Royal Mail or Private motor vehicles as part of their work. Royal Mail must therefore ensure that health and safety risks associated with the use of motor vehicles are identified and that suitable precautions are employed to minimise the risk of full time, part time and temporary workers or others being injured.



I therefore trust that you can ensure and provide assurances to the CWU, Police, HSE and VOSA that the above requirements will be met in full.


Yours Sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer



CC: Mark Higson Managing Director Royal Mail Letters, Paul Tolhurst RML Operations Director, Donald Brydon Chair Royal Mail Group, Adam Crozier Chief Executive Royal Mail Group, Nick Summers HSE, Gillian Alford RML Head of IR, Dale Haddon RML HR Director.

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23 October 2009


Dave Joyce
CWU National Health and Safety Officer

Dave,

Re:TEMPORARY AND AGENCY WORKERS IN ROYAL MAIL (PLAN TO RECRUIT 30,000 TEMPORARY STAFF) - HEALTH & SAFETY.

Thanks very much for your letter on temporary and agency staff being introduced into our operations.

This annual process is indeed earlier than usual for the Christmas surge due to the operational needs. We will be conducting full safety induction training and ensuring that the sites used are safe and have the appropriate welfare facilities in place to ensure the health and safety of the temporary and agency staff is maintained.

Norman Smith
Royal Mail Safety Director
First Floor, Royal Mail Centre. 35-50 Rathbone Place, London. W1T 1HQ

[dvbuk55]

Well for all the effort Dave Joyce put into his letter the response was short and sweet and in truth more or less said, "We'll do what we want, as usual" so feck off.

[UNION IVOR]

well said joycey
PLAN TO RECRUIT 30,000 TEMPORARY STAFF '''''''but the mail is in decline''''''' and adam crozier keeps cutting jobs, yet you want to get in a all time record of how many temporary staff,
as and when it suites. :cfo :cfo :mfo :mfo

[Annieamp]

My son has had his first night shift with Royal Mail in a Sorting Office last night (through an agency).

Although he was issued with safety boots and a hi-vis vest by the agency, he had no H&S training of any sort.

I found this out when he came home this morning hardly able to walk as his back hurt so much. When I asked him what manual handling training he was given before being asked to haul heavy mailbags around he told me he had no training of any sort - the agency staff who started with him last night had not even been told where the fire exits where or advised of any emergency procedures.

They were told were the toilets where, where to put their bags and sent straight to work.

Tell me, how does this fit in with Norman Smith's statement "We will be conducting full safety induction training and ensuring that the sites used are safe and have the appropriate welfare facilities in place to ensure the health and safety of the temporary and agency staff is maintained." - as directly quoted from his post on this site????

As a local government worker myself and an ex Unison rep, I am appalled that Royal Mail seem to be giving the safety and well being of agency workers such a low priority despite the promises of its Safety Director.

[dvbuk55]

My son has had his first night shift with Royal Mail in a Sorting Office last night (through an agency).

Although he was issued with safety boots and a hi-vis vest by the agency, he had no H&S training of any sort. Tell me, how does this fit in with Norman Smith's statement "We will be conducting full safety induction training and ensuring that the sites used are safe and have the appropriate welfare facilities in place to ensure the health and safety of the temporary and agency staff is maintained." - as directly quoted from his post on this site????
As a local government worker myself and an ex Unison rep, I am appalled that Royal Mail seem to be giving the safety and well being of agency workers such a low priority despite the promises of its Safety Director.

Welcome to the Brave New World that is Royal Mail/CWU Annie. If there was a prize in industry for duplicity those two organisations would win it hands down.
Productivity and profit at any price, health and safety at no cost whatsoever.

[Sippin40oz]

I worked nights with an agency at royal mail a couple of years back and to be honest sounds the same as these new guys. No H&S training at all just heres your hi vis and put first class letters here and second class there that was it! We were brought in before the xmas rush as well so wasnt even like it was too busy to train us.

We have agency staff now in our M/C doing sorting but where the f*** is the delivery help? Its all well and good getting thousands of agency workers to sort the backlog but how are we going to deliver it all when it starts bulging out of the frames?!

[POSTMAN]

The problem with casuals is no one gives a f**k about them,they are only there for a while and are easy pickings as they are there because they need the money.
This is posties as well as management.

[Sippin40oz]

I suppose we have to take into account the little training normal staff get now days as well. I started 7 months ago and i only got about 6 hours worth of H&S training and most of that was pretty useless! They told us about max bag weights and things like how to push a york but all of that stuff goes out of the window when your on the shop floor and its a busy day. Even simple things like always wearing your hi vis and RM pass are not adhered to or enforced.

[rakibahmed]

can any one please refer me the agency name in london who do supply staff for royal mail. i used to work as a reed agency staff 4 years ago.

[fishtank]

can any one please refer me the agency name in london who do supply staff for royal mail. i used to work as a reed agency staff 4 years ago.

Lots of agencies supply Royal Mail...Manpower are the biggest.
Best to trawl around them all....here's one to get you started although why anyone would want to work in SE London is beyond me...i heard the pavements are pure gold.

http://www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobD ... irectory=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[POSTMAN]

[TrueBlueTerrier]