Wilful delay of mail

[RMDAED]

Hi - I have a question about wilful delay of mail please. Now that most offices work on the basis of 2 members of staff to 2 rounds, how can any postie know 100% for certain whether or not they will finish a round within their shift 1 hour in advance as is apparently the proper procedure? Especially when you rarely get to work with the same partner? I ask because a good friend of mine has recently been suspended for bringing back 10 mins worth of work that he honestly felt he would complete and would have done with his usual partner but had to be back to pick up his child from childcare so had not choice but to abandon it. He of course did not call in an hour before and this is why they are trying to do him for it.

It begs the question, do you have to always announce you will not complete the round if you have to be back by a certain time just to be on the safe side - or will you then be done for not trying if you continually say you wont finish? How does that allow for a new partner taking twice as long or a massive traffic accident holding you up for 20 mins? If the choice is finish the round and leave your child stranded or bring it back and risk being sacked how can any postie parent be safe?!

I would like to add here that he had actually done 40 mins of overtime (again which he would not have had to do with his normal partner as it would have be completed by then)trying to complete the round by the time he simply could not leave it any longer. The post was also returned to the office and not hidden or anything

[datasaint]

I think the lesson is to err on the side of caution. If you don't think you will finish in the allotted time, make it known before you leave the office and ask for the big packets to be taken off you or to leave a loop.

From the managers POV how were they supposed to cover this cut-off albeit 10 minutes worth if the postie in question didn't give them any notification before bringing it back? Hence the accusation of wilful delay. If he'd already done 40 minutes worth of OT, surely he would have known an hour before the end of duty they wouldn't complete?

[Nigel1505]

If you have the slightest doubt that you will not finish on time, for whatever reason, tell the DOM before you go out; if you finish on or before time all well and good, if you don't then you have given the required notice.

[GT750rider]

Royal Mail have always had a different interpretation of the word wilful.
The Collins dictionary has this : wilful - intent on having one's own way; headstrong or obstinate.
I would like to see how this fared in a court of law.

[britwrit]

I love this site. I think it's great, a fantastic source of information and entertainment.

Still, why do posties have to go to the internet to learn that they might face the sack for bringing even a little amount of mail back to the office? Shouldn't that be...I don't know... the responsibility of the union? Or management?

[trav65]

our manager left over 50 boxes of mail last Thursday, just so he could lapse,a different manager left a York of packets on Wednesday then some more on thrs and Friday,they got took on Saturday on overtime.....now that is wilful delay.

[Lincox]

Start sending emails to the DSM, Moya, Postal Regulatory, and the CWU, reporting all incidents of WILFUL DELAY (operational requirements) every day that you can prove that the DOM has held back any kind of mail/parcels. Fight fire with fire.

[RMDAED]

Thanks for the replies - it is useful to get other people's views too and to see what reasons managers may use to explain what has happened

With regards to the comment about from the manager's POV - he does understand that it made it hard to cover and isn't denying that he didn't follow proper protocol but it quite clearly states in the RM code of conduct that they do understand mistakes happen and aren't trying to punish people for genuine errors - he wasn't maliciously trying to delay things or just decided he couldn't be bothered any more, it just took longer than he had anticipated. The other point about he must have known if he had done 40 mins of overtime - he didn't know at the start because with his usual partner, it would have been done. Then, as it was getting towards the end of his contractual shift, he obviously knew it wouldn't be completed in his normal hours but he always intended to stay on for up to 40 minutes and genuinely believed he would finish what was left in those 40 mins.

It just all seems like such a massive over-reaction. They know him, they know he works hard and always does overtime to complete rounds or do extra rounds. He knows he made a mistake but to throw everything they have at him and threaten loss of his job for trying to complete it all just seems very unfair because that's what it boils down to - if he hadn't tried to help and complete it the he wouldn't be in this situation. I also don't understand why a manager can go home knowing his staff are out past their hours and not bothering to check how things are going and doesn't so much as get a ticking off - alright he should be able to trust that they will let him know but at the same time he is paid more to have overall responsibility so is it fair one person loses his job (potentially) and he who just bu*gered off home is let off

Does anyone know the difference between Wilful delay and unexcused delay (is that the right terminology??) As far as the code of conduct says, unexcused (if that's what its called, can't remember now) means post has been delayed because proper protocol wasn't followed??

[dvbuk55]

Thanks for the replies - it is useful to get other people's views too and to see what reasons managers may use to explain what has happened

TBH it does seem harsh BUT there were a number of indicators to suggest it was going to take longer both before he left and whilst he was out to begin with he was with a new partner, the amount of mail and the fact that at his normal cut off time he still had 50 minutes of mail left, IMHO that is when he should have told them that he may not complete. I think he'll be OK and that they are waving the big stick as an example.

[rehabron]

WILFUL DELAY
-------------------
Wilful delay of mail is classed as gross misconduct, which if proven could lead to dismissal. The test to determine whether actions may be considered as wilful delay is as follows::-
Deliberate action taken by an employee that causes mail to be delayed is called wilful delay. Where proven, such breaches of conduct can lead to dismissal , even for a first offence , indeed Wilful Delay is a criminal offence and can result in prosecution.

UNEXCUSED DELAY TO MAIL
-----------------------------------
Various actions can cause mail to be delayed e.g. carelessness, negligence, breach or disregard to a rule or guideline. Such instances are to be distinguished from wilful delay although they may also be treated as misconduct, and in more serious instances could also result in dismissal.
Furthermore, Royal Mail does recognise that genuine mistakes and misunderstandings do occur and it is not the intention of the Business that such cases should be dealt under the Conduct Code beyond counselling for the isolated instance.
The key is that employees should do their job to the best of their ability and, if in doubt, ask for their manager's advice and guidance.

PRECAUTIONARY SUSPENSION FOR WILFUL DELAY OF MAIL
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Precautionary suspension is not automatic. The decision to suspend should only be taken after careful consideration and investigation of the explanation for delay has been carried out.
The decision must be made only on available evidence relevant to the incident/s and only if it is considered that by allowing the individual to continue on duty, the mail and its due delivery, the individual, or other employees or Royal Mails good image could be at risk.

[rehabron]

Having given you RM definition of the difference between WILFUL DELAY AND UNEXCUSED DELAY OF MAIL and taking it into the context of your posting in relation to your friend you to attempt to understand the logic of RM management.
Their argument is most likely to be that was it virtually impossible for your friend to continue on for a further 10 minutes and complete the whole delivery at a first attempt.
Going by your posting then this employee did to the best of his ability attempt to complete the whole delivery but by having an irregular partner this was unforeseen and went over the delivery span but he ventured on for an additional 40 minutes in an effort to complete.
Having worked on for a further 40 minutes was it necessary to inform manager that mail would be returned as he fully intended to finish all deliveries until the time was beginning to encroach into his personal circumstance of his child.
Taking it that your friend has record of leaving and returning times and in view of the circumstances which the manager is aware of then to precautionary suspend in this instance is misguided and a good union rep should be able to have this overturned.
I am assuming that this is an isolated instance and the manager precautionary suspending is OTT.

[fishtank]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Overrunning Deliveries Procedure is no longer fit for purpose given that the majority of us now work in pairs and needs a complete overhaul.

Stop f***ing about Gibbo and get it done.

[RMDAED]

Thanks everyone, I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed for him and see how it all goes!