Royal Mail are facing a hefty payout to a postie unfairly sacked over a missing bag of mail – because it might not have been him that lost it.
Stewart Walker was fired last year by bosses in Dundee after a bag of letters fell out of the back of a van in the Broughty Ferry area of the city.
It was later found and handed in to nearby Barnhill Post Office by a resident.
Mr Walker, 40, initially thought he had been alone in the van when the bag was lost and took responsibility for it.
But when he was told where the bag had been found he realised a colleague had been with him and may have been responsible for the loss.
However, Mr Walker was suspended and later sacked for gross misconduct – while his colleague kept his job.
An employment tribunal found the dismissal was unfair and Mr Walker will now be awarded compensation.
Royal Mail said they were to appeal the ruling.
Mr Walker, who had been a postman for 20 years before he was fired, said: “I didn’t do anything different from my colleague who is still working there.”
The latest tribunal decision is the second in the area in a matter of months.
Royal Mail have already been hit by two 24-hour strikes from staff in Fife after they refused to reinstate sacked postie David Mitchell despite being told to do so by tribunal judges.
This has led to two 24-hour strikes by Mr Mitchell’s colleagues in Fife and a call by his local MP Stephen Gethins for the UK Government to intervene.
At the tribunal in Dundee Mr Walker, of Tealing, Angus, who otherwise had a 20-year clean employment record, said it was a “busy day” on March 9 2015 and he had simply “panicked” and not reported the lost bag to management immediately.
Tribunal judges agreed with his solicitor Ryan Russell, who said the evidence of Royal Mail delivery manager Ewan Sime and appeals caseworker Simon Peter Walker “should be treated with caution” and that they held a “fixed view” of the claimant’s guilt.
The tribunal found the claimant’s evidence credible and reliable; his actions were not outwith Royal Mail’s Conduct Policy and the investigation was insufficient and the dismissal was unfair.
However, the panel found Mr Walker to be 50% to blame for his dismissal and ruled reinstatement would be “not practicable”.
The amount to be awarded to Mr Walker is still to be decided.
Mr Walker said: “The investigation was absolutely atrocious, appalling. I didn’t do anything different from my colleague who is still working there.
“At least I’ve cleared my name.”
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “Royal Mail is appealing the tribunal decision through a reconsideration hearing as we don’t accept its findings.
“Mr Walker was dismissed as he failed to close the doors of his Royal Mail vehicle while on delivery and mail fell out. He also failed to report the incident to his managers.
“The security of mail is of paramount importance to Royal Mail,” she added.
