Postman declines to help 72-years-old woman who has fallen in the snow

[PostmanBitesDog]

not that the vast majority of staff would stoop this low.

Exactly. There are a lot more kindhearted posties out there.

Like this fella on the weekend:

Daily Star (Feb 15, 2021) ~ 'Hero' Postman Gives Valentine's Day Gift and Heartwarming Note to Elderly Woman

[scoobydo79]

The posty concerned has been named and shamed now (by His colleagues I would think).I can see Him resigning if He isn’t dismissed over this.

[PostmanBitesDog]

Yep, this is the dude (who apparantly has a reputation among his colleagues for being arrogant):

Daily Mail (updated Feb. 16, 2021) ~ 'Knackered' Postman Revealed

[postieblueshirt]

hes been suspended for gross misconduct...

[Pompey Boy]

Once upon a time there was a late shift collection driver at Portsmouth Mail Centre (in the days when there was a late shift - it's posties on SAs now). The driver was on his last collection round when he saw a cyclist in front of him hit an object in the road, lose control of his bike, fall off and hit his head on the kerb. The driver immediately stopped behind the man and positioned his van to protect him. He put his hazards on and went to attend to the man. Although the man said that he was OK the driver witnessed that the man had suffered a head injury. He asked the man to remain still and calm, and then called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived the driver spoke to the Paramedics and once they had been briefed he left the scene. The Paramedics said that the driver had done exactly the right thing. Of course this made the driver late and he got back to POMC late, although he managed to finish his collection.

When he got back a guvnor was waiting for him as several of his colleagues had driven past and assumed that the driver had been in an accident. So did the driver get any thanks off anyone for doing what he did? NO! Did he get a bollocking off the guvnor for being late back and potentially causing wilful delay of the mail? YES!

This is a true story - I was the driver. Make up your own minds about the moral of this story.

By the way I don't see how the postie can be accused of gross misconduct.

[Ad_bee]

When he got back a guvnor was waiting for him as several of his colleagues had driven past and assumed that the driver had been in an accident. So did the driver get any thanks off anyone for doing what he did? NO! Did he get a bollocking off the guvnor for being late back and potentially causing wilful delay of the mail? YES!

This is a true story - I was the driver. Make up your own minds about the moral of this story.

By the way I don't see how the postie can be accused of gross misconduct.

A few times I've happend upon a situation:

Old lady fell in snow, called 999 (PDA), got nearby residents involved with tea & blankets + put mailbags between her and snow and carried on with delivery.

Old lady fell in garden + heavy rain, got her up (not supposed to do that, very dodgy if goes wrong) and inside, got nieghbours involved and alerted her daughter.

Old gent fell in driveways, blood from head > 999, niegbours...left scene A.S.A.P

Its a dodgy business and probably some people don't know what to do or are scared to act. Would leaving the scene of an accident stuff apply? Maybe damned either way.

At no point did I report it to mngmnt/colleagues, fearing any repercussions or mngmnt bullshit.

Luckily, no case ever expressed any thanks so deed remained dark....but it is a dodgy business.

I refuse to judge the O.P bloke either way....he can do that himself.

[Woody Guthrie]

I refuse to judge the O.P bloke either way....

I think it's fine to judge him based on what you know as long as you're grown up enough to realise what you don't know is sometimes more than what you do know.

I don't think it's fine to use the anonymity of the internet to pile on with insults..
It reminds me too much of the sneaky little sh***s who talk about you behind your back at work but won't say a word to your face.
It's a bit pathetic.

[PostmanBitesDog]

Now a former politician has jumped in...

Daily Express (Feb. 17, 2021) ~ Ann Widdecombe: Royal Mail MUST Sack Postman Who Left Frail OAP For Dead in Snow

AW.jpg

Ann Widdecombe

Just WHEN you think there is no kind of human wickedness which hasn't appeared in the papers, along comes a postman who walks away from a frail septuagenarian lying in the snow after a fall from her doorstep, saying that he was "too knackered" to help. Exactly how much effort would it have taken to phone the emergency services or call a neighbour?

What did he expect was going to happen after he walked away? What actually happened was that Patricia Stewart’s calls for help were not heard for 20 minutes, during which time she lay helpless on the icy snow, barefoot and in indoor clothes. Supposing she had contracted pneumonia and died? Would the postie have summoned up the energy to care or would he have been too tired?

This man disgraces Royal Mail. Most postmen are kind, friendly and helpful, as are newspaper deliverers and milkmen.

They keep an eye out for their elderly customers and sound the alert where necessary. They have proved a Godsend for many during Covid.

Very few of us will not occasionally have been asked for help at a decidedly inconvenient moment, when we are dog tired for example or in a tearing hurry to do something genuinely important.

Only a saint would not sigh inwardly if he was rushing for a train and a blind man stopped him to ask which platform he needed but only a devil would carry on without helping.

How would that postman feel were it his granny or elderly mum lying in the snow and someone else refused to help?

Does he not have the imagination to realise that one day he too will be old and frail and will rely on the kindness of others?

Did he not have a twinge of conscience sufficient to cause him to look back to see if Mrs Stewart was getting up? It all beggars belief.

At least if Royal Mail sacks him, he will have plenty of time to recover from his knackerdom.

[POSTMAN]

I refuse to judge the O.P bloke either way....

I think it's fine to judge him based on what you know as long as you're grown up enough to realise what you don't know is sometimes more than what you do know.

I don't think it's fine to use the anonymity of the internet to pile on with insults..
It reminds me too much of the sneaky little sh***s who talk about you behind your back at work but won't say a word to your face.
It's a bit pathetic.

You're talking about Facebook, no one on here is piling on insults, except me once, I called him a C word then Vile and another guy called him a tosser another one called him a POS, apart from me not exactly a pile of insults.
If you have a problem with the way he's been treated then you go to Facebook where the trial is apparantly and possibly Twitter I guess, cause he aint getting abuse on here, re read through this thread.

Your judgement is clouded because you obviously have a vested interested in the story as you haven't stopped with the excuses.
You never post in these type of threads.(Off the top of my head).
Facebook is where it's at as it always is I guess, I have not personally gone on there btw.

[Woody Guthrie]

Your judgement is clouded because you obviously have a vested interested in the story

Know the office and some of the guys there.
Don't know this guy from Adam..
Couldn't care less, old dear is fine and the niece is enjoying her 15 minutes and he's made his bed so...
No vested interests at all just having an opinion but cheers.

Looks like RM are going to try to sack him mostly off the back of the social media reaction.
Are we even a small part of that?

[scoobydo79]

I cant help but wonder if He is a union member.Can a rep genuinely support someone under these circumstances and His behaviour? The mob are baying for blood by the look of it and to be honest the old ladies family aren’t coming across very well either.

[Tman]

I've never heard of any clause in a postie's Ts&Cs where it mentions anything about helping members of the public in distress so unless RM invent some magical rule his sacking seems remote, and if RM goes along with nothing more than the Court of Social Media and does sack him they'd be leaving them selves wide open to a tribunal case.
That said, who'd morally support this PoS anyway? All he had to do was make one phone call from his mobile, something most would do without a second's thought.

[Woody Guthrie]

They might try to use this from the code of business standards.

Royal Mail Group expects all employees to..

Conduct themselves appropriately

Not bring Royal Mail Group/brands into disrepute4

Act as an ambassador for the company

Would it hold up at a tribunal?
Probably given that as Tman says who's going to be on his side especially on a tribunal panel.

[Schiff]

Given the media sh**storm I doubt that a tribunal would find it unreasonable if RM sacked him for bringing the business into disrepute. He very clearly has done that.

His union rep's job, despite any personal feelings, is to try to avoid it getting that far. Cast doubt on the reported story telling the whole truth etc.

Personally I would not like to work alongside someone who would happily leave my own mother like that if she needed help. On the other hand, given the publicity, if this chap is sacked he may end up unable to get any job at all in his local area, and so paying a higher price than someone who deliberately mugged an old woman but didn't get his face plastered all over the national press.

[scoobydo79]

I can’t be the only one wondering what He’d have done if I was His park and loop partner and was lying face down in a flower bed clutching My heart.