suspended for a rta

[postman48723]

a car drove in to the rear of my van whilst i was making a u'turn (signed no u'turn) got out of my van and was approached by two members of the public who are adamant that the crash was not my fault and they gave me there details as a witness, the third party refused to exchange details and requested to see a manger so i called the manager out to exchange details, but only he took the wrong details for the driver and failed to get the details of the passenger. the next day we reported the accident and also filled out a erica on line, my manager said that they will have to remove me of driving until further training, the following day they asked me in the office and basically asked questions in relation to the accident, the same questions i have already answered when reporting the accident, and then they precautionary suspended me from all duties, also they made my passenger sign a statement to say he was not injured in the accident and he will not make a claim. a week down the line they called me in for a fact finding where the manager asked to describe the accident in my own words but refused the rights for me to ask any questions, i still asked why i was suspended from all duties and not just driving, at that point he terminated the interview and asked me to leave, know its 2 weeks and i'm still waiting for a decision.

i have been a post man for 4 years on a 30 hour contract, in my time i have never done any thing wrong and done the job correctly and completed at all times, i did collect as well as deliver, and most of the time went out of my way to help the office out. i'm not the first in my office to have a accident, i single postman in my office is liable for most blameworthy accidents and he was never suspended but retrained and given support. neither am i the first one to commit a road traffic offence, the main road traffic offence committed by any postie is speeding (sp30/sp40) which carry a fine and between 3-6 points depending on the speed, my offence (ts50) carries a fine and 3 points, i wasn't caught by the police but i was under the impression that if i commit a road traffic offense than i shall carry the points on my licence

what i have done was committed a road traffic offense and was involved in a accident but that is not criminal or fraud, we have a postman who had lost a special after he had signed it delivered him self on his pda which is fraud and a sackable offence, but the manager did nothing about it and decides to suspend me for my incident and i have never done any thing wrong at work in the past. my union leader in my office is s**t and has done absolutely nothing about it, i rang the cwu head office and was told they cant do anything because they have to follow procedure but they have advised me that the manager has broken the procedure and i should never had been suspended from all duties. its been 2 weeks know and i am worried that i'm going to loose my job, any advice on what i should/could do please.

[ebbzie]

Get your area rep onto it mate

[flaminmoses]

even if it was "no u-turn" still find it hard to beleive the other person wasnt at fault.

[dvbuk55]

even if it was "no u-turn" still find it hard to beleive the other person wasnt at fault.

Simply because the postie was carrying out an illegal manoeuvre. It's a bit like tail ending someone, he may have braked sharply but you're at fault.

[postman48723]

i don't care if i'm to blame for the accident or not, every one should be accountable for their actions, i have never done any thing wrong at work, i have never been in the managers office because some has made a complaint about me, this is the first time and they are treating me very harshly, like i said on the first post that im not the first to be involved in a rta neither am i the first to commit a road traffic offence, the difference is that i have been suspended for this where no body else in my office has and like i said we have a postie who has had retraining and support after so many blameworthy accidents he has contributed alone by him self, we have a postie who has committed an act of fraud by singing a special himself and that item had gone missing and the managers did not take any actions in regards to the lost special, i am a first time offender and know my job is on the line

[dvbuk55]

i don't care if i'm to blame for the accident or not, every one should be accountable for their actions, i have never done any thing wrong at work, i have never been in the managers office because some has made a complaint about me, this is the first time and they are treating me very harshly, like i said on the first post that im not the first to be involved in a rta neither am i the first to commit a road traffic offence, the difference is that i have been suspended for this where no body else in my office has and like i said we have a postie who has had retraining and support after so many blameworthy accidents he has contributed alone by him self, we have a postie who has committed an act of fraud by singing a special himself and that item had gone missing and the managers did not take any actions in regards to the lost special, i am a first time offender and know my job is on the line

Well postman48723 you can point out the many failings of others, the unfair treatment of yourself in comparison and there is ammunition for you to use but the fact of the matter is the position YOU are in and how best to combat that and in order to get some perspective you need to contact the local union. I presume you had a rep when you had the meetings with the DOM and consequently another take on the case however from your posts you don't seem to be too contrite and perhaps a little humility in the face of it may help.

[hantsman]

i don't care if i'm to blame for the accident or not, every one should be accountable for their actions, i have never done any thing wrong at work, i have never been in the managers office because some has made a complaint about me, this is the first time and they are treating me very harshly, like i said on the first post that im not the first to be involved in a rta neither am i the first to commit a road traffic offence, the difference is that i have been suspended for this where no body else in my office has and like i said we have a postie who has had retraining and support after so many blameworthy accidents he has contributed alone by him self, we have a postie who has committed an act of fraud by singing a special himself and that item had gone missing and the managers did not take any actions in regards to the lost special, i am a first time offender and know my job is on the line

Why did you make a uturn? How many times have you made this uturn before?

[haddie]

your rep and DOm should have the new procedures re rta's

[Stella102]

focus on your case and NOT other people who lose specials or get caught speeding. You should never go in to an interview without union support because they can just lie and twist your words. You should contact your area rep because it looks like they want to get rid of you.

[haddie]

agree with stella. they are not interested in other cases only yours. get union help. there are set procedures they must follow otherwise their case falls. just got one guy off due to this.

[postman48723]

well last week i had my final hearing with a marcus cope, he informed me that the witness statement backs me up and the white honda civic was speeding and went through red lights which resulted in the rear of my van, but still they made the decision to get rid of me, i have never been in trouble at work and this is the first time i slipped up, spoke to CWU who said that managers have broken procedure and it should not have gone this far, but the union can not do anything and i have to wait for an appeal date, very unfair

[fishtank]

http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/c ... 20-eng.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How soon must I make my claim to an Employment Tribunal?
Most claims to Employment Tribunals must be made within very strict time limits. In most
cases the tribunal must receive your claim within three months. This three months begins
with the date your employment ended or when the matter you are complaining about
happened

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/for ... nt/ET1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[postman48723]

i have spoken to ACAS who adviced me to appeal, once the appeal has been made wait for the final decision, if it goes against me than they will take the matter to tribunal

[fishtank]

i have spoken to ACAS who adviced me to appeal, once the appeal has been made wait for the final decision, if it goes against me than they will take the matter to tribunal

DO NOT WAIT TO LODGE AN ET1.

Royal Mail will spin it out beyond the 3 month debarment limit.
It's an old trick.

You can always withdraw the ET1 if you win your appeal.

[cloherty1976]

Was the charge gross misconduct and deliberate disobey of health and safety instruction?