ROYAL MAIL GROUP DISPUTES – CLAIMS FOR TU DETRIMENT & UNLAWFUL DEDUCTIONS
No. 038/23
10th February 2023
Dear Colleagues,
ROYAL MAIL GROUP DISPUTES – Claims for TU detriment & unlawful deductions
Further to LTBs 477/22 and 500/22, discussions have taken place with Acas concerning over 1000 claims that currently exist relating to Trade Union detriments and unlawful deduction of wages. Thank you for all the work that Branches have performed on these claims, which are a vital part of the fightback against RMG’s unacceptable treatment of CWU members.
The two main groups of claims relate to:
preventing CWU members from performing normal overtime in response to taking part in or organising industrial action; and
the unlawful deduction of sick pay.
RMG have indicated they are taking the following approach:
For sick pay –
RMG solicitors Weightmans will now be entering into individual conciliation on cases through Acas.
In order to assist with the collection of further information on these cases, a new national web form has been set up at:
Members who have filled in the previous national claim form will be emailed to fill in a copy of this form. This will then be shared with Branches to forward to Acas in order to assist with the conciliation process.
If Weightmans indicate that they are not willing to conciliate on a particular case, an early conciliation certificate will be issued by Acas. This will also happen if the claim reaches the end of the six week Acas timeframe.
This means the clock will start ticking again for the Employment Tribunal, and the ET1 then needs to be submitted, especially in light of the 3-month minus 1-day deadline. The fact the above form has been filled out should assist Branches greatly for the detail needed at Employment Tribunal.
We are extremely grateful for the Branches ongoing work in this area, which has already successfully delivered money back to our members that had been unlawfully deducted. The decision to stop sick pay for individuals at a time when they are at their most vulnerable is appalling; however, we are confident that further gains will be made for our members.
For overtime cases,
RMG’s solicitor Weightmans have indicated that they will NOT be entering into individual conciliation on cases through Acas. This means that early conciliation certificates will be issued and, once again, it is important that ET1 forms are completed prior to the 3-month deadline. ET1A forms can also be used to group claims of this type where the circumstances are the same, (for example claims from the same workplace). The draft grounds of complaint were circulated in LTB 383/22 and should be used on the ET1 or ET1A form.
Discussions have taken place with the CWU legal services department about grouping claims of this type together at Employment Tribunal and further advice will be circulated on how this will take place.
Acas have also requested that the following information is included on the early conciliation online form for each member to assist with the early conciliation of cases:
What the issue is;
Member’s Payroll number; and
Workplace location (i.e name and area of country).
Furthermore, a list of frequently asked questions about progressing claims at Acas and at employment tribunal is attached.
For any questions about this LTB please contact
Postal Executive members Rob Wotherspoon rwotherspoon@cwu.org,
Saf Khan skhan@cwu.org or
Luke Elgar lelgar@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
Dave Ward General Secretary