ROYAL MAIL: REORGANISED ER CASE MANAGEMENT TEAM

ROYAL MAIL: REORGANISED ER CASE MANAGEMENT TEAM 

Further to LTB 077/25 dated 16^th April, and the National Briefing on 21^st May.  Branches will be aware we are currently in negotiations with Royal Mail on a new Disciplinary Agreement to replace the Conduct Code Agreement 2015.

As part of these negotiations, we have raised serious concerns over the role of the ER Function and particular the Independent Case Managers (ICMs) in view of the fact that the same small group of individuals were hearing dismissal appeals repeatedly.  It should be noted that only 8% of appeals against dismissal have been upheld ((based on the most recent stats provided by Royal Mail in March 2025).

We have received the following information from Jo Cartright, Royal Mail HR Service Delivery Director, which provides an update on the reorganisation of the ER Function, including the expansion of the number of managers hearing appeals against dismissal:

As part of our ongoing work to strengthen the Employee Relations (ER) function, we are currently working through a consultation process to make changes to how our ER Case Management team is structured.  

Currently, the team includes two distinct roles:

 Independent Case Managers, who cover all business units and are responsible for:

 Raising Concerns (where Protected Characteristics are involved) and any subsequent appeals

• Second line conduct appeals (e.g. suspended dismissal/dismissal)
• Other dismissal appeals (e.g. Attendance, SOSR, LTBIH)
• Speak Up cases and other similar complaints
• Preparing and participating in Early Conciliation and Employment Tribunal claims, as well as National Appeals Process panels

 People Case Support Managers, who focus on:

 Raising Concerns and first line conduct appeals (e.g. warnings/serious warnings) within Deliveries and Collections

• Handling conduct and grievance cases involving Angard employees
• Supporting other areas in exceptional cases where an independent chair is required

 We are proposing to bring these roles together to form a single, consistent ER Case Manager role. This change will increase our appeal hearing capacity from 18 to a pool of 50 FTEs.  It will also enable greater flexibility to respond to peaks and troughs in case volumes e.g. we will also have a larger pool to hear Raising Concerns cases within deliveries and collections. 

It is looking likely that this proposal will be implemented and as such we are starting a selection assessment process which will ensure that those individuals who progress into the new ER Case Manager role have the required skills and abilities, including to hear dismissal appeals. These individuals will then be given full support, training, and development to ensure our high standards are met and upheld. Anyone who is not successful will be supported through redeployment. 

We welcome the above development, especially as we have raised concerns around the same individuals hearing dismissal appeals repeatedly and developing a level of cynicism. Our expectation is that this is a step in the right direction from the current position and we would hope this reorganisation will lead to a significantly fairer process in terms of appeal hearings.  We will be closely monitoring the statistics on appeal outcomes moving forward.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary       

Bobby Weatherall
Acting Assistant Secretary

Attachment 1: 25LTB101 – Royal Mail Reorganised ER Case Management Team

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