Royal Mail Group Dog Attack Compensation Scheme – A reminder of the Scheme
Branches will recall several recent LTBs issued in terms of the wider work of the CWU around seeking to reduce dog attacks and incidents, including joint work with Royal Mail via the National Joint Dog Awareness Working Group.
Whilst the union’s focus remains on seeking to prevent dog attacks on our members, and we will shortly be reporting to Branches on this year’s Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Week and linked activity planned for late June, we are also mindful that many of our Branch Reps and members are unaware of the RMG Dog Attack Compensation Scheme.
If an individual is sadly injured and off work sick as a result of a dog attack, benefits are available under the compensation scheme, which applies to all within Royal Mail and Parcelforce. The scheme pays compensation amounting to the difference between full rate sick pay and an individual’s average weekly earnings over the previous 13 weeks prior to the dog attack incident.
This is paid out regardless of any personal injury litigation compensation which may be recovered by the union’s solicitors acting for the member.
The current Dog Attack Compensation Scheme claim form is attached.
The RMG Dog Attack Compensation Scheme conditions are:
1 week minimum sick absence must be incurred in order to qualify to submit a claim.
- A maximum of 13 weeks average earnings will be paid out whilst an individual is off work sick following a dog attack.
- Christmas and summer pressure periods and annual leave periods will be excluded from the average earnings calculation.
- Applications under the compensation scheme need to be submitted within a month of the dog attack.
Also attached is the RMG ‘Victim Support Guide’, which sets out help at hand for individuals who are attacked by a dog, alongside other information on options available to the Police to deal with the crime.
We have also included with this LTB a leaflet entitled ‘Help! I’ve been bitten by a dog!’,which was jointly produced by the CWU together with Liverpool University and the NHS, under the heading of the Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership. This leaflet was first published back in 2021, but it remains relevant and seeks to offer some additional advice following a dog attack.
The final attachment is the CWU LS3 Form, and the accompanying LS18 document. If a member is injured following an attack, the LS3 Form can be completed and submitted to the union’s Legal Services Department, who will instruct the union’s lawyers to investigate and consider making a compensation claim.
Alongside the above, the following further steps need to be taken following a dog attack: –
- Report all dog attacks to your local manager (so the relevant actions can be taken, including the suspension of deliveries, and so that the Offsite Risk Assessment (ORA) is updated).
- Record all dog attack injuries on ‘ERICA’.
- Report all dog attacks to the Police and get a ‘Crime Number’.
- Report all dog attacks to the Local Authority Dog Warden or officer responsible for Dog Nuisance and Anti-Social Behaviour issues.
In setting out the above, we would further advise that if victims are asked by the Police to agree that the dog owner can be dealt with via an ‘Informal Warning’ or ‘Community Resolution’ without recourse to formal criminal justice sanctions, they should not agree to this. This advice is based on a number of members who have agreed to such sanctions shortly after a dog attack but have later changed their mind and have been prevented from allowing the matter to be taken further via a formal prosecution of the dog owner.
Being subject to a dog attack is a very distressing matter and undertaking the above may equally seem daunting, so members are reminded to always seek the direct support and assistance from their Branch, including their local Workplace Safety Rep and Area Safety Rep.
Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGSP Department.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
LTB 113.25 Royal Mail Group Dog Attack Compensation Scheme – A reminder of the Scheme
LTB 113.25 Attachment 1 Claim Form
LTB 113.25 Attachment 2 RMG Victim Support Guide v1.2
LTB 113.25 Attachment 3 Help_I’ve been bitten by a dog MDSP Final 2021
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
Leave a comment