ROYAL MAIL GROUP: DRUGS AND ALCOHOL NATIONAL COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT – SUPPORT & REHABILITATION SERVICE AND FOR-CAUSE TESTING FOR DRIVERS
Branches will be aware via the seven LTBs issued last year on this subject matter, that the Postal Executive previously endorsed a number of extensions to the original For-Cause testing Pilot for Drugs & Alcohol, which has been in operation since January 2025, initially in Wales and then across a further six ROD areas.
Following what was evidently a very successful Pilot, both in terms of duration and scale from a monitoring perspective, the Postal Executive agreed the principle of negotiating a For-Cause Testing National Collective Agreement for roll-out across RMG for Drivers only.
We would like to thank our Reps in the seven ROD areas for their assistance in helping to make sure the Pilot ran smoothly. Where problems have been identified (which have been very few in number), the important factor to bear in mind is that people voluntarily entered the S&R programme to enable them to address any issues they feel they may have in respect of dependency on drugs or alcohol. Indeed, the statistics provided to us by RMG indicate that the supportive nature of the S&R programme has encouraged individuals to sign-up to receive the help they need. This in turn has resulted in a significant number of members who entered the programme successfully completing it.
Since our Postal Conference in May, extensive negotiations have taken place with RMG and we can now report that we have reached a National Collective Agreement – Support & Rehabilitation Service and For-Cause Testing for Drivers, which is attached to this LTB. The Agreement, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive, includes the following key features:
- Drivers Only – the For-Cause testing section of the Agreement reached applies to Drivers only, the definition of which has been clearly defined in the Agreement. Drivers includes van share pairings as the van share partner is expected to be able to drive at any point during the duty if the driver is incapacitated in any way. It also includes managers, which was a recurring theme raised by Branches at the various Briefings for the Pilot. The exact definition, as contained in the Agreement, is as follows:
Drivers, for the purposes of this agreement, refers to all employees, including managers, who are: contractually obligated to drive as part of their role for Royal Mail, or are scheduled or agree to drive on a particular day or are working in van share pairings whether they are the primary driver or not
Wellbeing of Employees – the National Agreement centres around the Support & Rehabilitation (S&R) programme and heavily focuses on the wellbeing of employees. The following sentence has been included in the Agreement under the section in relation to monitoring following S&R:
In all situations where disciplinary action is being considered managers must seek support and guidance from the ER Advisory Services team. and ensure the employee’s wellbeing is fully considered as the primary position when determining next steps.
- Six-Month Amnesty from the introduction of the Agreement. There will be no use of discipline following a positive test, providing the member agrees to enter the S&R programme – in other words, the same principle that has applied throughout the Pilot. This effectively means we have secured in total a two year “soft landing” as the Pilot commenced in January 2025. There is, however, the inclusion of an extra caveat to be applied during the six-month amnesty. This relates to a driver testing positive having already driven a RMG vehicle on the day of testing.
- After the Six-Month amnesty – there is strong wording around the consideration of alternatives to disciplinary action where someone has a positive test as follows:
Where disciplinary action is considered, the manager will fully take into account any mitigation and the outcome will be dependent on the individual circumstances of the case, including the employee’s wellbeing. The manager should seek advice and support from the ER Advisory Services Team where it will also be considered if a referral to the Support and Rehabilitation Programme is appropriate.
The above is designed to give the managers a real alternative to discipline, especially in cases where the member’s wellbeing is a genuine concern. A referral back to S&R could well be appropriate in these circumstances and it gives managers the opportunity to take a more sympathetic approach.
- Leaving the Business due to Ill Health: Under S&R, if the member does not successfully complete the programme, the National Agreement includes the following words:
” In some cases, consideration of the Leaving the Business due to Ill Health process may be appropriate”.
This gives the managers a genuine alternative option to discipline and is something that our Reps can pursue on behalf of members where appropriate.
- Owner / Agency Drivers – whilst this area is not covered directly in the Agreement, we have agreed a way forward and this is contained within the attached side letter, which Branches will recognise the importance of. It should be noted that drivers in Parcelforce were not included in the extended Pilot as this area hadn’t been resolved to our satisfaction. The side letter is vital as it provides a strong message that non-employees will be held to account through the same standards as those who are directly employed.
Briefing of Representatives (not involved in the extended Pilot) – Tuesday 30thJune 11.30am – 2.30pm
Branches are advised that we will be holding a Briefing of Branches & Reps that were not involved in the extended Pilot. For clarity, this applies to the following five ROD areas, as well as Fleet and Parcelforce.
- ROD – Greater London
- ROD – Midlands
- ROD – North-West
- ROD – South Midlands
- ROD – Yorkshire
The following Reps are invited to this Briefing:
- Senior Field Officials including Regional Parcel Organisers, Fleet Territorial Reps, and Divisional Reps
- Branch Secretaries
- Area Reps
- Area Safety Reps
The Briefing will take place from 11.30am-2.30pm on Tuesday 30th Juneat:
Birmingham District Amal Office
47 Summer Lane
Hockley
Birmingham
B19 3TH
Deployment of National Agreement
We are still in discussions with RMG regarding the exact date for introduction, as there will need to be briefings for managers as well as our Reps, and joint communications are being considered for launching the National Agreement.
Conclusion
The Postal Executive has endorsed the Collective Agreement on the basis that the extended Pilot, which ultimately has operated across seven ROD areas was deemed to be highly successful in regard to how the Terms of Reference for the Pilot were operated, coupled with the fact we don’t have any Conference policy around these matters.
The Agreement also fully recognises that the Equality Act 2010 (and the equivalent in Northern Ireland) needs to be followed in all circumstances, and crucially, in line with our policies, the Agreement has been equality-proofed by Kate Hudson, Head of Equality, Education & Development, who proposed a number of important additions into the draft Agreement, which RMG accepted.
Last, but not least, the Postal Executive endorsed this new National Agreement as it is confident we have built into the Agreement a number of key safeguards and protections for our members going forward. The Agreement should be viewed primarily from a perspective of wellbeing and Health & Safety for our members whilst performing driving duties. The Agreement is not designed to be punitive as it has been constructed on the basis of wanting to help people that may have a problem. It is on that basis that we would ask Reps to encourage members join the S&R programme where there is knowledge of a potential underlying condition that may be described as a dependency.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary
Tony Bouch
Assistant Secretary
Side Letter on DA Testing for Drivers Final 12.06.26
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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