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IN CONFIDENCE
Conduct Management New Model Agreements: Process and Policy Guidelines.
1. Introduction and background.
At times intervention will be required when an operator of a new model agreement has
failed in their execution of the agreement and intervention is required by POL to rectify
this failure.
This process document provides guidance to Contract Advisors (CA) on the possible
options which are available to rectify failures in the operation of POL agreements.
They are not intended to provide the outcome or cover every scenario that may arise.
The process to be followed is detailed on the embedded document below; please make
sure that all of these documents are used in conjunction with one another when
managing these cases.
2. Conduct Management Decision Making Flowchart
Please use this flowchart with the guidelines below.
Case Summary
Flowchart NT v3.5 21
3. Narrative to support decision making.
In all cases of conduct management the individual office agreement
specific to the branch must be referenced before any decision is made.
Box 1. Agreement Breach identified at branch.
At any time during the lifetime of an agreement POL could
identify a breach of this Agreement that may result in further
action being taken by POL.
The breach could be identified to the CA in a number of ways
i.e. An audit, Branch Standards intervention, Contract Admin
Team etc.
Box 2. Is Suspension Warranted
The first thing the CA needs to do when a possible breach has
occurred is to identify the severity of the breach. To do this the
CA must first identify the agreement type and how POL has
contracted with the operator (i.e. Company/ Individual/
Partnership). (Available through Branch Standards Sharepoint
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site)
A sharepoint entry must be made under the office name. If there
is no existing file then a new one should be created.
Go to Box 9, save proforma to sharepoint site
Box 3. Suspension considered
Once the CA has established the severity of the breach they
need to consider whether a suspension is required. The CA
should gather as much information as possible in the time they
have to make a timely decision (Audit may be on site and
awaiting a response), The attached sheet should be used to
assist in deciding the course of action required. Other decision
making criteria may be considered at this stage which is
contained within the policy.
Suspension Summary to be inserted
Suspension is not normally required in most circumstances.
If the CA feels that the breach is serious enough to warrant a
precautionary suspension, and where further investigation may
be prejudiced without that suspension, and / or where there is a
significant asset and / or reputational risk, then the CA will
need to send the Precautionary suspension proforma to the
appropriate ACDM with all the relevant information for
concurrence.
If suspension is not being considered after completion of the
attached proforma it should still be sent to the ACDM for
concurrence.
If the ACDM does not respond within I hour then attempts
should be made to contact the alternative ACDM or Head of
Network Services for a decision.
Box4. Suspension Authorisation Decision
No further action can be taken by the CA until a decision has
been made by the ACDM
Box 5. Suspension Notification
If the cusnensian is antharised hv the ACDM then the CA
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should contact the operator and inform them of the suspension.
At this point the CA should ascertain the availability of the
premises for use by a temporary operator.
Note:-It may not always be the case that suspension will be the
result of audit. Go to box 7q if defund required.
Box 6. Temporary Spmr Process
Process/Policy to be added
The CA should then contact the temporary agent manager
(David Sears) and continue to follow the process.
Box 7. Defund
If there is no audit team on site then consideration should be
given to arranging an audit to coincide with the suspension.
This should be arranged via Network Support
Box 8. Operator Suspension
The operator must be notified of the suspension immediately
sn ae BEL GaHBA OP SIRBERGIDA st so11 11
within 24 hours of the suspension.
The appropriate model specific
should also be sent at
this time.
These letters should be saved to sharepoint where the office file
should be updated.
The completed suspension rationale with the ACDM sign off
should be sent to all relevant parties within 24 hours of the
suspension.
Goto Box 10
Box 9. Letter informing operator of Investigation
Notification of Investigation should be sent to the
No indication of possible outcome should be communicated at
this stage.
Box 10. Information collection
All relevant information pertinent to the breach should be
collated and analysed. This part should be carried out in
conjunction with box 11 and it may require several
calls/meetings with the operator before all the information
required is collected.
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operator informing them of a possible breach in their agreement.
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informal meeting
Box 11. Further investigation with the Operator
The CA should communicate with the operator by phone or
informal face to face meetings to ascertain any relevant
information the operator may have as to the cause of the breach.
Following the thorough investigation and / or informal
discussion , it will be necessary to determine whether there has
been a breach and what remedial action could be applied in the
case, if necessary Any such action must be corrective and not
punitive, unless the breach is such that only serious action is
suitable
Before any final course of action is decided the CA must have
considered the following areas:
a) Impact and on-going risk to POL funds
b) Impact and on-going risk to POL brand and reputation
c) Effect of termination on customers
d) Effect of termination on the Agent
e) Any relevant information provided by the Agent
including any mitigation presented
f) Direct involvement or responsibility of the Agent in
the actions which led to the breach
g) Impact of the breach (as distinct from the proposed
termination) on customers, suppliers and partners
h) Identity of the injured party (if any) who has suffered
loss or damage as a result of the breach, and whether
this party is POL, customers or clients
i) Agent's history i.e. service length and record, previous
written directions/warnings etc.
j) Legal advice
This information should all be considered before one of the
following three outcomes is decided
1:- Remedial Action
2:- 6/12 months’ notice given
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3:- Termination
4:- No Further Action
The Contracts Advisor must show their detailed reasoning of
the evidential points and advice in (a) to (j) above and explain
why one outcome of (1) to (4) above had been preferred and
why others had been discounted.
There should be no ‘starting point’ in that consideration that
begins with one particular outcome as opposed to others, and
where one or more criteria had been ‘weighted’ the reasoning
for that needs to be made clear.
If the operator is suspended and the investigation exceeds 42
should be sent
This box should flow back and forward with box 10 until
enough info is collated.
Box lla. ACDM Sign Off
The CA must submit their decision rationale to the ACDM. The
ACDM will confirm the course of action which will be taken by
the CA.
ay)
Decision
Rationale.doc
This is where the process splits to Remedial Action,
Termination or No Action
Box 12. No action required
If after thorough investigation it is felt that no further action is
required then the case should proceed to closure. The operator
should be notified of this outcome usin;
The normal actions regarding future risk would be
followed at this point.
Remedial Action Process
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Box 13. Remedial Action
In most cases the course of action will be remedial and not
termination.
Box 14. Previous Remedial Action
Before any remedial action is taken sharepoint should be
checked for any additional remedial action that the operator has
been asked to undertake and whether these remedial actions
have been completed. If there has been no more than one
remedial action within the last 24 months then you should move
to Box 16 of the process
Box 15. More than 2 previous remedial actions
If this is the third or more remedial action issued to the operator
within a rolling 24 month period then further action is required
before a final decision is made on the appropriate outcome of
the case. Box 18
Box 16.Remedial Action Letter
After a full investigation, if the CA decides that remedial action
is appropriate then
must be sent to the operator stating
what Remedial Action is required and the Timescale for
completion of the Remedial Action (14 Days). If it is unfeasible
for the remedial action to be completed within 14 days then an
action plan must be agreed with the operator for the completion
of the remedial action and the timescales involved within 14
days. NB Timescale must be Realistic, Achievable and
Measurable.
If the remedial action is completed before the remedial action
letter is sent then the action still needs to be recorded and the
letter sent.
Box 17. Operator allowed to continue to operate the branch.
If the operator has been reinstated after suspension with
Remedial actions then Aa
should be sent. The CA should also ensure that CAT and Temp
Spmr Manager are notified. Goto Box 22
Box 18. Discussion with the operator.
If this is the third or more remedial action an informal face to
face discussion should take place between the CA and the
operator to ascertain why the Operator is having difficulty in
Oe their Me I
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necting This discussion should be positive and look at a
proactive approach by POL and the Operator to getting the
Branch operating within the terms of the agreement. However it
should be noted that this may be the third time that this operator
has been spoken with and the appropriate tone should be taken.
Box19. Operators Capability
Before any final course of action is decided the CA must have
considered the following areas:
k) Impact and on-going risk to POL funds
1) Impact and on-going risk to POL brand and reputation
m) Effect of termination on customers
n) Effect of termination on the Agent
o) Any relevant information provided by the Agent
including any mitigation presented
p) Direct involvement or responsibility of the Agent in
the actions which led to the breach
q) Impact of the breach (as distinct from the proposed
termination) on customers, suppliers and partners
r) Identity of the injured party (if any) who has suffered
loss or damage as a result of the breach, and whether
this party is POL, customers or clients
s) Agent's history i.e. service length and record, previous
written directions/warnings etc.
t) Legal advice
This information should all be considered before one of the
following three outcomes is decided
1:- Remedial Action
2:- 6/12 months’ notice given
3:- Termination
The Contracts Advisor must show their detailed reasoning of
the evidential points and advice in (a) to (j) above and explain
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why one outcome of (1) to (3) above had been preferred and
why others had been discounted.
There should be no ‘starting point’ in that consideration that
begins with one particular outcome as opposed to others, and
where one or more criteria had been ‘weighted’ the reasoning
for that needs to be made clear.
The CA should complete the attached Decision Rationale to
assist in the decision making process.
a)
Decision
Rationale.doc
The CA should only go down the termination route when there
is a total loss of confidence by POL in the operator’s ability to
fulfil the terms of their agreement.
Box 19a. ACDM Sign off
The CA must submit their decision rationale to the ACDM. The
ACDM will confirm the course of action which will be taken by
the CA.
Termination Process
Box 20. Termination
Termination is used when there is a material breach of the
Operator’s agreement, this breach would be non-remedial and
or an accumulation of minor breaches which have resulted in a
loss of confidence in the Operators ability to meet the terms of
their agreement. This should always only be considered as the
last resort.
However before committing to a termination a suspended
termination may be considered appropriate, this may be
considered where there is a clear breach of contract, and an
action or omission by the Subpostmaster/Operator does warrant
summary termination but evidence is presented that suggests
there is low impact of the breach and low culpability (e.g.
absent Subpostmaster/Operator and assistant theft).
Suspended termination should not be used if the Operator has
gone through the extended Remedial Action route i.e. Box 19
Box 21. Suspended Termination Letter
Letter!! should be used when Suspended Termination is the
action decided. This letter should be stored on sharepoint.
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Box 21a, Conditions of Suspended Termination
If there are Remedial Actions a part of the suspended
termination then the CA should follow the process to Box 16
Box22. Failure to complete a remedial action
The CA should diarise when the remedial action should be
completed and further checks to ensure the action has taken
place should be carried out before the case is closed.
Failure by the operator to complete the remedial action should
be treated as a further breach and the remedial action process
should be followed again from box 13 with this new breach
treated as a further remedial action.
Box 23. Decision to Terminate
Consideration must be given to asset risk before a termination
letter is sent. If the operator is not suspended then suspension
may be considered prior to termination letter being sent as a
precautionary measure. Go to box 3 if suspension is required.
Box 23a. Termination Letter
Once the final decision to Terminate has been taken
should be sent to the
operator confirming this course of action.
Should also be sent
at this point
Box 24. 6/12 Months’ Notice
Where the CA has come to a decision to Terminate after several
Remedial Actions have been tried and there is a total loss of
confidence in the Operators ability then the appropriate notice
as detailed in the Operators Agreement should be given to
terminate the contract. This should only be used when the risk
to POL asset is negligible.
otice to
Terminate
Box 25. Case Closed
All paperwork must be saved into sharepoint at all times and
checked before the case is closed.
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