POL00088894
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POSTMASTER SUPPORT
POLICIES
Postmaster Account Support
Policy
Version —- V1.5
Post Office is determined to reset its relationship with postmasters and has introduced policies that set out
guidelines on how Post Office should support postmasters, specifically for use across twelve areas.
The policies stand on their own but should be reviewed in conjunction with each other. Support teams should
have an awareness of all twelve policies and how they link together.
The twelve Postmaster Support Policies are listed in section 3.2 of this policy and can be found on the hub, here.
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®
1. Definitions.
1.1. Definitions .
2. Overview .
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2.5. The Risk
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3.3. Who must comply? ..
3.4. Roles and Responsibilities .
3.5. Minimum Control Standards .
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4.1. Contractual Obligations ..........cccccccccccceeeeeseeeeeeeueeeeeeeeeeseeeueeeeeueeeseeeeeeseeeeesaee 15
4.2. Monitoring Postmaster ACCOUNTS ........ccccccceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeseuaneaeaeeeeees 15
4.3. Requiring More Information or Raising a Dispute ..........cccccceeeeeeeseeeseeeeeeeeseeeees 16
4.4, Payment Options .......cccccccccceseeeeessueeeesueeeeseeeseseueeeeseeuseseeeeeeeeueeeseueeeeegeeeesaae 16
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4.8. Write Offs
4.9. Provision .
4.10. Financial Control Framework (controls reporting risks and process)
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6. Governance
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1.
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Definitions
1.1. Definitions
1.
Discrepancy - Any difference between (i) the actual cash and stock position of a
branch and (ii) the cash and stock position shown on Horizon as derived from
transactions input by branch staff into the branch's terminals.
Established Gain - An event that causes a positive Discrepancy (i.e. the situation
where the branch has more cash and/or stock than the derived figures for cash
and/or stock on Horizon), which has been investigated by Post Office’, or agreed
by the postmaster, and found to be a genuine gain to Post Office.
Established Loss - An event that causes a negative Discrepancy (i.e. the situation
where the branch has less cash and/or stock than the derived figures for cash
and/or stock on Horizon), which has been investigated by Post Office, or agreed by
the postmaster, and found to be a genuine loss to Post Office.
“Review or Dispute” - This is the option on Horizon which moves a Discrepancy
into the postmaster’s centralised holding account at the end of the Trading Period
or at the end of a financial audit.
Trading Period - A four or five-week cyclical financial period culminating in the
requirement to reconcile the cash and stock position of a branch with the cash and
stock position shown on Horizon.
In this policy, “Post Office” means Post Office Limited.
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2. Overview
2.1. Introduction by the Policy Owner
The Service and Support Optimisation Director has overall accountability to the Board of
Directors for the design and implementation of controls to manage Discrepancies, recover
losses and repay gains in the network?. Discrepancies in the network is an agenda item
for the Risk and Compliance Committee and the Post Office board is updated as required.
This policy is a non-contractual document provided for information. It does not form part
of the contract between postmasters? and Post Office.
2.2. Purpose
This Policy has been established to set the minimum operating standards relating to the
management of postmaster account support throughout the Post Office network.
Post Office recognises that Discrepancies will occur from time to time in the nature of a
retail business, and this policy lays out the responsibilities of Post Office to notify
postmasters of those disrepancies and investigate them in a fair, transparent and impartial
manner in order to confirm whether they are Established Losses or Gains. Post Office has
a right to take necessary measures to recover monies, where they have been confirmed
as Established Losses properly attributable to the postmaster under the terms of the
agreement between the postmaster and Post Office. The postmaster has a right to reclaim
any Establised Gains. It is one of a set of policies which provide a clear risk and governance
framework and facilitate an effective system of internal controls for the management of
risk across Post Office. Compliance with these policies is essential to Post Office in meeting
its business objectives and to balance the needs of postmasters, customers, clients, and
other stakeholders including our shareholder.
2.3. Core Principles
Under agreements between postmasters and Post Office, postmasters provide products
and services to customers on behalf of Post Office. The cash and stock used to effect those
transactions is owned and funded by Post Office, unless the branch is self-funded. There
are occasions when Discrepancies in cash or stock can arise.
Post Office has an obligation to its customers and clients to ensure that all branches are
providing a quality of service and adhering to agreed standards. Post Office is committed
to supporting its postmasters in this process. Post Office will deal with the notification and
investigation of Discrepancies, including offering support to postmasters at the time of
the Discrepancy, and later if the branch selects the “Review or Dispute” option on Horizon.
This policy sets out clear and consistent guidelines to ensure that:
e Post Office proactively seeks open and transparent dialogue with the postmaster
when a Discrepancy appears on a postmaster account;
2 In this policy, “network” means branches not directly managed by Post Office
3 In this policy “postmaster” refers to the person or entity (which may be a company, sole trader or partnership)
contracted with Post Office and any person acting on the postmaster’s behalf (as applicable)
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« Support is offered to the postmaster, including offering an investigation by Post
Office, to help determine the cause of and reason for a Discrepancy
e Ifthe reason for the Discrepancy can’t be agreed, Post Office will offer guidance to
the postmaster on how to dispute this.
e Post Office will attempt to recover any Established Losses from the postmaster,
former postmaster or guarantor, following an investigation, employing clear
processes and in a fair manner, as set out in the Postmaster Accounting Dispute
Resolution policy.
« Post Office will repay Established Gains to the postmaster, or former postmaster.
« Post Office will take steps to collect Established Losses unless there is a good reason
not to under the guidance in this policy.
e Post Office will regularly review any balances deemed irrecoverable for prompt
write-off.
The guidelines will ensure these practices are carried out in good faith and apply principles
of fairness, transparency, and professionalism (being the underpinning behaviours of Post
Office).
2.4. Application
This Policy is applicable to all postmaster contracts® in the network.
2.5. The Risk
Discrepancies in cash and stock in the network can cause difficulties for postmasters and
customers. Discrepancies may indicate that local branch accounting processes are not
robust, recognising that there may be other reasons for Discrepancies, including Post
Office’s accounting system. Some Discrepancies, once investigated, or agreed by the
postmaster, may become Established Losses or Gains.
Post Office can recover losses from a postmaster when such losses are caused through
negligence, carelessness or error and Post Office has carried out a reasonable and fair
investigation, as set out in the Postmaster Accounting Dispute Resolution policy, as to the
cause and reason for the loss and whether it was properly attributed to the postmaster.
Postmasters are also responsible for losses caused by their assistants.
The risks in this area include:
e If Discrepancies in the network are not monitored, Post Office may not be able to
offer tailored support to postmasters in the effective running of their branches.
« If Postmaster Account Support do not contact the postmaster to advise them of
their account activity, postmasters may not have visibility of the status on the
postmaster’s account.
“ The Postmaster Accounting Dispute Resolution Pdlicy can be found on the hub, here.
5 In this policy, “postmaster contract” means contracts which relate to those branches not directly managed by
Post Office
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e If former postmaster accounts are not reviewed regularly, there is a risk that
postmasters will not be aware of changes to account balances
e If Established Gains are not repaid to the postmaster, this could lead to Post Office
retaining money which it is not entitled to and in some cases to postmasters
incurring financial loss.
e If Post Office is not supporting the postmaster effectively, thereis a risk that
confidence in Post Office will be reduced.
« If Post Office does not consider the postmaster’s situation and ability to pay in
relation to recovery of Established Losses, this could lead to postmasters incurring
financial loss.
« Where Post Office is unable to recover Established Losses, Post Office may
experience financial loss.
e Non adherence to the policy could result in financial loss, legal and regulatory risk,
detriment to postmasters and reputational damage to Post Office.
Section 3.5 sets out the minimum control standards that the Post Office has implemented
to control these risks.
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3. Risk Appetite and Minimum Control
Standards
3.1. Risk Appetite
Risk appetite is the extent to which the Post Office will accept that a risk might happen in
pursuit of day-to-day business transactions. It therefore defines the boundaries of activity
and levels of exposure that Post Office is willing and able to tolerate.
Post Office takes its legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously and consequently has:
e Averse risk appetite to corporate non-compliance with legal and statutory
obligations.
e Averse risk appetite for financial crime to occur within any part of the
organisation.
e Averse risk appetite in relation to unethical behaviour by Post Office staff.
e Averse risk appetite to litigation.
« Cautious risk appetite for inefficient or ineffective processes that result in: lost
time, duplicated effort, and increased risk of financial loss or errors in any part of
its business or core processes
The Post Office acknowledges, however, that in certain scenarios, even after extensive
controls have been implemented, a process may still sit outside the agreed Risk Appetite.
In this situation, a risk exception waiver will be required pursuant to the Exemption
Process, details of which can be found here.
3.2. Policy Framework
This policy is part of a framework of postmaster support policies that has been established
to set the minimum operating policies relating to the management of our contract risks
throughout the business in line with Post Office’s risk appetite. The framework includes
the following policies:
e Postmaster Onboarding
e Postmaster Training
« Postmaster Complaint Handling
e Network Monitoring and Audit Support
e Network Cash and Stock Management
* Network Transaction Corrections
« Postmaster Account Support (this policy)
« Postmaster Accounting Dispute Resolution
* Postmaster Contract Performance
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e Postmaster Contract Suspension
« Postmaster Contract Termination
« Postmaster Termination Decision Review
3.3. Who must comply?
Compliance with this Policy is mandatory for all Post Office employees® interacting in any
part of postmaster account support.
Where non-compliance with this policy by Post Office employees is identified by Post Office,
Post Office will carry out an investigation. Where it is identified that an instance of non-
compliance is caused through wilful disregard or negligence, this will be investigated in
accordance with the Group Investigations Policy.
3.4. Roles and Responsibilities
« Service and Support Optimisation Director - is the policy owner, who must
comply with the governance responsibilities set out at section 6.1.
« Head of Network Support and Resolution - is accountable for the deployment
of this policy. This role also has the responsibility for regular review of the
effectiveness of this policy and for drafting any amendments that may be required.
e Postmaster Account Support Manager - is responsible for administering this
policy and the support of the team that manage postmaster accounts under this
policy.
The Postmaster Account Support Manager will lead a team of Postmaster Account
Support Advisors in carrying out notification, support and recovery in accordance
with the policy.
« Postmaster Account Support Advisors - should:
o be fully conversant with this policy and linked policies;
o as relevant to loss recovery, take reasonable steps to ascertain and consider
the personal and financial situation of the postmaster;
© proactively seek open and transparent dialogue with the postmaster when
a Discrepancy appears on an account;
o ensure that support is offered to the postmaster, including offering an
investigation by Post Office to help determine the cause of and reason for a
Discrepancy;
o make postmasters aware of their right to dispute a Discrepancy;
o monitor the progress of any investigation carried out by _ internal
departments;
® In this Policy “employee” means permanent staff, temporary including agency staff, contractors, consultants
and anyone else working for or on behalf of Post Office and, for clarity, does not include postmasters or
postmasters’ staff.
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for Established Losses, offer a variety of payment options, including the
option to pay by installments and take into account the postmaster’s
personal and financial situation;
keep records of all material discussions with a postmaster and other internal
departments in the pursuit of information and resolution to a Discrepancy
situation;
work with, and take guidance as appropriate from, Contract Advisors,
especially when a postmaster is part of a suspension and termination
process relating to a Discrepancy investigation;
keep payment plans under review (including by contacting the postmaster)
to ensure that the plan remains workable and continues to meet Post Office
needs;
recommend the write-off of balances where recovery may not be considered
cost effective or is likely to be unsuccesful;
for current postmasters, where all reasonable attempts to recover
Established Losses have been exhausted, pass the case to the Contract
Advisor Team to begin steps to address a contract breach, only where
reasonable and appropriate;
for former postmasters, where all reasonable attempts to recover
Established Losses have been exhausted, escalate to the Postmaster
Account Support Manager to take steps in line with best practice, where
reasonable and appropriate.
e Senior Manager, Network Monitoring and Support - is responsible for the
monitoring of potential Discrepancies and branch settlements, through the Network
Monitoring team.
« Current postmaster - is the person or entity with whom Post Office has
contracted.
e Former postmaster - is the person or entity with whom Post Office used to
contract.
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3.5. Minimum Control Standards
A minimum control standard is an activity which must be in place in order to manage the risks, so they remain within the defined Risk
Appetite statements (as set out at section 2.1). There must be mechanisms in place within each business unit to demonstrate
compliance. The minimum control standards can cover a range of control types, i.e. directive, detective, corrective and preventive which
are required to ensure risks are managed to an acceptable level and within the defined Risk Appetite.
The table below sets out the relationships between identified risks and the required minimum control standards in consideration of Post
Office’s Risk Appetite.
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and notifying
Post Office may not be able
when a Discrepancy appears on an
Support Team
Risk Area Description of Risk Minimum Control Standards Who is When
responsible
Monitoring If Discrepancies in the e Post Office will proactively seek open and I Postmaster Weekly, following
Discrepancies I network are not monitored, transparent dialogue with the postmaster I Account Trading Period end
and notifying
regularly, there is a risk that
Discrepancies existing or arising on the
Support Team
current to offer tailored support to account. This will be by a telephone call
postmasters. postmasters in the effective where possible and followed up with a
running of their branches. letter.
If Postmaster Account * Communication will be maintained Postmaster When notified
Support do not contact the between the Postmaster Account Support I Account
postmaster to advise them of Team and the Contract Advisor Team Support
their account activity, when an audit, or other contract breach, I Team/Contract
postmasters may not have identifies an otherwise unseen Advisors
visibility of the status on the Discrepancy.
postmaster’s account.
Monitoring If former postmaster A report is run each week to inform the Postmaster Weekly
Discrepancies I accounts are not reviewed Postmaster Account Support Team of Account
former postmasters will not be aware I account of a former postmaster.
postmasters.
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of changes to account
balances.
Post Office will proactively seek open and
transparent dialogue with the postmaster
when a Discrepancy appears on an
account.
Established Losses will be advised to the
Investigation
When Discrepancies
Gains relating
to current and
former
postmasters.
cases to postmasters
incurring financial loss.
If the repayment of an Established Gain
is agreed between the Postmaster
Account Support Team and the
postmaster, repayment to the postmaster
will be made in the remuneration
payment following the agreement, unless
the cut-off date has passed in which case
it will be the subsequent month.
Postmaster Account Support Team so and review are investigated and
that recovery processes can begin. teams established as
losses.
Monitoring If Established Gains are not Post Office will proactively seek open and I Postmaster Weekly, following
Discrepancies I repaid to the postmaster, this transparent dialogue with the postmaster I Account Trading Period end
that may could lead to Post Office when a potential Discrepancy gain Support Team
become retaining money which it is appears on an account.
Established not entitled to and in some
Postmaster
Account
Support Team/
Postmaster
Remuneration
Team
Monthly
Support of the
postmaster
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If Post Office is not
supporting the postmaster
effectively, there is a risk
that confidence in Post Office
will be reduced.
Post Office will engage with the
postmaster using conversations,
supported by call scripts, in order to
ensure their understanding and
acceptance of the Discrepancy before
allowing them to pay or allowing a credit
repayment.
Post Office will seek to understand a
postmaster’s situation, where possible,
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Postmaster
Account
Support Team
Postmaster
Account
Support
Weekly, following
Trading Period end,
and ongoing
As and when contact
is made or received
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situation and ability to pay, in
relation to recovery of
Established Losses, this could
lead to postmasters incurring
financial loss.
the possibility of more time to pay via
payment instalments, either by a
deduction from remuneration (current
postmasters) or standing order (former
postmasters).
Any payment plans set up for more than
12 months will be reviewed at least every
year.
when discussing a payment or credit I Team/Contract I to discuss payments
repayment. Advisor or credit repayments
Payment If Post Office does not « Payments can be made through a variety I Postmaster When payments are
Options consider the postmaster’s of methods to suit all parties, including Account discussed
Support Team /
HR Payments
Postmaster
Account
Support Team
Annually from initial
set up
e Payment plans over 12 months are Postmaster When a payment
authorised by the relevant role as set out I Account plan of more than
in section 4.9. Support 12 months is
Manager/ Head I requested.
of Network
Support and
Resolution
Further action I Where Post Office is unable to I « Where all reasonable attempts to recover I Contract As required
to recover recover Established Losses, an Established Loss from a current Advisor
losses Post Office may experience postmaster have been exhausted, steps
financial loss. will be taken to address the contract
breach using contractual means.
« Where all reasonable attempts to recover I Postmaster As required
an Established Loss from a former Account
postmaster have been exhausted, Post Support Team
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Office may consider further courses of /Legal
action, if reasonable and appropriate.
Policy Non adherence to the policy The Postmaster Account Support Team Postmaster Once approved and
adherence could result in financial loss, will be provided with training on this Account annually — thereafter
legal and regulatory risk, policy. Support (or sooner in the
detriment to postmasters and Manager event of material
reputational damage to Post changes to the
Office. policy)
The Postmaster Account Support Manager I Postmaster Daily
is accountable for ensuring they and their I Account
team adhere to the policy. Support
Manager
The Policy should be reviewed, and if
necessary updated regularly. Head of As required (but at
Network least annually)
Support and
Resolution
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4. Procedures
4.1. Contractual Obligations
Post Office can recover losses from a postmaster when they are caused through
negligence, carelessness or error of the postmaster, provided that Post Office has carried
out a reasonable and fair investigation, as set out in the Postmaster Accounting Dispute
Resolution policy’, as to the cause and reason for the loss and whether it is properly
attributable to the postmaster. Postmasters are also responsible for losses caused by the
negligence, carelessness or error of assistants.
4.2. Monitoring Postmaster Accounts
Current Postmaster Accounts
A weekly report will show any Discrepancies moved to the centralised holding account at
the point of balancing at the end of a Trading Period. The postmaster will be notified and
invited to discuss the detail of the Discrepancy. If the Discrepancy is unknown, Post Office
will provide help and support to the current postmaster to discover the reasons for it,
including checking KELS (Known Error Logs) for system errors that may have impacted
the postmasters’ accounts for that period, and provide supporting evidence.
If the postmaster wishes to dispute all, or part of the Discrepancy, support will be given
to enable them to do so.
If the Discrepancy is a credit, the postmaster will be asked if they would like the credit
repaid, and, provided that a balancing debit does not exist at the time and Post Office is
not aware that one will be applied imminently, Post Office will repay promptly.
Former Postmaster Accounts
A weekly report will show any Discrepancies that have either:
« Been selected for “Review or Dispute” prior to closure or transfer
« Arisen at the closure or transfer audit
« Been added to the account in the form of a “TP6” - a credit or debit relating to a
transaction from the period when the former postmaster was in charge.
The postmaster will be notified and invited to discuss the detail of the Discrepancy. If the
Discrepancy is unknown, Post Office will provide help and support to the former postmaster
to discover the reasons for it, including checking KELS (Known Error Logs) for system
errors that may have impacted the postmasters’ accounts for that period, and provide
supporting evidence.
If the former postmaster wishes to dispute all, or part of, the Discrepancy, support will be
given to enable them to do so.
If the amount is a TP6 debit, supporting information will be provided.
7 The Postmaster Accounting Dispute resolution policy can be found on the hub, here.
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If the Discrepancy is a credit, the postmaster will be asked if they would like the credit
repaid, and, provided that a balancing debit does not exist at the time and Post Office is
not aware that one will be applied imminently, Post Office will repay promptly.
On some occasions the Discrepancy will be an amount relating to the suspension or
termination of the postmaster’s contract. If this is the case, guidance should be sought
from the Contract Advisor dealing with the case. An investigation will normally be car ried
out as part of this and if this establishes a loss, then Postmaster Account Support will
contact the postmaster.
4.3. Requiring More Information or Raising a Dispute
Requiring more information about, or disputing, a Branch Discrepancy
Should a postmaster require support with a Discrepancy, they can call the Branch Support
Centre for assistance on I.
If the Branch Support Centre are unable to resolve the Discrepancy, or if the postmaster
wishes to dispute a Discrepancy, the Branch Support Centre can escalate this for
investigation.
If the Branch Discrepancy dispute is still not resolved to the satisfaction of the postmaster,
the case can be further escalated internally.
Please refer to the Postmaster Accounting Dispute Resolution Policy for more information
on the processes in place when a Branch Discrepancy is disputed.
Requiring more information about, or disputing, a Transaction Correction
Should a postmaster require more information about a Transaction Correction than is
contained in the narrative for that Transaction Correction, they can call the Branch
Reconciliation Team for support. The relevant phone number and the name of the relevant
Support Advisor is set out on the Transaction Correction notification.
If the postmaster wishes to dispute a Transaction Correction, they can raise a dis,
the Transaction Corrections Disputes Team ona dedicated telephone number :
nd email address (disputesteam: i
If the Transaction Correction dispute is still not resolved to the satisfaction of the
postmaster, the case can be further escalated internally.
Please refer to the Postmaster Accounting Dispute Resolution Policy for more information
on the processes in place when a Transaction Correction is disputed.
4.4. Payment Options
Post Office provides a variety of ways that postmasters can pay for any Established Losses.
Any calls from a postmaster to make a payment will prompt a conversation to ensure that
the payment is being made in full knowledge of the reason for the Discrepancy. If this is
not the case, the postmaster will be encouraged to have Post Office carry out an
investigation to help determine the cause of and reason for the Discrepancy.
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If, following an investigation, Post Office is satisfied that the postmaster is making a
payment to correct an Established Loss caused through their carelessness, negligence or
error (or that of a member of the postmaster’s staff), then payment will be taken.
Payments can be made by:
Debit or Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express)
Bank transfer/faster payments
Cheque
More time to pay - payment plan by standing order
More time to pay - payment plan by deductions from the postmaster’s
remuneration/fees (current postmasters only) - see below
00000
4.5. Payment Plans
Where Post Office gives the postmaster more time to pay, a payment plan can be set up
for the postmaster (current or former) to pay a regular amount on regular dates.
Alternatively, a current postmaster is able to have a regular amount deducted from the
postmaster’s remuneration/fees.
All payment plans should be set for no more than 12 months, where posable. In addition,
any plans where the agreement is made to deduct from remuneration should not exceed
25% of the postmaster’s remuneration, unless the postmaster voluntarily offers to pay
more, and the Postmaster Account Support Manager is satisfied that this is appropriate in
the circumstances.
Post Office recognises that in some cases the amount could not feasibly be paid over a 12-
month duration. If this is the case:
a) an initial lump sum could be requested to reduce the plan length and/or
b) Post Office could give the postmaster a longer period of time in which to pay
Any proposed payment plans of up to 24 months must be authorised by the Postmaster
Account Support Manager.
Any proposed payment plans over 24 months must be authorised by the Head of Network
Support and Resolution.
Once a payment plan is set up, a letter will be sent to the postmaster detailing the payment
amounts, frequency and duration.
Payment plans of more than 12 months will be reviewed annually by the Postmaster
Account Support Manager.
4.6. Postmaster circumstances
Post Office will consider any relevant circumstances of the postmaster that need to be
taken into account.
4.7. Refusal to Pay an Established Loss
Post Office will consider further action, if all reasonable attempts to recover monies have
been exhausted, including (but not limited to):
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a) Pursuing the amount owed from a Guarantor, where a valid deed of guarantee, or
another document creating a guarantee obligation, exists.
b) Taking steps as outlined in the Postmaster Contract Performance policy® (current
postmasters only).
c) Other courses of action, if considered reasonable and appropriate.
A reasonable opportunity to satisfy the unpaid amount should be given to the postmaster
or Guarantor before proceeding with any of these actions.
Internal legal advice will be sought before proceeding with a) or c) above.
4.8. Write Offs
Where recovery may not be considered cost effective, or is likely to be unsuccessful, a
recommendation by the Postmaster Account Support Manager to write off the amount may
be made. The reasons for the recommendation must be fully documented and may be
subject to audit.
Write-offs can be authorised for the following amounts by the following roles:
Up to £1,000 Postmaster Account Support Manager
Up to £15,000 Senior Network Monitoring and Support Manager
Up to £25,000 Head of Contract Management & Deployment /Head of Network
Support and Resolution
Up to £100,000 I Service and Support Optimisation Director
Up to £500,000 I Finance Director
Over £500,000 _ I Group Chief Finance Officer
4.9. Provision
Provisions must be made for any Discrepancies.
For current postmaster accounts Post Office will make provision for anything aged over 60
days that:
a) Is not on a repayment plan
b) Does not have a promise to pay attached
Net credits are removed from the amounts provided for.
For former postmaster accounts the provision is calculated at 100% of the outstanding
amount.
® The Postmaster Contract Performance policy can be found on the hub, here.
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4.10. Financial Control Framework (controls reporting risks and
process)
Self-assessment controls are in place around the risk descriptions and these must be
adhered to.
4.11. Reporting
Regular and accurate reporting is required around Discrepancies, Established Losses and
Gains, including provision figures (see 4.10), investigations into Discrepancies, recoveries
made and the age of the Discrepancies and Established Losses, less unpaid credits and
Established Gains.
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5. Where to go for help
5.1. Additional Policies
This Policy is one of a set of policies. The full set of policies can be found on the SharePoint
Hub under Postmaster Support Policies.
5.2. How to raise a concern
Any postmaster (whether a limited company, partnership, limited liability partnership or
an individual), any postmaster’s staff or any Post Office Employee who suspects that there
is a breach of this Policy should report this without any undue delay.
If a postmaster or any postmaster’s staff are unable to raise the matter with the area
manager of the relevant branch or if a Post Office Employee is unable to speak to her or
his line manager, any person can bring it to Post Office’s attention independently and can
use the Whistleblowing channels for this purpose. Any person can raise concerns
anonymously, although disclosing as much information as possible helps ensure Post Office
can conduct a thorough investigation.
For more details about how and where to raise concerns, please refer to the current
Whistleblowing Policy which can be found on The Hub under Post Office Key Policies,
accessed here.
5.3. Who to contact for more information
If you need further information about this policy or wish to report an issue in relation to
this policy, please contact the Service and Support Optimisation Director, Tim Perkins, by
emailing tim.perkinsé
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6. Governance
6.1. Governance Responsibilities
The Policy sponsor, responsible for overseeing this Policy is the Retail and Franchise
Network Director of Post Office Limited.
The Policy owner is the Service and Support Optimisation Director who is responsible for
ensuring that the Head of Network Support and Resolution conducts an annual review of
this Policy and tests compliance across the Post Office. Additionally, the Service and
Support Optimisation Director and the Head of Network Support and Resolution and their
team are responsible for providing appropriate and timely reporting to the Risk and
Compliance Committee.
The Audit and Risk Committee are responsible for approving the Policy and overseeing
compliance.
The Board is responsible for setting the Post Office’s risk appetite.
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7. Control
7.1. Policy Version
Date Version I Updated I Change Details
by
1st June 2020 0.1 Jo Milton Draft Version
15t September 2020 I 0.2 Jo Milton 1.1 Updated definitions of Established Loss
and Gain
2.3 Added support information in para 2. Split
bullet point 1 into 3 to clarify support options.
5.2 Replaced “How to raise a concern” as
advised by Reena Chohan
23™ September 2020 I 0.3 Jo Milton Amended Loss Recovery Team/Manager to
Postmaster Account Support Team/Manager
throughout.
25% September 2020 I 0.4 Jo Milton Renamed policy to Postmaster Account
Support Policy
4.1 Updated the Dispute section to
encompass investigation
4.0 Write Offs - added in an additional level
of £15,000
10° October 2020 0.5 Jo Milton I Revised section 4.8
3'¢ November 2020 0.6 Jo Milton Job roles updated throughout.
15" December 2020 I 0.7 Jo Milton I Footnotes added.
26" January 2021 1.0 Jo Milton I Final Version approved by ARC.
8" April 2021 11 Jo Milton Annual Review and internal legal review
Change to risks in 2.5 and 3.5
Revised Risk Appetite Statements 3.1
Addition of section 3.2
Updated Roles and Responsibilities in 3.4
Updated Write-off table in 4.9
Updated “How to raise a concern” in 5.2
Policy sponsor updated
26" April 2021 1.2 Jo Milton Text amendments and following internal and
external legal review
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Removal of section 4.6 “Death of an
individual postmaster”
Final alignment with other support policies
4% May 2021 1.3 Jo Milton Risk appetite amendment
13% May 2021 1.4 Jo Milton Updated TC Disputes contact number in 4.3
Replacement of “settled centrally” language
25% May 2021 1.5 Jo Milton Added linked policy statement to front page
Added reference to the Group Investigations
Policy to section 3.3 Who Must Comply?
Updated link to section 5.1
Added footnotes to link to other policies
referred to in this policy.
7.2. Policy Approval
Oversight Committee: Risk and Compliance Committee and Audit and Risk Committee
Committee Date Approved
POL R&CC 12‘ January 2021
POL ARC 26" January 2021
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Policy Sponsor: Retail and Franchise Network Director
Policy Owner: Service and Support Optimisation Director
Policy Author: Senior Operational Improvement Manager
Next review: 31 MAR 2022
Company Details
Post Office Limited and Post Office Management Services Limited are registered in England and Wales. Registered numbers
2154540 and 08459718 respectively. Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.
Post Office Management Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), FRN 630318. Its
Information Commissioners Office registration number is ZA090585.
Post Office Limited is authorised and regulated by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), REF 12137104. Its Information
Commissioners Office registration number is 24866081.
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