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Subpostmaster Appeals Panel Process
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Contents
1 Introduction Page 3
2 Types of Appeal Page 3
3 The Appeal Manager Role Page 4/5
4 Responsibili of the Contract Advisor Page 6
5 Responsibilities of the Contract / Appeals & Admin Manager Page 7
6 The Rights of the Individual Page 8
7 Handling of an Appeal Page 9/10
8 Cases proceeding to Employment Tribunals Page 11
9 Documents Page 12
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1. Introduction
These guidelines have been produced for new and existing Appeals Managers.
The purpose of these guidelines is:
e = To clarify who will be involved in the Appeals process and their responsibilities
¢ To outline the support available from Legal Services and external lawyers (the decision to
take external advice is made by Legal Services)
To date, Post Office Ltd has maintained a professional, impartial, reliable and unbiased approach
to appeals and consequently our legal track record is very good. These guidelines aim to help you
to maintain our current quality standards and should be read together with the relevant procedural
document such as:
e Subpostmasters’ contract for services (appropriate to the contract type)
¢ Operational Manuals relevant to the branch
Business and/or Operational standards
2. Types of Appeal
2.1 Subpostmaster Appeal Panel members are required to hear appeals made by Subpostmasters
against summary termination of their contract for service.
2.2 The Agents Contracts Deployment Managers North & South or an authorised Contract
Advisor hear appeals made by Subpostmasters against the level of culpability following a robbery
or burglary.
2.3 There is no right of appeal against the termination of a contract with 3 months notice.
Subpostmasters are entitled on termination of contract by 3 months notice to have a
“conversation” with the Regional General Manager regarding their situation. In these instances an
Agents Contracts Deployment Manager will take the role of Regional General Manager. The
north manager will handle requests from the south and vice versa. The Network Services
National Support Manager will also be available to handle these requests but will not be the first
person the case is allocated to.
2.4 Appeals can be heard relating to the following contract types:
e Scale Payment Sub Office (SPSO)
e Modified Sub Post Office (MSPO)
¢ Community Contract
Although there are great similarities between these contract types, care must be taken as
paragraph / section numbering differs.
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3. The Appeals Manager Role
3.1 Appointment of Appeals Managers
Senior managers from within Network Service & Transformation will be selected to be Appeals
Managers.
When new Appeals Managers are needed, the Head of Network Services National Support
Manager with the support of the Network Services and Transformation Lead team will approach
the potential Appeals Managers to identify those with the correct skills and attributes to join the
panel. The Appeals Training course is not available through the PDP process.
All Appeals Managers who are members of the Subpostmaster Appeal Panel must be Senior
Managers at band 3a or above and will not be required to undertake employee appeals.
3.2 Training
The Appeals Training Course is a one-day course run by Senior Network Services and Support
Managers. The course is intensive and involves a significant amount of practical work including a
variety of case studies.
Following appointment new Appeals Managers will receive mentoring and performance feedback
from experienced Appeals Managers as part of their induction process.
3.3 Commitment
Each Appeals Manager can expect to be asked to hear a minimum of 4 appeals per year. These
will generally be geographically close to their normal work area, although the appeal could be for
any area within the United Kingdom. A list of allocations will be maintained by the Contract
Appeals & Admin Manager and these allocations will be based on location and designed to
maintain experience. A conversation should be held between the Contract Appeals & Admin
Manager and the identified Appeals Manager prior to the case being allocated formally.
The guidelines which the allocation team will follow state that:
1. The only acceptable reason for not taking on a case is where the Appeal Manager is about
to take extended leave (two weeks or more).
2. Appeals are not to be allocated to an Appeal Manager whilst they are absent on leave
(annual / sick).
3. Appeals are allocated on a rotational basis with appeals being allocated to the manager at
the top of the list and once the appeal has been accepted the manager then moves to the
bottom of the list.
4. The Contract Appeals & Admin Manager will have a conversation with the Appeal
Manager gaining their commitment to hear the case before despatching the case
summary.
5. Regional Network Managers will not hear appeals where their team has been involved in
the audit or training of the Agent/branch or the when branch is located within their
geographical area of responsibility.
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6. No Appeal Manager should be allocated a new case until they have completed any case
they are currently progressing
7. When an appeal is allocated, the Appeal Manager’s line manager is to be copied in so
they are aware of an individual’s workload.
Any refusal to hear an appeal will be subject to discussion with the relevant line manager — see
section 5.12
3.4 Removal from the agents appeal panel
1. Permanent removal
If an individual is in a role that prevents them from fulfilling the required commitment of
hearing an average of two appeals a year and no more that four appeals then they should
be removed from the Appeals Manager list — this would however then put them back on
the business wide employee appeals panel. To be removed an individual should speak to
their line manager who should then contact the General Manager Network Services and
Transformation. The General Manager should inform the Contract Appeals & Admin
Manager if a decision is made for permanent removal of an individual from the panel.
2. Temporary removal
There is an opportunity to be removed from the panel for a short time, if an individual is
for example working on a business time critical piece of work for an identified period
(e.g. six weeks because of a major report). This dispensation can only be granted by the
General Manager, Network Services and Transformation and cannot be applied for after
an appeal is allocated. If the General Manager grants dispensation the Contract Appeals
& Admin Manager should be notified and be supplied with the dates of exemption. This
facilitates the proper management of the appeal process and our aim for all appeals to be
dealt with as quickly as possible, but also the objective that an appeal should be
completed within six weeks of allocation consistent with the need for thorough
consideration and investigation
Agents Contracts Deployment Managers will not form part of the Subpostmaster Appeals Panel.
In 2008-09 there were 56 Agent appeals,
In 2009-10 there were 62 Agent appeals.
In 2010-11 there were 38 Agent appeals.
In 2011-12 there were 35 Agent appeals
The aim is to allocate 2 appeals per manager per year and not more than 4. However Appeals
Managers will be expected to hear as many appeals as necessary subject to demand.
4. Responsibilities of the Contract Advisor
When the Contract Advisor who has awarded the penalty of summary termination of a
Subpostmaster’s contract for services receives an appeal request, he/she has the following
responsibilities:
4.1. To immediately notify the Contract Admin Team of an appeal request by emailing the agent
case summary (Appendix 6.1). The e-mail should include the Subpostmaster Appeal case for
allocation, branch name, branch code and postcode in the subject title.
4.2. To acknowledge the appeal request in writing and reassure the Subpostmaster that they will
be contacted as soon as possible by a member of the Subpostmaster Appeals Panel.
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4.3. To collate all the relevant papers in electronic format and attach them to the case summary
document. Forward the case summary document to the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager
within 5 working days of receipt of the appeal request.
4.4. The Contract Appeals & Admin Manager will provide the Contract Advisor with the name of
the Appeals Manager allocated to the case and forward the completed case summary document to
the Appeals Manager by email or on a CD by secure post. If not already included in the Case
Summary document a transcript of the RTU notes will be sent separately. On receipt of these
notes, the Appeals Manager must embed them within the Case Summary document.
4.5 On conclusion of the case the Appeals Manager will return all the papers to the Contract
Appeals & Admin Manager in electronic format embedded within the case summary document.
The Contract Appeals & Admin Manager will check the appeal outcome for any improvement
opportunities identified by the Appeals Manager and ensure that the Case Summary is completed
to the required standard using the “Minimum Standards Checklist”. Any improvement
opportunities should be notified to the relevant people concerned e.g. if there is an issue with the
appeals process this should be referred to the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager.
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5. Responsibilities of the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager
5.1. To maintain the list of Appeals Managers on the Subpostmaster Appeals Panel, including
details of their availability and past performance for management purposes.
5.2. To allocate appeals to Appeals Managers within 2 working days and feedback to appropriate
line managers where cases have been declined — see section 5.12.
5.3. To ensure the Appeals Manager is totally independent. This means that they have no previous
connection to the case or the individual involved in the appeal. For Regional Network Managers
the branch must not be within the geographical area that they cover and no members of their team
should have been involved in the audit or training of the branch. Whilst the Contract Appeals &
Admin Manager will try to minimise travel commitments wherever possible, Appeals Managers
will be expected to travel if necessary.
5.4 To send the case summary to an Appeals Manager by email. A return receipt will be used to
confirm delivery. To send a voice recorder for use during the appeal and monitor return.
5.5. To ensure cases are normally completed within a maximum of 6 weeks of the notification
received of intent to appeal the Contract Advisor decision. Implement follow up procedures to
monitor progress of the case. The same timescale will apply to discussions following 3 months
notice of termination.
5.6 To notify the Contract Advisor via template e-mail of the name of the appointed Appeals
Manager and the date they agreed to take up the case. Complete the relevant section of the case
summary document.
5.7 To record the details of each appeal case on the Appeal Register held on the Agents
Deployment Team SharePoint site and monitor the progress and completion of each case.
5.8 Produce timely and accurate management information in the format prescribed to the Agents
Deployment Team Manager, North.
5.9 The Contract Appeals & Admin Manager should check that all documents relating to the
appeal are embedded in the decision document returned by the Appeal Manager using the
Minimum Requirements Checklist.
5.10 Distribute voice recording equipment and maintain a log of who has equipment at any time
so all equipment if fully accounted for.
5.11 To maintain and periodically update the Agent Case Summary file.
5.12 To respond to all queries about any aspect of the appeals process including contact with line
managers when there is a refusal to hear an appeal.
5.13 To oversee the maintenance of the Appeals performance monitoring systems.
5.14 Working with the Agents Contracts Deployment Manager North undertake the following
actions
¢ To implement any identified improvement opportunities at a national level.
¢ To liaise with Legal Services to ensure legal compliance, communicating all relevant
information to the Appeals Managers and the Contract Admin Team.
© To initiate, when required, new Appeals Manager Training courses.
e To keep all Subpostmaster Appeals Managers up to date with important information /
legal developments.
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e Consider methodology required for periodically reviewing appeal cases for conformance
with the appeals process and overall consistency of decision making.
6. The Rights of the Individual — principles to consider
The Subpostmasters’ contract for services fully documents the rights of the individual.
Appeals Managers are reminded that there are rules of natural justice, which must be considered
when carrying out the appeal, and which require that:
e The individual should know the case against them. This means that the charge must be
specific and the evidence against them made known to them.
e The individual should have the chance to state their case.
e There must be no bias in the appeals proceedings.
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7. Handling an appeal
These are the essential steps you will take when handling an appeal:
7.1 You will receive the case papers from the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager in electronic
format. The intention is that only those papers that are required for the appeal should be printed.
The case summary file should contain all documents used by the Contract Advisor.
7.2 Read all the papers carefully to ensure that:
e They are complete
e There has been an adequate investigation
e There are no apparent procedural problems
e You can decide how to deal with any problem areas early in the process.
Incomplete files should be returned to the Contract Advisor for either full completion or an
explanation as to why papers/documents are missing (you would normally copy in the Agents
Contracts Deployment Manager North or South and the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager to
make them aware).
7.3 Make arrangements for a date, time and location for the hearing, liaising with the “friend” if
applicable.
7.4 Write to the individual inviting them to the appeal hearing enclosing an explanation of the
appeals procedure. An Appeal Hearing can either be face to face or undertaken by written
submission.
7.5 The individual may be accompanied by a friend who must be:
e Aged 18 years or over; and
e a Subpostmaster; or
e a Post Office® branch Assistant; or
anemployee of either Post Office Ltd;
e and can be the local NFSP representative.
It is Post Office Ltd’s policy that, at our absolute discretion, we allow individuals to be
accompanied at appeals by a ‘friend’; however it does not allow the friend the opportunity to
represent the individual.
Note: “Friends” representing any other organisations must not be permitted to attend the appeal
interview. Full guidance about how to deal with “friends” at interviews is contained within ACC
01/12.
7.5 Be sympathetic to any reasonable request for an adjournment to an alternative date. However
it is important to complete the appeal as quickly as possible and within the 6 week target. Only in
exceptional circumstances would an appeal hearing be adjourned longer than 14 days. If the
appellant is finding it difficult to attend they should be offered the opportunity to enter a written
appeal instead.
7.6 An impending prosecution of a Subpostmaster should not hold up the appeal as this is a
separate legal process to the appeal. If however there is any doubt, guidance should be obtained
from the Agents Contracts Deployment Manager who will work with Legal Services to ensure
that the position of Post Office Limited is not compromised.
7.7 Appeal hearings should be recorded using recording equipment supplied by the Contract
Appeals & Admin Manager. Note takers should not be used unless recording equipment is
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unavailable. A transcription service is available and if a transcript of the recording is required,
contact the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager for instruction.
7.8 Hold the appeal being sympathetic, but neutral, to the individual. Ensure the individual and
their representative has copies of any relevant papers. Your role is to gather sufficient evidence
to enable you to reach a reasoned decision. You should not attempt to defend the original
decision as you are taking a fresh and impartial look at the case. You should establish the basis
for the appeal and also what aspects of the original hearing are in / not in dispute.
7.9 Send the individual (and the “friend” if applicable) an encrypted copy of the recording for
agreement, seeking any comments / amendments by a specific date.
7.10 Where necessary undertake further investigations and inform the individual of the outcome.
7.11 Ensure the individual has the opportunity to comment upon any new evidence that arises as a
result of the further investigations by a specific date.
7.12 Weigh up all the evidence, record conclusions and make a reasoned decision on the balance
of probabilities. Your thought process in reaching the decision should be fully documented.
7.13 If the charge is found to be substantiated, examine the gravity of the misconduct and any
mitigating evidence, document the logic and decide on a reasonable penalty in line with the
Subpostmaster’s contract for services.
7.14 An Appeals Manager can find the case against the individual proven, but disagree with the
original penalty. In such circumstances, your options are to:
e Uphold the decision to terminate their contract for services
e¢ Uphold the decision to terminate their contract for services but with three months notice
¢ Reinstate their contract for services with or without penalties e.g. with a written warning,
final written warning and reinstatement subject to the repayment of any losses.
It is not the Appeals Managers role to determine what happens to the branch or how losses are
recovered (but you can indicate losses should be repaid as a condition of re-appointment). This is
the role of the Contract Advisor who will contact the Subpostmaster once the appeal has been
completed.
The decision of the Appeals Manager is final. There are no further internal processes to contest
an appeal decision.
7.15 Notify the Subpostmaster of your decision in writing. They need to be given reasons as to
why you have reached your decision, but there is no requirement to defend it to them.
7.16 Return all the papers electronically embedded into the case summary document and voice
recording on CD to the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager. The report should cover:
The approach taken
Documented action prior to the appeal
The voice recording on CD and any further notes or comments made by the individual
Details of subsequent investigations
Conclusions reached and the decision rationale
The decision letter which will also including the rationale for decision
Copies of all correspondence received and sent
Improvement opportunities for the Contract Advisor/other departments.
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7.17 A copy of the decision letter and personal improvement opportunities / learning points
should be sent to the Contract Advisor, copied to their line manager when the case is finalised.
Notify the Contract Appeals & Admin Manager of any improvement opportunities which affect
national processes.
8. Cases Proceeding to Employment Tribunals
Tribunals are for dealing with disputes between employers and employees, workers or certain
office holders and do not apply to Subpostmasters. Occasionally, however, a Subpostmaster will
lodge a tribunal claim on the contention that he/she is an employee or worker. There is now
settled case law that Subpostmasters are not employees or workers who work under a contract for
service. In these instances, Legal Services or their external suppliers/agents will take the
necessary steps to defend such claims.
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Useful Documents
Agents Case Summary
Containing all the information for the
case and the appeal.
Case summary file
Invitation to appeal
To be sent by Appeals Manager
iW
Appeal Invite Letter
Explanation of appeals
process
To be sent with the invitation letter
WI
Explanation of
Appeals Process
Outcome of appeal
To be sent by Appeals Manager
wI
Decision Letter
Decision Rationale For use by the Appeals Manager
Document wi
Decision Rationale
Document
Minimum requirements I For use by CAT to check the
checklist completeness of the case returned by ry
the Appeals Manager.
Minimum
Requirements Checkli
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