Postmaster Suspension Pay

Kevin Hollinrake Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2022 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kevin Hollinrake)]

The Bates et al v. Post Office Ltd common issues judgment in March 2019 found that clauses in postmaster contracts allowing Post Office to withhold remuneration during any period of suspension were unreasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act. Post Office was not entitled to rely on them.

Before March 2019, postmasters were not remunerated during the period of any contract suspension. Post Office has subsequently changed this policy, resulting in postmasters continuing to receive remuneration during a period of suspension.

As part of its efforts to address historical operational issues and implement improvements to its company culture, Post Office is setting up a compensation scheme to provide compensation to postmasters who did not receive remuneration during a suspension period. Post Office will write out to current and previous postmasters to offer them compensation based on the remuneration they were not paid and any associated consequential losses they may have suffered.

The Government will provide funding to Post Office to cover compensation to postmasters for unpaid suspension remuneration and any associated consequential loss. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will provide oversight to ensure that this compensation is delivered quickly and effectively to affected postmasters.

The Government continue to support Post Office in its efforts to review company practices and ensure that historical operational errors are not repeated.

[HCWS384]