Christmas Temp Shift Allowance

D.Gill made this Freedom of Information request to Royal Mail Group Limited

The request was partially successful.

From: D.Gill

12 January 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group,

Please could you:

1) Provide a list of the Royal mail offices/ mail centre locations
that paid an extra hourly night allowance to its Christmas temps
for the whole Christmas Temp contract period 2009.

2) If some locations were paid an extra hourly rate for all or part
of the period in question, please could you advise me the process
and deciding factors for which locations would be paid / not paid
the extra.

3) If any locations were not given this extra allowance, the
reasons why it was not paid. If the allowance was paid for part,
but not all of the period, the reasons why it was changed.

4) Should it be the case that some centres were paid this allowance
and others were not, please could you tell me whether you think
this would be classed as an equal pay / discrimination in the
workplace issue or not, and your reasons why/why not this may / may
not be the case.

Yours faithfully,

D.G.

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Royal Mail Group Limited

12 January 2010

Attachment attachment.txt
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Dear D Gill

Thank you for your request for information received on 12/01/2010, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act
you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 09/02/2010, which is
twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving
a revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be
assured that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you
shortly.

Yours sincerely

Daniel Tulp
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

References

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1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

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Royal Mail Group Limited

9 February 2010

Attachment Annex 1.pdf
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Attachment Gill FOI.pdf
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Attachment attachment.txt
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Dear D Gill

Please find attached a response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.

Yours sincerely

Daniel Tulp
Freedom of Information Case Officer
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0H

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From: D.Gill

9 February 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group,

Thank you for your reply to my FOI request.

However, there is one question you did not reply to and a couple of
points I need clarifying :
I asked you to explain whether the fact that some mail centres
received an extra night allowance and others did not would be
classed as discrimination under the Royal Mail's own company
equality policy.

Also, in the list of locations that you say were paid the extra
allowance, Manchester mail centre is included.
As a casual employee at Manchester mail centre during Christmas
2009, I can tell you that an extra payment was NOT given.
Please could you investigate this.

You say that decisions regarding payments were made at a local
level.
Would this be per centre, or per area, for example North West. If
the latter is the case then I see that Bolton and Preston
supposedly received this extra payment and surely Manchester would
have come under this area.

Many Thanks,

D. Gill

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Royal Mail Group Limited

10 February 2010

Attachment attachment.txt
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Dear D Gill

Thank you for your request for further information received on 10/02/2010,
which we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act.

If you have any questions or would like to contact us about your request,
please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or alternatively email or
write to us at the address below. Please be assured that we are giving
this our attention and will get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Daniel Tulp
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

References

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1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

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Royal Mail Group Limited

10 March 2010

Attachment Gill FOI Query.doc
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Dear Mr Gill

Please find attached a response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.

Yours Sincerely

John Cere
Freedom of Information Case Officer
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

Link to this

From: D.Gill

10 March 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group,

Thank you for the reply.
However, you have answered somewhat ambiguously some of the
questions I asked.

If you are unable to answer whether the equal workplace rights
issue is valid, please could you provide the Royal Mail statement
of discrimination in the workplace document that you use.

Also, you have not clarified what you mean about "decisions being
made locally"
Is this by the area, eg. Northwest, Southwest, etc, or are you
saying that it is each individual mail centre that decides.

Please could you clarify.

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

D.Gill

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Royal Mail Group Limited

15 March 2010

Attachment attachment.txt
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Dear Mr Gill

Thank you for your request for information received on 11/03/2010, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act
you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 12/04/2010, which is
twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving
a revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be
assured that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you
shortly.

Yours sincerely

John Cere
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

References

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1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

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Royal Mail Group Limited

12 April 2010

Attachment Gill FOI.pdf
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Dear Mr Gill

Please find attached a response to your recent Freedom of Information
Request.

(See attached file: Gill FOI.pdf)

Yours sincerely

Kate Fearn
Freedom of Information Case Officer
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

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From: D.Gill

12 April 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group,

Thank you for your reply.

I have read the attached equality statement and feel that at least
three of the points in it have been breached regarding the unequal
way that shift payments were made in the 2009 Christmas period.
The inequality of certain centres paying the extra shift allowance,
and other centres not paying the allowance, despite the employees
doing the same job.

The points I have noted are: (Quoted from your attached document)

1) "We need to ensure that ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES and customers are
treated with dignity and
respect, and FEEL VALUED"

* How can this be the case if there is inequality with the payment
structure?

2) "At Royal Mail Group we are working towards ensuring that
equality of opportunity is embedded in our understanding and
reflected in our people"

* Equality of opportunity??

3) "ensuring that appointments, promotions, BONUSES or
DISCRETIONARY PAYMENTS are governed by our published policies,
WITHOUT FAVOURITISM OR PREJUDICE "

* Prejudice, Favouritism. Again, if one group is given different
payment/ working conditions for doing the same job/ shift, it is
hardly equality

Your comments would be appreciated, as would be an explanation of
any action the company would take as a result towards rectifying
this anomaly.

Yours faithfully,

D. Gill

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Royal Mail Group Limited

13 April 2010

Dear Mr Gill

Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Christmas Temp
Shift Allowance

Thank you for your email dated 12 April 2010. The subject heading of your
email refers to an internal review of you Freedom of Information request.
Please note that the internal review procedure provides a review of Royal
Mail Group’s handling of requests for information and decisions taken
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act – such as whether information is
exempt from disclosure and consideration of where the public interest lies
in respect of exempt information.

Please can you confirm that you wish to request an internal review of the
handling of one of your requests for information? All information
requested by you has been provided within 20 working days of receiving your
requests and no information has been considered to be exempt from
disclosure.

The Freedom of Information Act provides individuals or organisations with
the right to request information held by Royal Mail Group. The right of
access under the Act applies only to recorded information; meaning specific
information recorded electronically or in paper documents. The Act does
not require Royal Mail to provide opinion or judgement that is not already
recorded. Therefore, in relation to the points raised in your email, I
believe it would be most appropriate for you to contact Royal Mail’s Human
Resources department for assistance.

As stated in our earlier correspondence, any complaints or issues
concerning your personal employment with Royal Mail can be directed to
Royal Mail HR Services. This can be done by contacting the HR Advice
Centre on 0845 6060603 or by writing to the following address:

Sheffield Service Centre
HR Services
Royal Mail
Pond Street
Sheffield
S98 6HR

If you do still wish to request an internal review of a particular request
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, then please let me know.
It would be helpful if you could explain which part of your request, or its
handling, your complaint concerns so that we can review any specific issues
thoroughly.

Yours sincerely,

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
Company Secretary's Office
[email address]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria
Embankment,LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

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From: D.Gill

20 May 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group Limited,

I am disappointed to note that i am still awaiting your latest
response, which is well overdue.

Many Thanks,

Yours faithfully,

D.Gill

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Royal Mail Group Limited

26 May 2010

Dear Mr Gill

I am writing in response to your email dated 20th May 2010. You wrote that
your were still awaiting our latest response however, a response to your
last email dated 12th April 2010 was provided on 13th April 2010. The
subject heading of your email referred to an internal review of your
Freedom of Information request. However, we explained that an internal
review under our complaints procedure provides a review of Royal Mail
Group’s handling of requests for information and decisions taken pursuant
to the Freedom of Information Act – such as whether information is exempt
from disclosure and consideration of where the public interest lies in
respect of exempt information.

We asked you to confirm that you wished to request an internal review of
one of your requests for recorded information. All recorded information
requested by you has been provided within 20 working days as required under
the Freedom of Information Act and no information has been withheld. If
you can clarify which of your requests or which aspect of the handling of
your requests under the terms of FOIA that you are dissatisfied with, then
we will review that request and provide you with a full response.

In relation to the other comments made in your email, we explained that the
Freedom of Information Act provides a right of access to recorded
information only; meaning specific
information recorded electronically or in paper documents. The Act does not
require Royal Mail to provide opinion or judgement that is not already
recorded. If you have a complaint concerning your employment with Royal
Mail this is not something which I can deal with under the terms of the
FOIA. As I have already stated in previous replies; any such complaint or
enquiry concerning your employment or pay should be directed to Royal Mail
HR Services. This can be done by contacting the HR Advice Centre on 0845
6060603 or by writing to the following address:

Sheffield Service Centre
HR Services
Royal Mail
Pond Street
Sheffield
S98 6HR

I apologise that I am unable to assist you further. However, if you do
wish to request a review of a specific request and response, or if you wish
to submit a new request for information, please do contact us at
[Royal Mail Group request email] or by using our online form at www.royalmailgroup.com.

Further information and guidance on the Freedom of Information Act is
available from the Information Commissioner's Office:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx

Yours sincerely,

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
Company Secretary's Office
[email address]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria
Embankment,LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

|---------+------------------------------------------->
| | D.Gill |
| | <request-26802-19946247@whatdoth|
| | eyknow.com> |
| | |
| | 20/05/2010 21:53 |
|---------+------------------------------------------->
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| To: Colin Young/e/POSTOFFICE |
| cc: |
| Subject: Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Christmas Temp Shift Allowance |
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dear Royal Mail Group Limited,

I am disappointed to note that i am still awaiting your latest
response, which is well overdue.

Many Thanks,

Yours faithfully,

D.Gill

show quoted sections

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From: D.Gill

26 May 2010

Dear Royal Mail Group Limited,

Please note that the points I raised for clarification in email of
12 April inst., still remain unanswered.

Secondly, you asked me to confirm I had asked for an internal
review.
Of course I would like an internal review.
That is why I asked in the first place.

You say you are unable to assist me further.
This is incorrect.
By not answering the questions properly (or ambiguously) you are in
breach of the Freedom of Information Act which allows me the right
to be given proper honest and concise answers to the questions I
raised.

Therefore, I am sure that you are legally bound to assist me
further, if only to clarify your answers.

Yours faithfully,

D.Gill

Link to this

Royal Mail Group Limited

27 May 2010

Dear Mr Gill

Re: Internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act

Thank you for your email requesting an internal review of Royal Mail
Group’s reply to your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. This is receiving our attention and we will write to
you again once the internal review has been concluded.

In accordance with guidelines from the Information Commissioner’s Office,
Royal Mail will answer all appeals and requests for internal review of FOI
requests as soon as it reasonably can. This will usually be within 20
working days and in any case no later than 40 days from receipt of the
appeal.

In the mean time if you have any questions or would like to add any further
information for consideration then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

MF Khushi
Company Secretary's Office

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

show quoted sections

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Royal Mail Group Limited

25 June 2010

Attachment Gill IR 25062010.pdf
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Dear Mr Gill

Please find attached a response to your request for an Internal Review from
Royal Mail Group.
(See attached file: Gill IR 25062010.pdf)
Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

|---------+------------------------------------------->
| | D.Gill |
| | <request-26802-19946247@whatdoth|
| | eyknow.com> |
| | |
| | 26/05/2010 22:28 |
|---------+------------------------------------------->
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| To: Colin Young/e/POSTOFFICE |
| cc: |
| Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Christmas Temp Shift Allowance |
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dear Royal Mail Group Limited,

Please note that the points I raised for clarification in email of
12 April inst., still remain unanswered.

Secondly, you asked me to confirm I had asked for an internal
review.
Of course I would like an internal review.
That is why I asked in the first place.

You say you are unable to assist me further.
This is incorrect.
By not answering the questions properly (or ambiguously) you are in
breach of the Freedom of Information Act which allows me the right
to be given proper honest and concise answers to the questions I
raised.

Therefore, I am sure that you are legally bound to assist me
further, if only to clarify your answers.

Yours faithfully,

D.Gill

show quoted sections

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