Royal Mail postman wins £4,000 payout after stress of new route ‘caused panic attack’

A POSTIE has been awarded a £4,000 compensation payout for “injury to feelings” after a transfer to a new route caused him to suffer a panic attack.

Paul Phillips took the Royal Mail to an employment tribunal after he was moved from Inverclyde to the depot ten miles away in Erskine.

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The transfer came after Mr Phillips was involved in an “altercation” with another driver in February 2023, where he acted aggressively, which also saw him handed a “suspended dismissal”.

He was due to start work at the new depot six months later when he called Royal Mail customer operations manager Iain Dunn and told him he had a panic attack the night before.

Phillips told the postal chief he was “not in a good place” mentally and did not feel fit to work.

An employment tribunal ruled Mr Phillips’ attack was caused by fears over his commute – which had gone from a 12-minute drive to a 40-minute bus ride followed and a half-an-hour walk, with no buses running on Saturday mornings.

They heard the move meant he faced four hours each day travelling to and from work as his wife needed their only car for work.

The tribunal ruled Mr Phillips, who joined Royal Mail in 2021, had no reasonable way to travel to Erskine and that his life would have been adversely hit by the transfer.

They were also told he was not offered a work van to help with the commute.

Judges also heard how Mr Phillips’ mental health had gotten worse after becoming the main carer for his young kids, and that he suffers from anxiety and depression.

He had taken time off work, including two weeks after a panic attack in 2022.

Judges heard Mr Phillips had appealed the transfer but was worried about the outcome, adding to his stress.

Another boss, customer operations manager and office manager Paul Corrigan, told Mr Phillips’ he was being treated as “uncooperative” and wouldn’t receive sick pay.

Postal chiefs told the tribunal this was “not out of malice” and about ” applying the sick pay policy fairly”.

Phillips raised a grievance after Dunn told him he was expected to return to work, despite being given a sick line from his doctor.

But this dispute was resolved when Mr Corrigan offered him a work van temporarily.

It was noted Mr Phillips is “enjoying his work among colleagues he considers supportive and understanding” at Erskine.

Royal Mail was also ordered to fork out a further £2,125 to cover Mr Phillips’ lost income tax and national insurance contributions.