Post Office could close 115 branches with jobs at risk

As much as 115 Publish Place of job branches and loads of head place of job jobs are in peril as a part of a thorough shake-up of the trade, the BBC understands.

The Publish Place of job is having a look at choices for its wholly-owned branches, which recently make use of about 1,000 employees and are loss-making.

Those may just come with backup franchise preparations the place some other operator like store WHSmith or some other 3rd birthday party may just shoot at the branches.

The Conversation Staff Union (CWU) mentioned that for the corporate to suggest such plans because the crowd inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal continues was once “immoral” and “tone deaf”.

The strategic overview, led through the Publish Place of job’s untouched chairman Nigel Railton, is designed to basically exchange how the organisation operates.

It targets to position the trade on a less attackable monetary bedrock, nevertheless it comes because the afflicted organisation residue the topic of a long-running inquiry into the Horizon scandal.

Between 1999 and 2015, loads of sub-postmasters had been wrongly prosecuted upcoming misguided laptop tool made it seem cash was once lacking from their accounts.

The inquiry is in its ultimate time of proof, greater than two and a part years because it began hearings in crowd.

Mr Railton advised sub-postmasters on Wednesday {that a} “new deal” was once had to put them on the “heart of this business”.

The previous boss of Camelot was once appointed meantime chairman of the Publish Place of job upcoming his predecessor Henry Staunton was once sacked in January.

He described the Publish Place of job as an organisation that was once wanting “a fresh start, and urgently”.

The Publish Place of job, which is owned through the federal government, has 11,500 branches throughout the United Kingdom, maximum of that are franchises.

Of this quantity, 115 are Crown Publish Workplaces, better branches most often discovered on Top Streets and staffed through Publish Place of job staff.

The organisation faces a number of demanding situations, corresponding to fewer public sending letters, the arise of on-line buying groceries, with revenues for its branches being collision because of this.

Lately, just about part of branches don’t seem to be winning or most effective build a little take advantage of the Publish Place of job component of the trade.

Mr Railton mentioned that the plans set off would lend greater than £250m each and every future to postmasters through 2030, even supposing added this may be topic to executive investment.

It additionally targets to strengthen branches’ banking trade in for purchasers, and can see a “lower-risk, better value” IT gadget offered for sub-postmasters.

On Monday, the Eu boss of Fujitsu, the corporate which evolved the misguided Horizon gadget, admitted he “does not know” if the software is currently reliable.

A survey in September not hidden nearly seven in 10 sub-postmasters have skilled an “unexplained discrepancy” on the Horizon system since January 2020.

However chair of the Publish Place of job mentioned the proposed reforms marked “a new phase of partnership” to “strengthen the postmaster voice in the day-to-day running and operations of the business”.

“We can, and will restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal,” he added.

However Mr Ward, of the CWU, mentioned it gave the impression the Publish Place of job had “learned no lessons from its chaotic and uncoordinated mistakes from the past”.

“CWU members are victims of the Horizon scandal – and for them to now fear for their jobs ahead of Christmas is yet another cruel attack,” he added.

Previous this past, Publish Place of job minister Gareth Thomas mentioned the organisation was once at a important juncture and the federal government had already commissioned its personal overview into what the Publish Place of job must seem like going forward.

Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds advised the inquiry on Monday that he didn’t really feel sub-postmasters had been getting suitable pay for the volume of industrial they habits.

He additionally hinted that Publish Place of job branches may just step into filling the space left through Top Side road storehouse department closures.

One by one, ministers had been exploring plans handy possession of the Publish Place of job to sub-postmasters.

Reynolds advised the Horizon inquiry there was once nonetheless “tremendous affection” for the Publish Place of job a few of the UK crowd and a “desire for it to have a strong future.”

He mentioned the Publish Place of job “has to be one that has a significantly smaller centre” and sub-postmasters needed better pay, adding “that will necessitate some quite considerable changes to the organisation centrally to do that”.

Neil Brocklehurst, the acting chief executive of the Post Office, said that the last few years had been challenging for many retailers.

“We have faced cost pressures from rising energy prices, increased National Minimum Wage and National Insurance Contributions,” he said.

He added that it was “vital” for the organisation to make changes that benefit not only sub-postmasters but local people and businesses “who rely on us” for everyday services.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “The government is in active discussion with Nigel Railton on his plans to put postmasters at the centre of the organisation and strengthen the post office network for its long-term future.”