A postman who signed for a parcel on behalf of a frail pensioner was sacked after Royal Mail bosses were alerted when the woman rang to offer her THANKS.
The thoughtful postie, familiar with the elderly lady, decided to put his signature to the recorded delivery so she would not have to journey to the Kew sorting office, which is not served by a bus route.
The mailman, a father-of-two with an unblemished record, was axed for the policy breach after the grateful woman rang management to pass on her sincerest thanks.
The astonishing dismissal was among a catalogue of disciplinary action at Royal Mail’s Southport depo, highlighted by Southport MP John Pugh in a speech at the House of Commons on Monday night.
The Lib Dem described how workers were going to work "to battle to stay at work" and that 46 postmen in the resort had been sacked, suspended or forced off work with stress since staff moved into the depot in 2003.
Two men were sacked for not wearing helmets, despite not being in a "hazardous environment", with another, Peter Baker, 44, dismissed despite a quarter century service for leaving his van unlocked as he delivered mail to a farmhouse on a single-lane track.
Other disciplinary actions listed by Dr Pugh in Parliament, include:
* The suspension of a postman who stayed TOO LONG answering customer queries inside a shop. He was subsequently reinstated.
* A warning given to an injured Southport postwoman, supposed to be on light duties, who was sent on a full delivery round during the Big Freeze. She was forced back into hospital after her stitches unpicked. After being reprimanded by mail bosses for her absence, she was diagnosed with stress and resigned.
* Loyal workers faced with suspension for mistakenly leaving a mailbag in a van or letters in a post box, with others disciplined for not finishing their rounds on time - despite extraordinary circumstances.
Dr Pugh also claimed how senior management occasionally breach the rules by failing to sign for registered mail “especially if it is a letter from an employee about their disciplinary hearing.
Leading the debate, the MP said: "The British postman is part of the life of all of us.
"He brings us the bills, the good news, the presents, the offers, the bad tidings, and most importantly, of course, the constituency mailbag.
"It is easy to romanticise Royal Mail.
"Given all that, and given such a perspective, what I have to do tonight is to explain why, in the relatively small Royal Mail office in Southport, 46 postmen have been suspended or dismissed or have gone off work with stress; why I receive e-mails and letters from their wives, alarmed by the prospect of dismissal, loss of income, mortgage arrears and repossession; and why apparently experienced and loyal staff get dismissed and good postmen fear for their jobs."
He continued: "In my constituency, Royal Mail is summarily dismissing or suspending people for things such as not wearing their cycle helmets; for leaving letters in post boxes, even if they have never done it before; and for leaving mail, in exceptional - and I mean exceptional - circumstances, unguarded.
"All this is picked up and identified by a management intent on surveillance and on forcible action. It does not matter that the individual has an excellent employee record or that affairs are conducted differently elsewhere."
Dr Pugh added: "They are examples of not good practice, but they are cases for a word of advice, not for a disciplinary hearing."
Postmen in Southport have accused bosses of making cuts ‘through the back door’ by targeting full-time workers in a bid to make savings.
Dr Pugh told the House: "It would be quite easy to leap to the conclusion that there is an underlying strategy to find reasons to shed experienced staff, so as to cut costs, replace permanent staff with casual or reduce pension liabilities.
"I do not go for easy explanations, but I am not entirely certain what other explanations I should offer in this case."
Labour minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Pat McFadden, recognised an industrial relations problem within Royal Mail but stated that disciplinary issues were not a matter for the Government.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We do everything possible to ensure the welfare of our people and this includes a fully agreed policy that helmets and fluorescent jackets are worn by postmen riding cycles.
"We talk to our people regularly about the benefits of protective gear and always seek to apply the policy as sensitively as possible."
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