Legal Services

If you leave your present employer and you have an ongoing Personal Injury claim and still require the CWU and Unionline to pursue it on your behalf, it is imperative that you retain your membership – which will be switched to a monthly Direct Debit payment – to continue to be eligible for Unionline’s Legal Assistance, so please contact us at the Branch Office either by telephone on 01256 474000 or email us at legalservices@cwuse5.org.uk to advise us of this in the first instance.

Unionline provide a comprehensive range of FREE Legal Services to all CWU Members and their families if they fall within the Terms & Conditions of the Scheme and can be contacted by telephone via their FREE Legal Helpline on 0300 333 0303 which is available from 8am – 7pm Monday to Friday, or by visiting their website at www.unionline.co.uk and completing a short questionnaire https://unionline.co.uk/personal-injury-enquiry-cwu/ Please be aware that you will need your current membership number when you contact them, so please make sure you have it to hand.

Accidents/Incidents whilst on duty

Members must make sure that they inform their Line Manager about the accident/incident and ensure that it is recorded on the ERICA System before contacting Unionline for assistance.

Unionline can also assist CWU members or their relatives in making a Personal Injury claim if they have suffered a trip or slip when a Local Authority or third party was at fault and can also offer their assistance for Accidents/Incidents that happen to members when off duty.

Animal Attacks

If a member or a relative is attacked by an animal or suffered an injury because of an animal’s behaviour, they may be entitled to compensation under the Animals Act 1971. Most claims under the Act are from domestic animals such as dog attacks.

Road Traffic Accidents (RTA’s)

Unionline have a dedicated Personal Injury Team that has vast experience dealing with a substantial range of RTA’s and can help anyone who has suffered injuries which was someone else’s fault and can act on behalf of drivers, passengers, cyclists or motorcyclists.

Personal Injury Compensation Scheme (PICS)

The Personal Injury Compensation Scheme (PICS) is a non-contractual, discretionary, employee only Compensation Scheme provided by Royal Mail Group Limited for Royal Mail employees ONLY. It is designed to compensate employees who suffer a significant, permanent physical or psychiatric disability as a result of an accident at work.

Under the Terms & Conditions of the Scheme, a claiming employee must have a minimum of 1 years’ service with Royal Mail Group Limited at the time of the accident/incident and still be employed and not be under notice to terminate employment for any reason at the time.

Where the employee leaves the Business after a Provisional Assessment payment has been made, no further claim can be made and no Life Assessment payment will fall due.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)

If you are injured as a result of an Accident/Incident at work and have been left with a permanent disability, you can make a claim for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) from the Department of Works & Pensions. The level of your disability will affect the amount of benefit you may get but this will be assessed by a Medical Advisor on a scale of 1 to 100%. Normally you must be assessed as 14% disabled or more to get IIDB.

Further information regarding making a claim to the DWP for IIDB can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit/how-to-claim

Clinical Negligence

These are a very different and extremely difficult type of case to deal with compared to other Personal Injury claims, but Unionline have teams of Specialist Medical Negligence Solicitors who deal exclusively with Medical Negligence matters.

Criminal Injuries

Unionline can also assist members with a claim for compensation if they have been assaulted, attacked or robbed in the UK during the last two years. Claims will be pursued through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) which is FREE for CWU Members and their families when assisted by Unionline.

If you feel you have been a victim of a crime of violence and the crime happened in England, Wales or Scotland, please ensure you report it to the police and a Crime Reference number allocated before you begin your claim through CICA.

Further information regarding claiming Criminal Injuries Compensation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-injuries-compensation-a-guide

Criminal Offences

If you are charged with a Criminal Offence whilst on duty, Unionline may be able to help, depending on the circumstances.

However, they DO NOT pay fines.

Defective Products

Unionline also have a specialist team dealing with Personal Injury claims relating to Defective Products. Members or their relatives may be able to claim compensation under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

Employment Tribunals

If you have been employed and held Membership for 2 consecutive years and feel that you have been Unfairly Dismissed or Discriminated against, your first source of CWU assistance should be your Workplace Representative, however, if there is no current rep in your workplace, please call the Branch Office on 01256 474000.

In the unfortunate event that they are unable to resolve the matter through the internal Disciplinary or Grievance processes, you may have a right to make an Employment Tribunal Application.

Remember that there are strict time limits for all Employment Tribunal Applications and your Branch Office must be informed immediately if it is your intention to submit a claim.

Please note that claims for unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal must be submitted within three months less 1 day of your effective date of termination.

It is mandatory that you comply with the ACAS Early Conciliation procedure which will affect the time limit for your claim.

Full information regarding the ACAS EC procedure can be found here: https://ec.acas.org.uk/Submission/SingleClaimantPage

As with all legal processes, all requests for Union Representation will be considered by Unionline or their associates. The services of the Legal Department are provided in accordance with the Union’s National Rules.

Rule 4.1.7 (Members Entitlements) states “Members of the Union are entitled to receive appropriate benefits and as negotiated by the Union either nationally or locally and appropriate legal services at the discretion of the NEC in accordance with published procedures”.

Ill Health Retirement (IHR)

There are no more appeals for IHR with Immediate Pension as it has been replaced with IHR with Income Benefit.

This Income Benefit consists of 3 years of 50% pensionable pay and any receipt of State Benefit reduces the amount of pension payments. The Occupational Pension age has risen, therefore, an individual will only be considered for IHR with Income Benefit if they are within 10 years of receiving their State Pension and permanently unable to work anywhere within that timescale.