On Air After Hours Dave Moore | 10:00pm - Midnight

Over half a million spent on Post Office Resignation Scheme 

Total of £684,371 over past five years

Over half a million pounds has been spent by the Isle of Man Post Office as part of its Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS) over the past five years.

The figure was revealed in the House of Keys this week by Post Office Chairman, Stu Peters.

MARS is a voluntary severance scheme some employers (often Public Sector) offer employees from time to time. 

Mr Peters was asked how many postal workers participated in a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme; and, in each year, what the total expenditure under such schemes was, by Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse.

That figure came to a total of £684,371, which equates to:

  • In 2019/20, £163,638 was paid to seven recipients.
  • In 2020/21, £198,388 was paid to eight recipients. 
  • In 2021/22 £132,222 was paid to five recipients.
  • In 2022/23, £98,059 was paid to five recipients.
  • In 2023/24, £92,064 has been paid to four recipients.

Mr Peters recently revealed to Keys members that employees at the Isle of Man Post Office are to be consulted about the future of their careers, with voluntary redundancy an option to be considered for many employees.

It's said the company has had to make 'fundamental changes' to its operations following Royal Mail's decision to transfer mail to the Island by boat, rather than plane.

It's a move that has not only led to what's been described as a 'surplus in capacity' of staff, but also arguably many postal delivery delays for customers.

When asked if the Post Office's MARS was being used as a solution to "help resolve their challenging issues", Mr Peters said "the thing to remember is that this is a voluntary scheme":

More from Isle of Man News