Over a 20-year period, the Post Office wrongly accused many innocent postmasters of stealing cash from their branches, based on evidence from its accounting system Horizon
After a long fight in the High Court, a group of 555 postmasters revealed the truth about what happened. The case showed that Horizon was flawed and that the Post Office had acted unfairly. The Courts subsequently overturned over 100 convictions: in an unprecedented move, Parliament has recently overturned hundreds more. The Department for Business and Trade is now paying hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation to those affected. A Statutory Inquiry is finding out what went wrong, so that lessons are learned to ensure it can never happen again.
In 2020, the Post Office established the Horizon Shortfall Scheme to provide compensation to current and former un-convicted postmasters who suffered losses as a result of the Horizon Scandal. In September 2024, the Government announced a new independent appeals process, overseen by the Department for Business and Trade, for postmasters in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme for who feel their financial settlement did not reflect the true extent of their losses.
In March 2023, Government launched the GLO Compensation Scheme in order to ensure that those postmasters who took part in the original High Court case had access to similar levels of compensation as their peers. The scheme has settled over 300 out of the c.500 claims expected, but there remains much to do.
The team is strongly motivated to right the wrongs of the past and highly committed to delivering results. The work is interesting, high profile and fast-paced, including responding to very regular interest from both Houses of Parliament and to regular scrutiny in the media. The work – and the responsibilities of individual posts – evolve over time: as we deliver against one challenge, the next presents itself.
The team works closely with stakeholders and delivery partners to ensure that victims receive compensation swiftly and fairly.
We are seeking dynamic and motivated individuals to work as caseworkers on Horizon scandal related compensation over the next 24 months.
At SEO level we are looking for strong performers who possess sound judgement, strong stakeholder management skills and can lead and motivate a team. You will need to be able to:
* Take responsibility for complex casework – relying on your strong analytical skills to interpret and present complex information and evidence-based recommendations to seniors in a clear and impactful manner.
* Manage and develop staff, providing direction, building capability, resilience and fostering a positive, high-performing culture where quality and service standards are met consistently.
* Establish and maintain good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring the team works collaboratively and flexibly and liaises and shares information as appropriate.
* Horizon-scan to identify and respond to emerging casework issues where the team may be required to support improvements to delivery.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .