Postman hits out at 'bitter snitch' after Royal Mail suspending him for filming TikToks on job
A former postman who was suspended for creating TikTok videos while on the job has accused Royal Mail of trying to 'control [his] social media usage'.
UK postie Daniel Ginty had built an online following by sharing light-hearted and funny videos relating to his job on social media, which he believed to be completely harmless.
However, the 31-year-old received a warning from his employer over a video he'd posted in February this year, which saw him recount a funny encounter after a person opened the door while he was posting a letter.
Ginty says he had clarified in the video that he was on his break at the time, noting that the engine in his van was turned off and his seatbelt wasn't on because 'obviously I wasn't driving'.
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"It was fairly obvious I was stationary," he said of the clip. "There was no evidence at all that suggested I was driving or anything, it was crazy."
After being sent home for a 24-hour 'cooling-off period' - due to claims that he was driving in the video - Ginty made a follow-up video, which he says Royal Mail bosses asked him to delete. He later decided to delete the account altogether.
Explaining why he made the second video, the father-of-two said: "I made a video after that one explaining why I got sent home, I couldn't believe it.
"There was nothing inappropriate or offensive in the video."
Speculating as to how the video reached his bosses, Ginty added that he believes it was shared with management by another employee who 'obviously didn't like [him]'.
Fast forward to June and Ginty would once again find himself in hot water with his employer, this time being suspended over alleged 'wilful delay of mail'.
He disputes the claim, deciding to reactivate his account and make a video documenting his experience – which he was again asked to delete.
However, Ginty refused to do so and instead handed in his notice, saying that he'd felt 'controlled' by his bosses.
"I felt like I was in a controlling relationship and they were trying to control everything I did," he said.
"I'm not a nasty person and I'm not trying to slander the company, I felt like I was getting pushed into a corner."
The dad maintained that he hadn't posted the videos with the intention of criticising the company but instead wanted to share his own personal experience, adding: "At the end of the day I've posted these videos but I've not said 'I hate Royal Mail, nobody join Royal Mail'.
"I've literally just shared my experience and unfortunately it's gone viral and people are siding with me. That wasn't even my aim."
Responding to the incident, a spokesperson for Royal Mail declined to comment on individual employment matters but suggested that disciplinary action taken against Ginty was 'broader and included wider conduct and social media concerns'.
"We take employment matters seriously and have processes in place to ensure they are handled appropriately and fairly," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Ginty is now unemployed and has decided to share his story as he believes he was treated unfairly. "It's put me and my family in a very vulnerable state, I've not got any source of income now," he said.
Even though he had to resign from his job, Ginty is, however, 'really happy' that he stuck to his principles, adding: "I'm really happy that I did stand my ground and share that. If you see or hear something that you think is wrong, you have to speak up and talk about it.
"The whole point of it is to just spread awareness. I'm really shocked that they'd try to control my social media usage."
LADbible has approached Royal Mail for further comment.
Brenna Cooper