Home » UK Business News • UK Employment news » Royal Mail to hire 16,000 temporary workers for busiest period

Royal Mail to hire 16,000 temporary workers for busiest period

By Nithya Bose in UK Business News, posted October 4, 2023

Royal Mail is hiring 16,000 temporary workers for the busy Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas rush.

These positions in various locations will cover 8,000 mail centre sorting roles in England, 1,200 in Scotland, 500 in Wales, and 500 in Northern Ireland.

Royal Mail also boosts its fleet by adding five new temporary parcel sorting centres.

The firm is increasing its fleet by 6,800 extra trucks and vans.

It's to handle the surge in mail and online shopping parcels during the festive season.

These temporary workers will help the company's 110,000 postal workers sort mail.

They will also serve the rising number of online shopping parcels the firm expects to process during the holiday season.

Royal Mail will distribute these positions across 37 mail centers nationwide, offering a range of flexible shifts.

Contracts will be in effect from late October to early January 2024.

Parcelforce Worldwide, a subsidiary of Royal Mail, is also recruiting additional drivers and indoor workers to support the surge in demand.

These roles come with competitive pay rates and the potential for longer-term employment opportunities.

Busiest time of year

Christmas is Royal Mail's peak period when it handles approximately double the volume of parcels and stamped letters compared to the rest of the year.

The company has secured an extra 176,500 square meters of temporary space across five seasonal parcel sort centers.

These are located in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Daventry, and Greenford in London.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

Grant McPherson, COO at Royal Mail, said: “We are pulling out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.

“It’s our busiest time of the year and we know how important it is for people that we deliver letters and parcels on time.

“By planning ahead and hiring more people, vans and trucks, we are well prepared to handle the expected increased festive mail and parcels and deliver the high standards of service our customers expect from Royal Mail.”

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.