Royal Mail has launched a drive to recruit around 19,000 temporary workers to help sort its Christmas mailbag.
Temporary positions across a variety of shifts will be available between mid November and early January 2015. The peak of the additional temporary work will be in December. The majority of seasonal positions will support Royal Mail’s permanent 124,000 postmen and women who sort and deliver the mail all year round.
Parcelforce Worldwide is also looking for drivers and indoor workers as the whole organisation gears up to delivery at Christmas which is the busiest time of the year for everyone working in the postal service.
Helping to sort the post
Around 15,000 people are needed to work in mail and distribution centres across England, 1,100 in Scotland, 600 in Wales and 400 in Northern Ireland. The recruits will help to sort Christmas cards and parcels before they go to around 1,400 delivery offices for postmen and women to take out on their rounds. Royal Mail Group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, is also recruiting 2,000 extra people throughout the UK.
Royal Mail has set up a dedicated website for people to apply for the positions – www.royalmailgroup.com/xmasjobs.
Royal Mail’s chief operations officer, Sue Whalley, said: “Christmas is the busiest time of the year for Royal Mail and we plan all year round to help ensure we deliver the best possible service to our customers. Every Christmas, we make a substantial financial commitment in additional resources to handle the festive mailbag, including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers.”