Christmas cards are still stuck in the post as Covid-fuelled staff shortages hit deliveries  – In Entertainment

Twelfth Night time has come and gone – however the Royal Mail remains to be delivering Christmas playing cards amid Covid employees shortages.

Clients in additional than 90 postcode areas throughout the nation are affected.

With round a 3rd of employees isolating or off sick, in some locations publish is being delivered solely each different day. Final week 77 supply workplaces didn’t have common providers.

Royal Mail mentioned it was recruiting non permanent employees and transferring employees round.

A spokesman added: ‘We’re offering focused assist to the native workplaces affected by these points.’

Regardless of a struggling service, Royal Mail reported pre-tax earnings of £315million within the six months to the top of September.

That is up from £17million a yr earlier.

The corporate was privatised in 2013 and the Authorities offered its ultimate shares within the firm in 2015.

In 2020 Royal Mail was fined £1.5million by Ofcom for failing to ship first-class publish on time.

The communications regulator mentioned the postal service missed its goal of delivering not less than 93 per cent of first-class gadgets inside a day of assortment.

Solely 91.5 per cent of first-class publish reached its vacation spot on time within the monetary yr ending in 2019, in accordance with Ofcom.

Royal Mail did meet its obligations the next yr.

Regardless of a struggling service, Royal Mail reported pre-tax earnings of £315million within the six months to the top of September. That is up from £17million a yr earlier

An Ofcom spokesman mentioned: ‘We all know how necessary a dependable postal service is to clients, and we are able to take motion if Royal Mail fails to fulfill our annual targets.

‘We carefully monitor its supply efficiency all year long, and have made it clear to the corporate that it should enhance because the impacts of the pandemic subside.

‘We are going to assess Royal Mail’s compliance after it has reported on its total efficiency for the entire monetary yr.’

A Royal Mail spokesman mentioned: ‘Deliveries are working as regular throughout a lot of the nation. We intention to ship to all addresses now we have mail for, six days per week.

‘In a small variety of native workplaces this will quickly not be attainable because of native points comparable to Covid-related self-isolation, larger than traditional ranges of illness absence, resourcing or different native components.

‘We’re offering focused assist to the native workplaces affected by these points and we apologise to clients for any inconvenience they could have skilled. Our postmen and girls are persevering with to work extremely onerous, as they’ve finished all through the pandemic, and we’re grateful for all of their efforts and dedication.’

Share or touch upon this text: