Covid-hit Royal Mail admits delays possible in parts of UK despite keeping on 10,000 temporary staff

Royal Mail has admitted parts of the UK could still be experiencing a reduction in postal services due to higher volumes of mail during the lockdown, Covid-related staff absences and social distancing measures at delivery offices.

Almost one in three people in Britain experienced a delay in sending or receiving letters last month, according to Citizens Advice.

The impact is having “serious negative consequences”, the charity group said, with the hold-up having knock-on effects, such as people being unable to pay bills or missing job interviews.

One person in South London told BusinessLive they received a parcel at the end of January that was posted before Christmas. Another said a parcel that was posted in December had still not arrived.

When BusinessLive asked Royal Mail for a list of UK locations where there are currently delays, and how long they might carry on for, it would not provide any details or say how long the issues could last.

According to Citizens Advice, people across London (42%), the West Midlands (37%), and the South East (36%) were most likely to experience a delay in January.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously.

“Right from the start of this crisis, we have played a key role keeping the country connected. Every single letter and parcel is important to us.

“Across the UK, we are working hard to deliver as normal a service as we can, drawing in extra resource and offering additional overtime where possible.”

Royal Mail said it had put extra measures in place to deal with the backlog, including keeping on around 10,000 temporary Christmas workers, hiring 6,000 additional vehicles, keeping four temporary Parcel Sort Centres open and offering more overtime to staff.

When asked how long it was planning to keep on its temporary workforce, Royal Mail said the measures were being “kept under review”.

“Despite our best endeavours, it is possible that some areas of the country may experience a reduction in service levels due to higher volumes of mail during the lockdown, the ongoing impact of Covid-related staff absences and necessary social distancing measures at local mail centres and delivery offices,” the spokesperson added.

Alistair Cromwell, acting chief executive of Citizens Advice, urged Royal Mail to provide more transparency.

He said: “We know Royal Mail have faced new pressures during the pandemic, and postal workers have worked tirelessly to ensure we can all stay connected. But letter delivery is a vital public service, relied on by many for bills and other critical information.

“Ensuring that people are able to receive letters at least once a week will provide reassurance to millions.”

Royal Mail said its compensation policy remained the same and people and businesses which have not received post within 10 days should consider the item as lost and submit a claim.

It said it had also put measures in place to protect staff working during the pandemic and also customers, including temporarily stopping the use of hand-held devices for signatures.

“As well as encouraging good hand hygiene, standard ways of working have been revised to ensure that colleagues maintain appropriate social distancing at all times.”

Citizens Advice said it had seen a 365% increase in the number of people looking for advice on Royal Mail delays on its website in January, compared to the same time last year.

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