Royal Mail brings in temporary measures during coronavirus outbreak

Royal Mail says it will continue deliveries during the UK lockdown triggered by the global coronavirus pandemic.

It says the postal service is a ‘key part’ of the country’s infrastructure and that letters and parcels will help people stay connected while they are confined to their own homes.

But bosses say they will have a number of contingency plans in place to keep everyone safe and encourage its employees to practice social distancing.

In order to protect customers and prevent the spread of Covid-19, Royal Mail will not be taking signatures from handheld devices and will only operate with one person at a time in vehicles.

Shane O’Riordain, Managing Director of Marketing, Regulation And Corporate Affairs, Royal Mail said: “We understand the important role we have to play in helping people to stay connected. We are working hard to deliver the UK’s mail.  The mail is still scheduled to be collected and delivered as normal. This is a fast moving situation and local service levels may at times be impacted by local absences.

“Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the communities in which we operate very seriously. From today we have introduced a range of new social distancing measures aimed at offering further protection for our colleagues. Standard ways of working are being revised to ensure that, wherever possible, colleagues stay two metres apart. We are implementing a new rule that means there will only be one person in a Royal Mail delivery vehicle at any one time. Processes have been further reviewed to minimise the passing of work between colleagues. And we are calling for the washing of hands when colleagues enter and leave Royal Mail buildings, as well as at regular times during the day.

“In order to protect further both our people and customers, we are temporarily not handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures. Postmen and postwomen will instead log the name of the person accepting the item, and can sign on their behalf. This will apply to all deliveries that require a signature. Additionally, for all customers (including those who are self-isolating) where we need to deliver any parcel that won’t fit through their letterbox, we will place their item at their door. Having knocked on the door, we will then step aside to a safe distance while they retrieve their item. This will ensure the item is delivered securely rather than being left outside.

“If they are unable to come to the door at all we will issue a ‘Something for You’ card, advising of other ways they can arrange to get their item. For example, by getting a friend or family member to collect the parcel from our local Customer Service Point on their behalf. In this situation, and to keep their mail as secure as possible, they will need to bring along the card we left and a form of ID in the name of the person the item is addressed to.”

Workers at Royal Mail are being encouraged to ramp up hygeine as bosses look to follow the guidance of Public Health England and the Government to encourage social distancing.

Mr O’Riordain, added: ““We continue to act on public health authority advice which is updated daily. In the meantime we share regular updates and information with colleagues. We have also adopted enhanced disinfectant cleaning of communal areas in all Royal Mail sites on a daily basis. We are monitoring the situation closely.

“Public health authorities have advised people receiving parcels are not at risk of contracting coronavirus. From experience with other coronaviruses, we know that these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters or parcels. This complements the highly publicised guidance from public health authorities for people to wash their hands more often than usual using soap and hot water.

“These actions form part of a package of measures being taken by Royal Mail to protect both its customers and its colleagues”.