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High levels of sickness and ‘local factors’ are hitting sorting offices – including in Bristol and the South West
Royal Mail has issued an urgent Christmas alert as delivery operations across 58 postcodes throughout the UK encounter significant disruption ahead of the festive period.
The postal operator has disclosed that numerous local sorting offices nationwide are unable to maintain standard service levels owing to “high levels of sick absence, resourcing issues and other local factors”.
Whilst Royal Mail maintains its commitment to six-day weekly deliveries, it has acknowledged that in certain problem areas, this standard will “temporarily not be possible”.
Residents in the impacted regions have been cautioned to expect potential delays to both letters and parcels during what represents one of the year’s peak delivery periods.
The firm stated that delivery routes will be alternated to “minimise delay”, whilst additional personnel have been deployed to assist the most severely affected offices in managing escalating festive mail volumes.
A comprehensive list released on Royal Mail’s website today identifies scores of affected postcodes, spanning from London and the South East through to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Locations such as Brixton, Bristol East, Grimsby, Inverclyde, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Plymouth, St Helens, Wigan and Yate feature amongst those experiencing service interruptions.
Multiple Scottish distribution centres have likewise been included on the disruption register, along with various facilities throughout Northern Ireland, including Belfast West, Lisburn and Londonderry.
Royal Mail has expressed regret over the inconvenience, stating: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We will regularly update customers on the offices most impacted.”
This announcement follows a turbulent few months for the postal service as it grapples with increasing pressure from regulators and a spike in seasonal demand.
In October it was revealed that Royal Mail was fined £21 million for missing its annual first and second class mail delivery targets, leading to millions of letters arriving late across the UK, regulator Ofcom has said. It represents the third-largest fine ever imposed by the communications watchdog.
Royal Mail delivered 77% of first class mail and 92.5% of second class mail on time during the 2024-25 financial year, Ofcom found. This was short of its respective 93% and 98.5% targets.
It is the third year in a row that the British delivery giant has been fined for not meeting its service requirements. Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp.
“These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better. Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency. And that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises.”
“We’ve told the company to publicly set out how it’s going to deliver this change, and we expect to start seeing meaningful progress soon,” Mr Strawhorne added. “If this doesn’t happen, fines are likely to continue.”
Ofcom said it considered the effects of exceptional weather events in its investigation, such as storms and floods, but found that Royal Mail still fell short of its delivery targets between April 2024 and March 2025. The £21 million penalty was reduced from £30 million as a result of Royal Mail admitting liability and agreeing to settle the case.
Impacted postcodes
- Altens DO (AB10, AB11, AB12, AB35)
- Ashington DO (NE22, NE62, NE63, NE64)
- Barry DO (CF62, CF63)
- Batley DO (WF5, WF15, WF16, WF17)
- Belfast West DO (BT10, BT11, BT12, BT17)
- Bingham DO (NG12, NG13)
- Bristol East DO (BS5)
- Brixton DO (SW2)
- Calderway DO (WF12, WF13, WF14)
- Canvey Island DO (SS8)
- Clevedon DO (BS21, BS49)
- Congleton DO (CW4, CW12)
- Dundee East DO (DD4, DD5, DD7)
- Dunstable DO (LU5, LU6)
- Dyce DO (AB21)
- Eastwood DO (NG16)
- Ebbw Vale DO (NP23)
- Erskine DO (PA7, PA8)
- Glenrothes DO (KY6, KY7)
- Gloucester North DO (GL3, GL4)
- Gravesend Rural DO (DA12, DA13)
- Grimsby DO (DN31-DN37)
- Hyde DO (SK13, SK14, SK16)
- Inverclyde DO (PA14-PA19)
- Inverurie DO (AB51, AB52)
- Johnstone DO (PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10, PA12)
- Kettering DO (NN14-NN16)
- Kidsgrove DO (ST7)
- Kingswood DO (BS15 and BS30)
- Lichfield DO (WS7, WS13, WS14)
- Lisburn DO (BT26, BT27, BT28)
- Lochgelly DO (KY5)
- Londonderry DO (BT47-BT48)
- Mid Rhondda Ganol DO (CF39-CF40)
- Northfield DO (B31)
- North Tyneside DO (NE25-NE30)
- Northwich DO (CW8-CW9)
- Nottingham South DO (NG2, NG12)
- Ongar DO (CM5)
- Plympton DO (PL7)
- Pontefract DO (WF7, WF8, WF9, WF11)
- Prescot DO (L34, L35)
- Radstock DO (BA3)
- Renfrew DO (PA4)
- Sleaford DO (NG34)
- St Helens DO (WA9, WA10, WA11)
- Thornbury DO (BS35)
- Tipton DO (DY4)
- Uddingston DO (G71)
- Warrington DO (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5, WA55)
- Wellington DO (TA21)
- Westhill DO (AB13, AB14, AB32)
- Whitehaven DO (CA18-CA20, CA26, CA28)
- Whitwood DO (WF6, WF10)
- Wigan DO (WN1-WN6)
- Wolverhampton DO (WV1, WV2, WV3, WV4, WV5, WV10, WV13 and WV14)
- Yate DO (BS37)
The fine took into account the harm suffered by customers as a result of the disappointing service, and the fact that targets have been missed for three years. It also considered Royal Mail’s financial position, with it having recently returned to an annual profit.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “We acknowledge the decision made by Ofcom today and we will continue to work hard to deliver further sustained improvements to our quality of service. A key area of focus and investment has been the detailed work ahead of full implementation of our new delivery model, enabled by Ofcom’s changes to the universal service.
“This is critical to enable us to drive a step change in quality of service. We have also implemented important changes across our network including recruiting, retaining and training our people, and providing additional support to delivery offices.”
The company added that trials of the universal service changes were “working, with improvements in deliveries” in parts of the UK.
Ofcom gave the green light to Royal Mail to scrap second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday, with the changes being rolled out in the coming months.
But under its universal service obligation, Royal Mail must keep Monday to Saturday deliveries for first-class post and maintain the target for second-class letters to arrive within three working days.
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