Stop using pandemic as excuse for late deliveries, Royal Mail warned

Royal Mail has been warned it must stop using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse for late deliveries even as it grapples with nationwide strikes.

Ofcom, the communications regulator, has been investigating Royal Mail after it missed official performance targets because of Covid.

The watchdog said it had decided Royal Mail had not been in breach of its regulatory standards in 2021-22 as a result of the exceptional disruption caused by Covid illnesses and a surge in package deliveries during lockdowns.

But it said the pandemic would no longer be accepted as an excuse for failure.

Ofcom said: “We believe Royal Mail has had plenty of time to learn lessons from the pandemic.”

The regulator added it was concerned that Royal Mail was still missing its expected standards.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s director of communications, said: “We’re concerned by Royal Mail’s performance so far this year, which is falling well short of where it should be.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said it was “disappointed” by its performance and apologised to customers.

The regulator found that only 82pc of First Class mail was arriving on time, against a stated target of 93pc arriving the day after collection. Staff absences caused by the omicron Covid wave and social distancing measures had hampered delivery times, Ofcom said.

The figure is substantially below pre-pandemic performance, despite package volumes falling over the last 12 months. Parcel volumes dropped to 3.8bn, down by around 6pc from the height of the pandemic and lockdowns during 2020.

Royal Mail has sought to end Saturday postal deliveries as it struggles with mounting losses and strikes by workers. Post and parcels have been delayed by strike action among 115,000 postal workers, who are asking for a better pay deal amid surging inflation.

Ofcom said ongoing strikes are “likely to have an impact on both its financial performance” and quality of service.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We were disappointed by our 2021-22 Quality of Service performance and we apologise to all customers who were impacted by service levels during this time.

“We are pleased that Ofcom also took into account the significant, pervasive and unprecedented impact of the pandemic on our operation as we worked hard to keep the country connected while addressing the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, including managing high levels of sickness absences.

“During this emergency period, we played a key role in the country’s fight against the pandemic by delivering millions of Covid-19 test kits via 35,000 priority postboxes. Our focus remains to restore our service to the high standards our customers expect to receive.”