We will get through this

Group CEO Rico Back has thanked colleagues for their incredible efforts during these unprecedented times.

Thank you for your efforts during this very challenging time. I know it is a worrying situation. It is so great to see how everyone in Royal Mail is working together to maintain the core network to deliver and connect communities across the UK.

The postal service is a core part of the UK’s infrastructure. The delivery of letters and parcels is a key way of keeping the country connected. We are helping many people who do not have the option to leave their homes.

Our priorities are clear. They are:

1. Protect our people – health comes first

2. Protect our country

3. Protect our company

My number one priority is protecting the health of everybody as much as we can. Every decision we make will put the health of our people and customers first. We have already made a series of adjustments to our parcel handling procedures to protect our colleagues and our customers.

We worked quickly to formulate and implement an appropriate sick pay and absence policy, and we are happy this is supported by CWU. Colleagues, including those with less than one year’s service, will receive pay in relation to any coronavirus illness or self-isolation.

We are keeping our ways of working under review. There will be more changes in the coming days and weeks. We need to adapt as the government advice evolves. We will keep you up to date. You can check the latest advice at myroyalmail.com/coronavirus.

Our second priority is continuing to deliver for the country. We are pleased that the government has given Royal Mail key worker status. This underlines the importance of Royal Mail to UK society.

More than ever, people are relying on us. We are an important part of every community we serve. We are working through what else we can do to help our government and our customers at this difficult time.

Finally, we need to make sure the business is in the best shape for the day after coronavirus. We will get through this, but changes might be necessary. We have to make sure that Royal Mail stays sustainable. The economic environment in which we will be operating will be quite different to today.

We all need to keep focussed on delivering the best possible service for our country and our customers. That won’t be forgotten.

Stay safe. Look after yourselves. And let’s keep delivering for the country.

Thank you once again.

Rico Back

Group Chief Executive Officer