Preparing for Peak
We’re pulling out all the stops once more to deliver Christmas to our customers by supporting the colleagues we already have.
We’re recruiting 16,000 temporary workers to help sort the mail, as well as the increasing number of parcels the company expects to process over the festive period.
Almost 4,000 new vans, trucks and trailers are being added to the fleet in time for Christmas. These vehicles form part of the plan to renew our fleet with a total of 5,000 new vehicles, including 2,100 electric vans. In addition, over 1,200 road haulage contractors are being hired to transport the festive mail and parcels across the country.
There are also 5,000 delivery and collection roles available in local delivery offices across the country.
Alistair Cochrane, Chief Operating Officer, said: ‘Every year we pull out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers. It’s our busiest time of year and we plan all year round to help ensure we deliver the best possible service for UK consumers and businesses.
‘We are continuing to make a substantial commitment in additional resources including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers to handle the festive mailbag and the growing market of online Christmas shopping.’
Our North West and Midlands super hubs will be hiring over 2,000 additional colleagues, with the expectation of 1.7 million parcels per day to be processed across both sites.
A total 141,000 sqm of extra temporary space – equivalent to 20 football pitches - has been created across the five seasonal parcel sort centres located in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Daventry, and Greenford in London.
Royal Mail and Parcelforce will be working closely, to maximise the capability of both networks to deliver for our customers. Parcelforce is better placed to accommodate larger items posted within the networks. Where required, larger items will be transferred from Royal Mail’s network to Parcelforce during Peak to ensure the right-sized parcels are being delivered by the right networks.
Parcelforce is also recruiting additional drivers and indoor workers.
