Royal Mail: we’re determined to do better

Royal Mail has today published its Quality of Service Improvement Plan (the plan) for the postal Universal Service, with a commitment to invest £500 million over the next five years to improve service for customers.

The publication of the plan follows agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) on deployment of changes Ofcom made to the postal Universal Service regulations last year. Agreement was reached with Unite CMA, who represent managerial grades in Royal Mail, last year.

The plan sets out how Royal Mail will achieve a consistently higher standard of service following the rollout of a new delivery model, starting in May, subject to a consultative ballot by CWU members on the new agreement. It focuses on addressing completion rates of delivery routes each day – the primary driver of delays.

The new Universal Service delivery model will mean that Second Class and other non-First Class post is delivered every other weekday. There will be no changes to First Class post which will continue to be delivered daily, Monday-Saturday and parcels will still be delivered up to seven days a week.

The £500 million investment will be funded by savings from the Universal Service changes and is equivalent to around 3,000 full-time posties a year. This investment, including c.6,000 part-time posties having the opportunity to increase their average weekly hours, will ensure the right resource is in the right place to cover every route every day.

Alongside the rollout of the new delivery model, Royal Mail is already taking steps to stabilise and improve deliveries, including targeted support for the lowest-performing delivery offices, additional investment to help manage sick absence and strengthened daily performance management in all delivery offices. These actions are designed to create the foundation and support improvement in quality of service for the long term.

 Alistair Cochrane, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail, said: “I’m pleased we’ve reached agreement with our unions – the CWU and Unite CMA – on the rollout of a new Universal Service delivery model which will deliver a better, more reliable service for our customers, our people and the nation.

“We recognise our service hasn’t always been the standard our customers rightly expect and we’re determined to do better. The plan we’ve set out today shows how we’ll make a step change in performance across the UK, backed by £500 million of investment over the next five years.”

 Delivery targets

The plan outlines the forecast delivery improvements to reach Ofcom’s revised regulated targets, quarter-by-quarter, over a 12-month period. The revised targets came into effect on 1 April 2026:

• 90% of First Class letters to be delivered the next day, 99% within three working days.
• 95% of Second Class letters to be delivered within three days, 99% within five working days.

Performance Commitments

Royal Mail will track progress against clear milestones starting from rollout of the new delivery model in May. The milestones set out commitments to improve First Class and Second Class deliveries as follows:

• Improve First Class next-day delivery to c.85% in nine months
• Achieve 90% within twelve months of deployment.
• Improve Second Class delivery to c.93% in nine months
• Achieve 95% within twelve months of deployment.

The Universal Service changes will be the most significant that Royal Mail has made in a generation. Subject to a consultative CWU ballot, the rollout of the new delivery model will be undertaken on a phased basis over five to six months across c.1,200 delivery offices. Quality of Service will take time to fix given the complexity of the structural change needed.

Royal Mail and its unions, the Communication Workers Union and Unite CMA, started piloting a new delivery model in 35 of c.1,200 delivery offices last year. The new Universal Service delivery model incorporates a range of learnings from the pilot offices and shows that when deployed the changes will deliver improved service levels for customers.

Throughout the rollout customers will be kept informed of progress against the improvement plan through updates at royalmail.com/receiving/the-future-of-letter-deliveries.