Royal Mail kicks off annual Christmas recruitment campaign
Royal Mail has kicked off Christmas recruitment drive today (6 October), as it plans to hire around 19,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post as well as the increasing amount of online Christmas shopping. In a statement sent to Post&Parcel, Royal Mail said that temporary positions across a variety of shifts will be available between mid-November through to early January 2016.
While most of the seasonal hires will support Royal Mail’s 120,000 permanent postmen and women in sorting and delivering the mail, the express parcels business Parcelforce Worldwide is also looking for drivers and indoor workers.
Around 14,900 people are needed to work in mail centres, distribution centres and data centres across England. There are also around 1,300 posts in Scotland, around 700 jobs in Wales and 500 roles in Northern Ireland. The temporary recruits will help to sort Christmas cards and parcels and online shopping orders before they are taken to around 1,400 Delivery Offices for postmen and women to take out on their rounds.
Parcelforce Worldwide is recruiting around 1,850 extra sorting staff including 830 drivers throughout the UK.
Royal Mail’s chief operations officer, Sue Whalley, said: “Christmas is our busiest time of year. We plan all year round to help ensure we deliver the best possible service for consumers and businesses in the UK at Christmas. We 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.”
Royal Mail has set up a dedicated website for people to apply for the Christmas positions – www.royalmailgroup.com/xmasjobs or by calling the helpline on 0345 600 1785.
