Tag: Royal Mail

Postal workers are to share a pounds 200m windfall after annual profits at the Royal Mail surged to a record high. The state-owned postal group will not publish its full-year results until 17 May. But The Independent on Sunday has learnt that profits will come in at more than pounds 500m, with revenues up between 4 and 5 per cent. That will trigger the payout to postal workers, the biggest in the organisation’s history. All employees who have been with the company for more than a year are eligible for the payout ” likely to be around pounds 1,000 each ” from sorting room to staff to chief executive Adam Crozier. It is understood, however, that chairman Allan Leighton, who took up the role in 2002, has decided to forgo his bonus.

The Royal Mail has unveiled a package of proposals to enable councils to communicate better with their residents. The postal giant came under fire from council communicators at last year’s LGCommunications conference, who said its Door to Door delivery system which enables companies to bundle in direct mailshots with their correspondence was difficult to use. LGComms chairman Martin Watkins said: ‘We were dissatisfied with its product. If you wanted it to deliver (council magazines and other communications) you had to book two years ahead. This is not realistic because publications can be time sensitive, if they are about something such as council tax.’ In addition, postcode sectors did not correspond with council boundaries, making it impossible to send out a mailing to just council residents, added Watkins. But Royal Mail now offers a ‘boundary match’ so councils that need to contact everyone within their confines will be able to do so, and has shaken up the booking service. Watkins said: ‘This is going to make a big difference because lots of councils use the Royal Mail and it is an important part of service delivery.’