Royal Mail to Boost Part-Time Hours and Scrap Saturday Second-Class Mail Amid £500m Investment

Royal Mail faces ongoing scrutiny from the government and regulators over its service performance. The company recently failed to meet even its relaxed delivery targets set by Ofcom, the postal service watchdog.

To address these service issues, Royal Mail will invest £500 million over the next five years. This capital aims to enhance service quality, including measures such as assigning postal workers more familiar routes and improving internal processes for managing sickness absences.

Part-time postal workers will now have the option to work extended hours. This strategic change aims to improve mail delivery efficiency across the network, directly responding to government and regulator criticism regarding service levels.

The company also plans to eliminate Saturday delivery for second-class mail, a low-priority category. Parcels will continue to be delivered Monday through Saturday, and first-class mail will still operate six days a week. This adjustment reflects a shift in delivery focus.

These changes represent a "fundamental reset" for the postal service, as described by Royal Mail's UK Operations Director, Ricky McAulay. Royal Mail expects the implementation of these plans to take five to six months, targeting revised delivery goals within a year.

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has provisionally approved these plans, pending a member vote. CWU General Secretary Dave Ward welcomed the initiative to reverse "chaos" but noted caution regarding Royal Mail's past record on fulfilling promises.

The decision to end Saturday second-class deliveries is a move that Royal Mail indicates aligns with practices in several other European postal administrations. The company asserts that the universal service obligation, which requires six-day letter delivery, is "outdated" given current mail volumes and market conditions.

Watch for the outcome of the Communication Workers' Union member vote and Royal Mail’s demonstrable progress in meeting its revised service targets over the coming year.