Royal Mail to recruit 20,000 seasonal workers for Christmas

Online shopping boosts demand in lead-up to festive season

Seasonal workers will help sort Christmas parcels and cards as well as the growing amount of online shopping orders (PA)

Royal Mail is hiring around 20,000 temporary workers in the coming months to cope with demand during the Christmas period.

The postal service says it needs the extra staff to help with Christmas post and increasing online shopping.

Parcelforce is also looking for extra workers and recruitment will start at the end of October.

Some 17,150 seasonal workers are needed in mail centres, distribution hubs and data centres across England, with 1,800 in Scotland, 650 in Wales and 500 in Northern Ireland.

The seasonal workers will help sort Christmas parcels and cards as well as the growing amount of online shopping orders.

An additional 3,650 workers will be recruited on Royal Mail Group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, 1,500 at its international parcel hub at Heathrow and 650 data inputting roles at three sites in the UK

Royal Mail chief people officer Zareena Brown said: “Our seasonal workforce is incredibly important to our operation and we very much look forward to welcoming those who return year after year as well as those who may be joining us for the first time.

“Being part of delivering Christmas is a brilliant experience and one that we know offers lots of opportunities for employment and engagement in the communities we serve.”

Additional reporting by Press Association