Royal Mail recruits nearly 22,000 temporary workers for Christmas rush
Royal Mail announced today it is recruiting almost 22,000 temporary workers to handle the expected Christmas parcel surge. The roles include 12,500 mail sorting positions in England, plus 1,243 in Scotland, 485 in Northern Ireland and 355 in Wales, alongside 5,000 delivery and collection jobs and 2,100 temporary truck driver posts.
A total of 152,300 square metres of extra temporary space – equivalent to almost 22 football pitches – has been set up across five seasonal parcel sort centres in Atherstone, Stoke-on-Trent, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Daventry. The seasonal hires will work from late October through early January 2027, peaking in December and covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday periods. Royal Mail is also adding 7,500 hire vans to its fleet of 6,000 vehicles (including 9,000 electric vans) and hiring over 1,400 road haulage contractors per day to move festive mail. Positions are open to applicants with no prior experience, with shift work available and a particular welcome for those under 25 as part of the First Chance campaign. The seasonal workers will support sorting for the 1,200 Royal Mail Delivery Offices that handle the final leg of deliveries.
“Christmas is the busiest and most important time of the year for our customers, and we’re working hard across every part of our operation to deliver for them,” Jamie Stephenson, Chief Operating Officer said.
What we know
Today, the business announced it is recruiting almost 22,000 temporary workers to help transport, sort and deliver the additional parcels and mail the company expects to process over the festive period.
There are 12,500 mail sorting roles available in England, 1,243 in Scotland, 485 in Northern Ireland and 355 in Wales.
A total 152,300 sqm of extra temporary space – equivalent to almost 22 football pitches – has been created across the five seasonal parcel sort centres located in, Atherstone, Stoke-on-Trent, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Daventry.
The seasonal roles will run from late October through to early January 2027.
The company will be adding to the fleet of 6000 vehicles (including 9,000 EVs) with an additional 7500 hire vans to support this year’s seasonal campaign.