Royal Mail is recruiting nearly 22,000 temporary workers to help deliver Christmas.
The roles will support the company’s busiest season, covering the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping peaks and the Christmas period itself, with jobs in transport, sorting, and delivery across the UK.
Temporary staff will be based at Royal Mail’s two parcel super hubs in Warrington and Daventry, five seasonal parcel sort centres, four parcel hubs, and 37 mail centres, with a variety of shift patterns on offer.
Jamie Stephenson, chief operating officer at Royal Mail, said: “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.
“While many people start thinking about Christmas as the festive season approaches, we’ve been planning for it since January.
“From recruiting thousands of seasonal colleagues to strengthening capacity across our network, we’re making significant investments to help ensure every card, gift and parcel arrives in time for Christmas.”
Of the 22,000 roles available, 12,500 are mail centre sorting positions in England, with 1,243 in Scotland, 485 in Northern Ireland, and 355 in Wales.
There are also 5,000 delivery and collection jobs and 2,100 temporary driver positions.
The company has created 152,300 square metres of additional temporary space across its five seasonal parcel sort centres in Atherstone, Stoke-on-Trent, Milton Keynes, Northampton, and Daventry.
Parcel hubs are located in Stonebridge Park, London; Wishaw, Scotland; Severn Beach, Bristol; and Wakefield, Yorkshire.
Temporary workers will help process the rising volume of online shopping orders before they are sent to Royal Mail’s 1,200 delivery offices.
The seasonal roles will run from late October through to early January 2027, with demand peaking in December.
Parcelforce Worldwide is also hiring extra drivers and indoor staff to meet the seasonal surge.
Royal Mail is encouraging people of all backgrounds to apply, including those seeking extra income over the festive period.
No previous experience is required, and shift working is available.
The company is particularly keen to attract applicants under 25, including those with no experience.
Earlier this week, Royal Mail became one of the first major UK employers to sign up to the Government’s First Chance campaign, which aims to create more opportunities for young people to enter employment.
The temporary positions come with competitive pay and the potential for longer-term employment.
Seasonal roles have often led to permanent positions within the company in previous years.
Royal Mail has been preparing for the Christmas rush since January, expanding capacity and investing in its network to handle the expected increase in parcels and mail.
The company will add 7,500 hire vans to its existing fleet of 6,000 vehicles, which includes 9,000 electric vehicles, for the seasonal campaign.
More than 1,400 road haulage contractors will also be hired daily to transport mail and parcels throughout the UK during the peak season.
Royal Mail operates the country’s largest parcel point network, with around 30,000 locations including 3,300 lockers, 8,500 Royal Mail Shops, 11,500 Post Office branches, and 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points.
The company has also made it easier to use its 115,000 postboxes to send smaller parcels that will fit through a letterbox.
Customers can now request proof of posting using the Royal Mail app, and 3,500 postboxes of the future can accept larger parcels up to the size of a shoebox.
The full list of seasonal vacancies and application details can be found on the Royal Mail website.