Royal Mail to hire 33,000 Christmas workers to cope with surge in online shopping

A surge in online shopping and orders has seen the UK’s Royal Mail anticipate a need to hire 33,000 seasonal workers, an increase of 66 percent.

The postal service typically employs between 15,000 and 23,000 extra staff between October and January, however temporary workers will be needed in sorting offices, delivery vans and data centres to cope with the huge increase parcels.

Royal Mail has been trying to capitalise on the rise in online shopping, which has been accelerated by the coronavirus crisis, said the BBC. Earlier in October, the firm announced it would start collecting parcels and mail from people’s homes.

The Royal Mail’s Sally Ashford told the BBC: “During these unprecedented times we believe it is critical that Royal Mail continues to deliver.

“We want to do our best to deliver Christmas for our customers and support the effort on the pandemic. This helps the whole country to celebrate and stay safe during these difficult times.”

The wider online retail industry has also been gearing up for an uptick in demand for deliveries in the run-up to Christmas. In September, the industry body for online retailers warned that firms may struggle to cope if consumers leave ordering presents until the last minute.

‘Spread out your shopping’

Andy Malcahy of the IMRG stressed that there was no need for shoppers to panic buy, but said: “If you can spread out your shopping and do quite a lot of it in November, maybe even a bit of it now, then that would really help.”

Article source: BBC; image via Post and Parcel website