Royal Mail announces major Christmas move that will impact thousands of Brits

Royal Mail has announced plans to recruit around 20,000 temporary workers to help with deliveries over the busy Christmas period.

The delivery giant said the new jobs will be split across two parcel hubs, four seasonal parcel sorting centres and 37 mail centres across the country.

It said the hiring spree will help it cope with a surge in demand around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.

There will be 12,000 mail centre sorting roles available in England, 2,000 in Scotland, 600 in Wales and 400 in Northern Ireland, the company said.

It added that there will also be 3,000 delivery and collection roles across the UK, as well as 2,000 temporary HGV and MGV driver's roles.

Royal Mail will set up four extra seasonal sorting centres in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Daventry to help it fulfil deliveries.

Jamie Stephenson, Royal Mail interim chief operating officer, said: "As we do every year, we will be pulling out all the stops to make Christmas special for our customers.

"It's the busiest time for us, and we work tirelessly behind the scenes - planning months in advance - to ensure everything runs smoothly.

"From delivering festive parcels to supporting online shopping, we're investing heavily in extra resources, including thousands of seasonal team members, to help make sure every delivery arrives on time and with care."

The seasonal roles will run from late October through to early January 2026.