(updated 29/09/22) We use Royal Mail to ship our parcels. With industrial action coming up over the next few weeks we wanted to share information on potential delays in the postal system.
Below is the current information we have on the industrial action and potential delays to the orders we dispatch. In terms of what we can do, alongside processing orders as quickly as we can to get them in the post, on days prior to the industrial action we'll upgrade as many parcels as we can to quicker shipping methods (to ensure we meet our promises to deliver in time where we can). We'll also use tracked services whenever practical and keep you up to date on any potential delays.
Firstly, the latest information on Royal Mail services and the industrial action is available on the Royal Mail Website here. Please see below for the current information we have received.
Current information on the Royal Mail Strike:
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take strike action on the following dates:
- Wednesday 14th December 2022
- Thursday 15th December 2022
- Friday 23rd December 2022
- Saturday 24th December 2022
We’re sorry this strike action is likely to cause you some disruption. We will be working to get our services back to normal as quickly as possible. Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but we cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce. We’ll be doing what we can to keep services running, but you should expect significant disruption on dates when strike action is taking place.
There’s more information online at royalmail.com/latest-news but we wanted to provide you with some of the important information, directly.
Parcel and Letter Deliveries
On days when strike action is taking place:
• We will deliver as many Special Delivery Guaranteed parcels as possible. We will prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery Guaranteed items as resources allow. We cannot however guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm next day, so we’re making changes to our delivery guarantee for items posted from Thursday 25 August, up to and including items sent on Thursday 1 September. Customers will not be able to claim for delays to items during this period.
• We will deliver as many Tracked 24 parcels as possible including prioritising delivery of Covid-19 test kits and medical prescription items wherever possible. However, significantly reduced resources mean there will be a delay to some Tracked 24 items during strike action.
• On strike days, we will not be delivering letters (with exception of Special Delivery)
Other items posted the day before, during strike action or on the days after any strike action will be subject to delay.
Business Collections
We won’t be able to provide a collection service to business customers on days when strikes are taking place. We’re asking customers to post before strike days or hold items until after strike action finishes.
Business collections will resume on the next working day after a strike. If you usually have a Saturday collection service, that will take place as planned.
Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points
Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will be closed on days when strike action is taking place. Customers will not be able to collect or drop off items on these dates. If you usually drop off bags of items to Customer Service Points, you can find information about some alternatives for dropping off items on strike days here royalmail.com/latest-news. Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will reopen the day after strike action has finished.
Post Offices
Post Offices will be open as usual. Collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited on the days of strike action. However, we will continue to leave local collect items at Post Offices for your customers to collect. The CWU has also called a strike in a small number of Post Offices on the 26th August so some branches may be closed on that day.
Getting services back to normal after strike action
We want to get your services back to normal as quickly as possible after any strike action. We'll be increasing our network capacity and using additional resources to assist with this. Collections and deliveries will resume the day after strike action finishes, including accelerating the delivery of NHS and healthcare letters, and critical Government mailings in the days following strike action.
