Royal Mail is hiring temporary Christmas staff - here’s how to apply

The Royal Mail is calling for thousands of temporary workers to join its ranks over the Christmas period, with jobs currently available across the UK. The festive season is the busiest time of the year for the mail service, even amid the ongoing pandemic, meaning extra help is always needed to ensure letters and parcels arrive in time for the big day. Seasonal workers wanted Royal Mail has announced that around 33,000 temporary jobs will be available this year during the festive season - over 10,000 more than its usual seasonal average. The postal service typically employs between 15,000 and 23,000 extra staff between October and January to help sort the additional Christmas volumes of parcels, cards and letters. However, a high number of workers is needed this year due to a boom in parcel volumes, which comes as more people turn to online shopping as a result of the ongoing pandemic. More than 13,000 mail centre sorting posts are available in England, around 1,400 posts in Scotland, 700 posts in Wales and 500 posts in Northern Ireland. The job involves unloading mail and parcels from vans, and sorting them in the warehouse to ensure they arrive at their destination safely. Royal Mail is looking for workers who: enjoy working to tight deadlines in a fast-paced environmentare proactive and detail focusedare flexible and adaptable to work on various tasks during a shiftare able to push trolleys (up to 250kgs) and lift and move mail bags up to 11kgcan stand for long periods of time No previous experience is needed for the role, but you must be comfortable working in shifts. When you apply, you will be able to select the shift patterns that best suit you, with earlies, lates, nights and weekend shifts available at most centres. If your application is successful, you will be offered a role based on the shift preferences you choose in your application, so be sure to select them carefully. However, it is not guaranteed that you will be given your preferred shifts, as these are offered on a first come first serve basis, with shift times varying depending on the amount of mail going through the centres. How much will I be paid? The pay is hourly and ranges from £8.72 to £9.40 per hour for a mail sorting role. How do I apply? To apply for the role, simply visit Royal Mail’s careers website online to find if jobs are available near you and fill out an application. If you are registered with Angard for work with Royal Mail, you don’t need to apply for Christmas Casual work. You can speak to your Angard representative via the website for more information. If you are under the age of 18, you are not legally allowed to work night shifts. Royal Mail also advises that you do not apply for a Christmas role at more than one location, as you may still be considered for other sites close to your local area. Any multiple applications will be deleted.