Royal Mail has announced plans to take on 20,000 temporary staff this winter to help manage the surge in post and parcels during the festive season. The company said the roles will cover parcel hubs, dedicated sorting sites and delivery rounds across the UK, ensuring it can cope with record volumes of online shopping and key retail events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The seasonal workforce will be spread across 37 mail centres, with 12,000 jobs based in England, 2,000 in Scotland, 600 in Wales and 400 in Northern Ireland. In addition, around 3,000 delivery and collection roles are being created, alongside 2,000 temporary driver positions. Parcelforce Worldwide is also expanding its seasonal recruitment drive, taking on more drivers and indoor staff to meet growing demand.

To support the increase in parcels, Royal Mail has opened four large temporary sort centres in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Daventry and Atherstone, Warwickshire. Together, they provide more than 118,000 square metres (1.27 million square feet) of extra capacity. Two dedicated parcel hubs will also be central to handling the Christmas workload.

Jamie Stephenson, the company’s interim chief operating officer, said the festive period required months of preparation: “It is the busiest time of year for us, and we work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly.”