Royal Mail has been hit with a massive £21 million fine by Ofcom for seriously dropping the ball on mail delivery. The communications watchdog revealed that during the 2024-25 financial year, only 77% of first-class mail and 92.5% of second-class mail arrived on time. This falls far short of Royal Mail’s own targets of 93% and 98.5% respectively.

Ofcom Slams ‘Persistent’ Failures

Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, didn’t hold back:

“Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp. These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better. Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency. And that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises.”

Royal Mail Promises Improvements Amid Criticism

In response, Royal Mail admitted the fine and promised to work harder. A spokesperson said:

“We acknowledge the decision made by Ofcom today and we will continue to work hard to deliver further sustained improvements to our quality of service. A key focus is our new delivery model, made possible by Ofcom’s recent changes to the universal service. We’re investing in recruiting, training, and supporting our teams across the network.”

They added that trials of the new delivery approach have already shown improvement in some UK regions.

Big Changes Ahead – But Will They Deliver?

Ofcom gave Royal Mail the green light to cut second-class letter deliveries to every other weekday instead of Saturdays, starting soon. However, Royal Mail still must deliver first-class mail six days a week and ensure second-class mail arrives within three days.

Christmas Crackdown: 20,000 Temp Workers to the Rescue

With the festive season looming, Royal Mail is “pulling out all the stops” to cope with demand. It’s gearing up to hire 20,000 temporary staff from late October through early January. These roles will be spread across parcel hubs, sorting centres, and mail centres throughout the UK to tackle big shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday—and ensure Christmas parcels arrive on time.

• 12,000 temp jobs in English mail centres
• 2,000 in Scotland
• 600 in Wales
• 400 in Northern Ireland

Extra seasonal sorting offices will also be set up to handle the surge in online orders.

Royal Mail’s recent hiccups have left customers fuming, but with fresh investment and a seasonal workforce surge, the delivery giant is hoping to turn things around before Christmas chaos hits.