Royal Mail strike
Quick links
Yes. We will prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits on days of strike action.
Please do not place completed Covid test kits in priority postboxes on days when strike action is taking place as collections from these boxes will be limited and there is a risk of a delay.
If you are a member of the enhanced protection programme and need to return a completed Covid PCR test kit on days when strike action is taking place, please call 119 who will arrange for a courier to come and collect your test kit.. This will be operating on days of strike action and bank holidays.
If you are returning a Covid test kit (or test kits) on behalf of a care home, please do not use a priority postbox on days when strike action is taking place. Instead please use the courier collection service, which will be operating on days of strike action.
All priority postboxes will receive a collection the next working day after strike action has finished.
If you are a member of the enhanced protection programme and need to return a completed Covid PCR test kit on days when strike action is taking place, please call 119 who will arrange for a courier to come and collect your test kit.. This will be operating on days of strike action and bank holidays.
If you are returning a completed Covid test kit (or test kits) on behalf of a care home, please do not use a priority postbox on days when strike action is taking place. Instead please use the courier collection service, which will be operating on days of strike action.
No. Please do not place completed Covid test kits in priority postboxes on days when strike action is taking place as collections will be limited and there is a risk of delay.
All boxes will receive a collection the next working day after strike action has finished.
No. Post Office branches cannot accept completed Covid test kits to be returned on days of strike action.
All priority post boxes will receive a collection the next working day after strike action finishes.
Contingency resources cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce on days of strike action, so we will be focusing on delivering priority products Special Delivery and Tracked 24 items including Covid-19 test kits and prescription medicine items. Delivery of other items will resume the day after strike action including the acceleration of NHS and government letters.
Please post your items as early as possible in advance of strike dates. Â If your item is urgent, we recommend you use Royal Mail Special Delivery. Special Delivery will continue to be prioritised during strike action. However, we cannot guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm the next day.
We will prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery items as resources allow.
We cannot however guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm next day for items posted from: Wednesday 23 November up to and including 3 December 2022 and items posted from Thursday 8 December 2022 until 27 December 2022.
Special Delivery items will be prioritised on days of strike action and after strike action has finished.
Customers should expect some Special Delivery items to be subject to delay if posted the day before, during or the days immediately following strike action.
We will not be able to deliver any letters on days when strike action is taking place with the exception of Special Delivery letters. Delivery of letters will resume the day after strike action including the acceleration of NHS, healthcare and critical government letters.
On days of industrial action, contingency resources will be focusing on delivering as many priority Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible.
We will not be able to deliver any letters on days when industrial action is taking place with the exception of Special Delivery letters.Â
Delivery of letters will resume the next working day after industrial action finishes and this includes the acceleration of NHS, healthcare and critical government letters.
Deliveries will resume the next working day after strike action finishes.
Customers should expect delays to items as we work to get services back to normal as quickly as possible.
If you’re sending or expecting an item which is travelling using a trackable service, the tracking will be available as usual at royalmail.com/track-your-item.
Customers should expect delays to items if they are posted just before, during or just after strike action.
Delays will vary according to the product / service.
We will work to keep delays to a minimum and get services back to normal as quickly as possible.
No. Deliveries of international parcels and letters will resume the day after industrial action finishes.
Please do not book redeliveries to take place on days when strike action is taking place, or the next working day after strike action finishes.
We will not be able to redeliver items on strike days and we’re unlikely to be able to redeliver items on the day after strike action as we work to restore services. You can book redelivery of items two working days after strike action finishes.
Customers can arrange to collect items from a Customer Service Point (after strike action) or a Post Office branch but should check their notifications for confirmation their item has been delivered there before attending to collect it.
We will continue to accept, prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery items on days of strike action as our resources allow. We cannot guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm next day for items posted on Wednesday 23 November up to and including 3 December 2022 and items posted from Thursday 8 December 2022 until 27 December 2022.
We will suspend the delivery guarantee for these specified periods. Customers cannot claim fee refunds for delayed items or consequential loss due to delay for items posted on these dates.
Yes. Tracking will continue to operate as normal even in the event of industrial action. We will provide a link to the latest Information about service on our tracking web page and the RM App.
To avoid giving misleading information, we will be suspending the Estimated Delivery Window communications before, during and immediately after any industrial action.
Normal SMS/email notifications, updating customers on the progress of an item, will remain in place.
On days of strike action, our Customer Service Points will be closed.
Customer Service Points will be open the day after any strike action finishes.
Customers should check their notifications for confirmation their item has been delivered there before going to the Customer Service Point.
Customers can request items are delivered to their local Post Office branch.
Although Post Offices will be open on days of industrial action, the deliveries to them may be limited.
Customers should check their notifications for confirmation their item has been delivered to the Post Office before going there to collect it.
Yes. You can continue to use Postboxes throughout strike action. Please bear in mind collections from Postboxes will be limited on days of industrial action and delay to items should be expected.
Collections from Postboxes will be limited on days of strike action and delay to items should be expected.
Collections from priority postboxes will be limited on days of strike action.
If you need to return a completed Covid test kit, please refer to the relevant support below.
If you are a member of the enhanced protection programme and need to return a completed Covid PCR test kit on days when strike action is taking place, please use the courier home collection service. This will be operating on days of strike action and instructions on how to arrange a courier collection can be found with your test kit.
If you are returning a Covid test kit (or test kits) on behalf of a care home, please do not use a priority postbox on days when strike action is taking place. Instead please use the courier collection service, which will be operating on days of strike action.
If you are part of the national testing programme, please do not place completed Covid test kits in priority postboxes on days when strike action is taking place as collections will be limited and there is a risk of delay.
All priority postboxes will receive a collection the next working day after strike action finishes.
No. We will not seal shut Postboxes during strike action except in exceptional circumstances (i.e. temporarily to prevent them from overflowing).
Post Office branches will be open on days of industrial action. Customers will be able to access the usual services at Post Office branches.
Collections from Post Offices will be limited on days of industrial action so items being returned are likely to be subject to delay.
Customers should expect Tracked Return item to be subject to delay if returned via a Post Office the day before, during or the days immediately following industrial action.
No. We'll not be able to operate our parcel collect service on days of strike action.
Parcel Collect services will resume the next working day after strike action finishes.
Customers can return an item by taking it to a Post Office as they will remain open throughout any industrial action.
Please bear in mind collections from Post Offices will be limited and so customers should expect delay to their items.
Customers should expect Tracked Return item to be subject to delay if returned via a Post Office the day before, during or the days immediately following industrial action.
On days of strike action, none of our Customer Service Points will be open for customers to collect or drop off items.
Customer Service Points will reopen the day after strike action.
After strike action, customers going to a customer service point to collect a parcel (one which has been attempted delivery or been requested to be delivered to a customer service point) should check their notifications to confirm their item is ready for collection.
On days of strike action, none of our Customer Service Points will be open for customers to collect or drop off items.
Customer Service Points will reopen the day after strike action.
After strike action, customers going to a customer service point to collect a parcel (one which has been attempted delivery or been requested to be delivered to a customer service point) should check their notifications to confirm their item is ready for collection.
On days of strike action, none of our Customer Service Points will be open for customers to collect or drop off items.
Customer Service Points will reopen the day after strike action.
After strike action, customers going to a customer service point to collect a parcel (one which has been attempted delivery or been requested to be delivered to a customer service point) should check their notifications to confirm their item is ready for collection.
On days of strike action, our Customer Service Points will be closed.
We will resume delivery of items after strike action has finished.
You’ll only be able to collect items you have requested are to be delivered to a customer service point and for which you’ve had confirmation it is ready for collection.
Post Offices will be open and offering the usual range of services on days when strike action is taking place.
On all days of Royal Mail strike action, collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited. Customers should expect delays to items sent on strike days and on the days immediately after strike action.
Post Offices will be open and offering the usual range of services on days when strike action is taking place.
On all days of Royal Mail strike action, collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited. Customers should expect delays to items sent on strike days and on the days immediately after strike action.
On all days of Royal Mail strike action, collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited. Customers should expect delays to items sent on strike days and on the days immediately after strike action.
If you usually take sealed bags to a Royal Mail drop off point or to the Post Office, you can take this to a Post Office branch on days of industrial action.
On all days of Royal Mail strike action, collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited. Customers should expect delays to items sent on strike days and on the days immediately after strike action.
Contingency resources cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce on days of strike action, so we will be focusing on delivering priority Special Delivery and Tracked 24 items. This includes Covid-19 test kits and delivery of prescription medicine items.
No. On days of strike action, our Customer Service Points will be closed.
We will resume deliveries the next working day after strike action finishes.
You’ll only be able to collect items you have requested be delivered to a customer service point and for which you’ve had confirmation is ready for collection.
We will continue to accept, prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery items on days of strike action as our resources allow. We cannot guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm next day for items posted on Wednesday 23 November up to and including 3 December 2022 and items posted from Thursday 8 December 2022 until 27 December 2022.
We will suspend the delivery guarantee for these specified periods. Customers cannot claim fee refunds for delayed items or consequential loss due to delay for items posted on these dates.
Most of our services are not guaranteed services. Our usual compensation rules will apply. For detailed information on delay compensation please go here.
Normal compensation for loss or damage will still apply during industrial action. For information on loss compensation go to Royal Mail’s retail compensation policy for lost items on Royalmail.com.
 We’ll have advice messages on our customer phonelines.
There is comprehensive information online for customers to access.
If possible, customers should try to post their items well ahead of any industrial action.
We’ll keep online information up to date at royalmail.com/latest-news.
Information will also be available on our phonelines in the form of messages.
Redirections are part of our core delivery service and so will not operate on days of industrial action. Your redirection will remain in place but please expect some delay to mail being redirected if it was posted shortly before, during or immediately after days of industrial action.
Please plan ahead to ensure we receive your Redirection application before the industrial action date. Postal applications may be delayed and therefore take longer than usual to set up, however you can continue to apply online throughout strike action.
Letters and non-priority items are not being delivered on days of industrial action so any due to start being redirected would simply wait until the next working day after industrial action has finished when it will be forwarded on.
Please expect some delay to mail being redirected if it was posted shortly before, during or immediately after days of industrial action. The length of the delay will depend on the service the sender used.
No. On days of industrial action, none of our Customer Service Points will be open for customers to collect PO Box items.
Customer Service Points will be open the next working day after any industrial action finishes.
No. On days of industrial action, none of our Customer Service Points will be open for customers to collect Keepsafe items.
Customer Service Points will be open the next working day after any industrial action finishes.
Mail is not being delivered on days of industrial action so any Keepsafe items due to be delivered on a day of industrial action, will simply wait until the day after industrial action when it will be delivered.
We are talking to Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces about the likely impact of strike action on delivery times and seller ratings.
How they choose to handle this with their customers is ultimately their decision.
Delivery confirmation should operate normally, although please do expect some delays to items being delivered if posted the day before, during or the days immediately following industrial action.