Royal Mail is recruiting almost 22,000 temporary workers for Christmas 2026, and applications are open now on the company's official careers site. The seasonal roles cover mail sorting, parcel delivery, lorry driving and customer service, with work running from late October 2026 to early January 2027 and the busiest weeks in December.

The festive period is Royal Mail's busiest time of year, and the company has been planning its Christmas operation since January. Jamie Stephenson, Royal Mail's Chief Operating Officer, said: “While many people start thinking about Christmas as the festive season approaches, we’ve been planning for it since January.”

What roles are available?

Royal Mail is offering four types of seasonal role: Seasonal Mail Sorter, Parcel Delivery Driver, LGV and MGV Driver, and Customer Service Assistant. Mail sorters work behind the scenes in mail centres and parcel hubs, sorting letters and parcels and keeping them moving through the network. Parcel delivery drivers bring cards and gifts to doorsteps, and need a full manual UK driving licence. LGV and MGV drivers move mail and parcels between sites across the country.

The company says no previous experience is needed for the sorting roles. Sorters should be comfortable working on their feet for long periods, lifting mail bags weighing up to 11kg and pushing wheeled mail trolleys weighing up to 250kg. Customer service assistants handle calls and emails from customers, and Royal Mail says it is looking for people who are friendly, patient and dependable.

How many jobs are on offer?

The Christmas recruitment drive covers almost 22,000 temporary roles across the UK. That includes around 12,500 mail sorting roles in England, 1,243 in Scotland, 485 in Northern Ireland and 355 in Wales, plus 5,000 delivery and collection roles and 2,100 temporary lorry driver positions.

Royal Mail is also adding 7,500 hire vans to its fleet for the festive campaign. Seasonal staff will work at two parcel super hubs in Warrington and Daventry, five seasonal parcel sort centres, four parcel hubs and 37 mail centres.

How to apply

Applications are made online through Royal Mail's official careers website, where candidates can search for seasonal opportunities near them. Royal Mail works with its recruitment partner Angard Staffing on the seasonal campaign, and Angard is exclusively managing recruitment of seasonal mail sorters in Northern Ireland. Temporary LGV and MGV driver vacancies are managed by Pertemps and Manpower.

There is no single fixed closing date printed for the seasonal roles. Vacancies are released across locations over time, and individual adverts can close once enough applications have been received, so Royal Mail advises applying early. Pay is not stated on the Christmas careers page and varies by role, shift and location; the exact rate is shown on each individual advert.

The application process is fully digital. Candidates complete an online form, upload documents for vetting, and, if successful, receive a job offer and access to a Welcome Hub with induction information before their first day. On the first day, new starters receive an ID badge and a high-visibility vest where needed.

Apply only through the official Royal Mail careers site or its named recruitment partners. Royal Mail does not ask applicants to pay to apply for any role.