Any postman/woman on here...

RedfordML

What is it like to work for Royal Mail...

Permanent opportunites in my local area which I am considering, just wondered if anyone was currently employed by RM and could give some positive/Neg feedback??

Thanks:beer:

Mrs_Ryan

My OH works for RM. He's not on deliveries but he sorts the Mail- they've been very good to him and he is paid extremely well for what he does.

TELLIT01

It depends what you will be doing and where. My brother in law has been a postie now for nearly 4 years and initially really enjoyed it. Since privatisation things have changed and they are under pressure to deliver more and more each day. He gets shifted from one round to another almost on a weekly basis so often struggles to complete the work in the alloted time. The time allowed is the time somebody familiar with the round would take.
Bottom line really is that the work experience really depends on the quality of the management and it is extremely varied where he works.
He does enjoy the fact that they work 6 day weeks and then get a full week off every 5 weeks.

custardy

ask away.

What contract/position are you applying for?

[Deleted User]

keitht53 wrote: »

...often struggles to complete the work in the alloted time. The time allowed is the time somebody familiar with the round would take.

I agreed to deliver some charity envelopes in my street once, and I would never have believed how long it takes searching for letterboxes and latches on gates.

RedfordML

custardy wrote: »

ask away.

What contract/position are you applying for?

Postman role. 24 hrs, with driving (4 days out of 6)

What are the working conditions like, management support etc?

custardy

RedfordML wrote: »

Postman role. 24 hrs, with driving (4 days out of 6)

What are the working conditions like, management support etc?

Well its tricky to answer. Every DO (delivery office) is unique
You have different duty types,terrains,duty structures etc.
Support varies as DOs are run by a DOM (delivery office manager) and he/she sets the tone for the office. You get different types of people and as such different types of environment.

It can be a tough job,particularly at the start. Standard I would expect induction,at least 3 days buddying with an experienced postie and then ongoing support as required though there is a financial cost to this and every penny is counted these days.

The reality. its a well paid job for what it is. I assume you are running 4x6hrs. So you will likely be going into an empty frame and prepping in,tieing up and taking out your delivery. expect a 3.5 to 4.5 hour delivery span.
You maybe working solo or in a shared van with one other postie.

Accept you wont finish on time every day,will be moved around a bit(unless you are slotting into a stable office with fixed duty)
avoid over doing it at the start as injuries are common in new starts. you have no sick pay in your first year and stricter sick policy in that year.
Given you are working 4 in 6 days. I wonder if the unit is set up for a 4 week rotation. Most offices run '1 in 6'. so dutys rotate through 6 weeks cycles and duty holders get a long weekend every 6 weeks.
1 in 4 is a long weekend every 4 weeks.

RedfordML

Thanks for your in depth response, appricate your comments

in_the_Cotswolds

This is the new contracts that are coming out. We have 3 new starters on these hours. The walk (round) should be prepped for them!!! they just come in do final prep ie redirections, kill offs, these are letters that are returned to sender and then go out on delivery.

He/she will be trained on the round as a new starter he/she should have 3 days training. This includes the routine, where to get special deliveries which need to be signed out, P739 returns etc.

I've been with Royal Mail for 4 years and I like the job. After been in the motor trade for 35 years it is certainly different!!

You are well paid for what you do and there are far worse jobs. I cover various rounds as I tend to get bored on one round. There are opportunities to earn extra money especially with Christmas coming.

I also do what RM call Schedule Attendance this is RM's name for collections emptying the letter boxes, collecting from firms etc.

Pros of the job:
Well paid for what we do.
Overtime available.
Keeps you fit.
Weather, great in the summer.

Cons:
Can be full on.
Christmas, some of our Posties were still out at 7pm on the biggest round.
Weather. Waking up on a winters morning and hearing the rain for about the 3rd-4th day on the trot.

We've had a few new starters who quit after a couple of days I think they had the impression it would be like the Postie on Eastenders, talking to everybody then popping into the Queen Vic or the Kaff!!

Any questions ask or pm me.

custardy

in_the_Cotswolds wrote: »

This is the new contracts that are coming out. We have 3 new starters on these hours. The walk (round) should be prepped for them!!! they just come in do final prep ie redirections, kill offs, these are letters that are returned to sender and then go out on delivery.

He/she will be trained on the round as a new starter he/she should have 3 days training. This includes the routine, where to get special deliveries which need to be signed out, P739 returns etc.

I've been with Royal Mail for 4 years and I like the job. After been in the motor trade for 35 years it is certainly different!!

You are well paid for what you do and there are far worse jobs. I cover various rounds as I tend to get bored on one round. There are opportunities to earn extra money especially with Christmas coming.

I also do what RM call Schedule Attendance this is RM's name for collections emptying the letter boxes, collecting from firms etc.

Pros of the job:
Well paid for what we do.
Overtime available.
Keeps you fit.
Weather, great in the summer.

Cons:
Can be full on.
Christmas, some of our Posties were still out at 7pm on the biggest round.
Weather. Waking up on a winters morning and hearing the rain for about the 3rd-4th day on the trot.

We've had a few new starters who quit after a couple of days I think they had the impression it would be like the Postie on Eastenders, talking to everybody then popping into the Queen Vic or the Kaff!!

Any questions ask or pm me.

I would expect more work that simply redis and tie up on a 6 hour contract. however it does depend on delivery span.
On a 4 hr delivery span that would leave 1.40 excluding break.
thats time to do the majority of prep without IP.

Scheduled attendance can be any work. It relates more to being outwith your duty but rota'd on.

johnbhoy10

Any postmen about??? Got a query??


It's ok-sorted. Cheers Custardy.