Royal Mail: Sports and Social Clubs – RM Decision to Stop Subscriptions from Payroll – DRP Registered

Branches are advised that we were recently informed by Royal Mail that as a consequence of the new ERP System due to be introduced later this year (that includes payroll), a decision has been made to cease members’ subscriptions to Sports & Social clubs being taken directly from payroll.  This is as a result of what management are describing as a payroll simplification project.

Royal Mail have been clear that they are not seeking our agreement to this change, and the dialogue they initiated was simply consultation and a courtesy in case we received any enquiries from Branches / members who are impacted by the changes.  The reality is, these plans were advanced by the time management decided to engage with the Union.

As a consequence of the above, we have strongly objected to the actions of Royal Mail and in particular, the belated and cursory nature of the engagement, with them effectively telling us what they were planning.

Dispute Resolution Procedure (DRP) Registered

The reality is, Royal Mail’s unilateral changes will have an impact on thousands of our members, who support their local Sports & Social clubs via payroll.  I have therefore advised management that the Postal Executive feels very strongly about this issue, which impacts upon not only the wellbeing of our members, but also on the potential future viability of the Sports and Social clubs.

As Royal Mail are obviously intent on pressing ahead with stopping the subscriptions from payroll despite our opposition on behalf of our members, the Postal Executive has endorsed the submission of a DRP, which was formally lodged with Royal Mail on 23^rd February.  The following forms the basis of the DRP:

1. Royal Mail’s investment in the new HR payroll system should enable a more effective and cost-efficient way to fund the Sports & Social clubs whilst continuing the payment via members’ wages. If anything, it should be much easier on a new platform to continue with the current arrangements rather than withdrawing a benefit that thousands of our members subscribe to and support.

2. The Sports & Social clubs that our members have voluntarily agreed to subscribe to via payroll have been in place for many years and it is fair to say that these clubs rely heavily upon the monies received from our members via payroll. If our members don’t wish to pay into the clubs, it is their prerogative to cease the subscription via payroll and therefore, we have to assume that the members all want to support the clubs they are affiliated to.

3. Royal Mail’s decision, whilst acknowledging this is an unintended consequence, represents a direct threat to the very future of these clubs, many of which rely on these important revenues taken directly at source and could easily be in danger of closure.

4. Many of the clubs are run by volunteers who are also Royal Mail employees and crucially they provide a community and social hub that enables our members to come together to socialise with workmates outside of work. This is a matter of wellbeing and helps to create a healthy environment whereby our members are able to relax and interact on a social basis with co-workers.

5. Royal Mail should be encouraging participation and involvement in these clubs, rather than making it more difficult for our members. Furthermore, a lot of these clubs undertake significant work to support various charities and therefore there is an inescapable, genuine value to society through the involvement of Royal Mail employees.

We are awaiting a formal response from Royal Mail to our latest correspondence as well as dates to meet under the DRP process.  In the meantime, we understand that letters have already been sent from RM directly to the clubs and to members informing them of the cessation of subscriptions via payroll.  In this regard, Royal Mail have indicated to us that they are willing to be helpful by considering requests made directly to them from the clubs to afford the clubs more time to put in place alternative arrangements for the collection of subscriptions.  We would therefore encourage clubs to seek an extension of the timescales being proposed for the changes to enable further discussions to take place under the auspices of the DRP.

As a consequence of Royal Mail’s actions described above, the Postal Executive encourages Branches and Representatives to highlight the concerns of the members impacted with the appropriate HR Business Partners and crucially we would ask Branches to engage directly with the administrators of the Sports & Social clubs, with the aim of ensuring they strongly object to and challenge these unnecessary changes.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB 074/26 Royal Mail – Sports and Social Clubs

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ROYAL MAIL PARLIAMENTARY DEVELOPMENTS – THE VOICE OF POSTAL WORKERS MUST BE HEARD

Further to LTB 057/26 sent on 27^thFebruary 2026, we are now in a position to provide branches and representatives with a copy of an email that has gone to our members today regarding the forthcoming Royal Mail Select Committee hearing on 24^th March 2026.

As previously explained, you will see that the email includes engagement activities that we are asking our members to undertake so that what’s really happening in the workplace on customer service failures is understood by all politicians.       

One activity we are asking members to undertake is to email a factsheet, with key information and specific action requests, to their MP. They can do this easily via this link. Please encourage all members to take two minutes to email their MP, so we can keep up the pressure.

We are also asking reps to write to the Business and Trade Select Committee ahead of the 24^th, with their experiences of being a frontline postal worker and what is really happening at Royal Mail. The Chair of the Committee, Liam Byrne, can be reached at commonsbtc@parliament.uk.

It is now essential that all CWU branches and representatives support this membership engagement activity and hold meetings with our members next week to maximise participation.

This is a crucial moment and the voices of postal workers must be heard.  In this regard, you will see that our key messages also focus on the wider problems that our members are facing as a result of a toxic managerial culture and the failure of the company to move forward the rebuilding Royal Mail agreements.

Finally, we will provide branches and representatives with an update on talks next week and further information on this will be sent out on Monday.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward                                                     

General Secretary   

Martin Walsh                                                                   

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 73/26 – ROYAL MAIL PARLIAMENTARY DEVELOPMENTS – THE VOICE OF POSTAL WORKERS MUST BE HEARD

Attachment: RMG Member Email

Attachment: Factsheet

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Post Office: Two Year Pay Agreement – 2026 and 2027

I am pleased to advise Branches that the Postal Executive has endorsed a no-strings two-year Pay Agreement for our Post Office members covering 2026/27 and 2027/28. The Key Features of the Agreement (pay offer letter attached with full details) are as follows:

Year 1

• A minimum 3% consolidated pay increase for all grades from 1st April 2026 flowing through to overtime and Scheduled Attendance rates

• Employer Pension Contribution – minimum increased from 9% to 10%

• Annual leave entitlements – An extra day’s annual leave (31 total) after 5 years’ service

• Scheduled Attendance for Supply Chain Members – increased to 1.3x Monday – Friday (Saturday was already at 1.3x)

• London Weighting increases – Inner rising from £7,000 to £7,300 and Outer from £5,200 to £5,500

Year 2

• A minimum 2.5% pay increasefor all grades from 1st April 2027flowing through to overtime and Scheduled Attendance rates

• Employer Pension Contribution– an increase in the maximum employer pension contribution from 12% (which is paid if members opt to pay an 8% contribution) to 13%

• Annual leave entitlements – An extra day’s annual leave (32 total) after 10 years’ service

• London Weighting increases – Inner rising from £7,300 to £7,600 and Outer from £5,500 to £5,800

• Re-opener clause – If average CPI inflation for the three-month period December 2026, January 2027 and February 2027 is greater than 3%, discussions will be reopened. If inflation falls below 2%, Post Office will reopen talks.

This is the third year running we have concluded pay negotiations prior to the pay review date.  Feedback from our Territorial and Unit Reps indicates that members will appreciate the early settlement.

There are other benefits in the Pay Agreement, including the removal of various lower Pay Points for both Postal Officer (Admin) and CSA’s.  Additionally, we have assimilated the FSA / OSS grade onto the Crew rate of pay and this is especially advantageous for these impacted members.

Members’ Consultative Ballot – Timetable

We will now conduct an individual members’ ballot to ratify the Pay Agreement.  Ballot papers will be despatched from Wednesday 11^thMarch and the closing date is Monday 30^th March.  Assuming ratification, the Year 1 pay increases will be made with April salaries.  Also, the new pension arrangements for the minimum employer contribution of 10% and the extra day’s annual leave for members with more than five years’ service will apply from 1^st April.

Conclusion

Against the current economic climate, the Postal Executive believes this is a reasonable settlement, especially when taking into account the improvements to the employer pension contributions.  Also, the two-year Pay Agreement provides a good level of certainty for our members looking forward.  In essence, our members will be receiving benefits, including the consolidated pay rises, which will provide for an overall above-inflation package of measures.  The next pay review date is 1st April 2028.

Branches are urged to bring this LTB to the attention of Post Office members.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB 071/26 – Post Office Pay Agreement

Att: CWU Pay Letter March 2026 FINAL

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Parcelforce Dental Benefits Update

The department has been notified by Parcelforce of a change to the dental benefit for Parcelforce employees. Branches will be aware that as part of their terms and conditions Parcelforce members enjoy some healthcare benefits including subsidised dental cover.  This cover along with Benenden Health care and Eye care are negotiated benefits and remain an entitlement and an integral element of terms and conditions.

Parcelforce recently informed the department that they have decided to change the dental care service provider and as part of this activity, they reviewed how often PFW employees used the dental care service. The business have formed a view that usage of the Dental care by employees had reduced, and whilst they accept and recognise that dental care is still an employee entitlement, going forward they intend to ask employees to opt into the service each year. Parcelforce did not seek CWU agreement and the union does not support this change which we view as entirely unnecessary and based solely on cost reduction.

However, we are aware that Parcelforce members have received a letter detailing the change to the Dental Care benefit which has caused some confusion, in particular the relation to references to Salary Sacrifice. For the avoidance of doubt the base Dental care entitlement is funded by the business and is not subject to Salary Sacrifice, which only applies to optional extended cover packages.

The change means that Parcelforce will no longer automatically enroll employees for the funded Dental benefit unless they opt into the provision on an annual basis. As such members will now need to opt in annually to register for the business funded benefit.

The Dental benefit is an agreed element of terms and conditions for Parcelforce members and in Royal Mail Group is unique to Parcelforce. The business have confirmed they will continue to fund the base benefit, however, to ensure members maintain their individual access to the business funded benefit for the next 12 months, they must opt in by 5pm on March 27^th 2026, via My Bundle+

How to apply for your 2026/27 Insurance:

• Go to My Bundle+ – use the QR code at the bottom of this email to visit “Your Benefits” page on Robin and follow the link to My Bundle+
• From the My Bundle+ homepage, select the insurance you want under “My Benefits” in this case it is Dental Cover
• This takes you through to Dental Insurance where you need to select Funded by Employer level of Cover, click on Radiant 1, then click continue and confirm declaration to maintain the funded Dental benefit.

Members who wish to add additional family or select a higher level of cover you can continue to do so, however the facility to do this through Salary Sacrifice has been removed in line with the policies RMG have deployed due to legislative changes on the use of Salary Sacrifice and the impacts on the minimum wage.    As such should members wish to take up or renew this additional cover they can review and select one of the other options, the cost for these is displayed. To be clear the business will not fund any additional costs. On selecting one of the additional options, members will be directed to the providers website where alternative payment options for the additional cover can be set up.

This is an unwelcome development, and it is imperative that our Parcelforce members are aware of the requirement to opt in and ensure that they secure the benefit for the coming year. We do believe the funded Dental benefit remains a valuable asset for Parcelforce members and we actively encourage all Parcelforce members to opt in to the Funded by Employer section, whether you believe you will need to access this or not. Any member not opting in by 5pm on March 27^th 2026 will lose access to this benefit for the next 12 months.

Branches are asked to ensure that the contents of this LTB are brought to the immediate attention of our members across Parcelforce.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org  or jmansell@cwu.org  quoting reference LTB 070/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 70/26 – Parcelforce Dental Benefits Update

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Royal Mail: PFSL – Pay Claim 1^st April 2026

Branches are advised that the Postal Executive has endorsed a pay claim for our RMPFSL members.  The pay review date is 1^st April and our claim includes:

• Pensions – the Collective Plan – As an integral part of the Royal Mail Group, PFSL members currently sit outside of the Collective Plan (with the exception of legacy ROMEC members) in an inferior DC scheme, and as such do not enjoy the benefits of the Collective Plan offered to all other RMG employees once they have completed a year’s service. In the interest of fairness and equity, our claim is that the Collective Plan is made available for PSFL members to join.

• Pay – Cleaners – a minimum pay increase in the hourly pay rate to the Real Living Wage from 1^st April of £13.45 (national) or £14.80 (London) together with a commitment to embrace future Living Wage Foundation increases as a minimum. We also need to at least maintain the 50p per hour differential for Mobile Cleaners.

• Pay – Engineers / Technical Services & Admin – last year’s PFSL Pay Agreement secured parity with the 4.2% basic pay rise for Year one of the RMG Pay Agreement for all grades outside of Warehouse Operatives (who were assimilated onto the Tech 3 grade rate of pay) and Cleaners. Therefore, for consistency purposes, our claim is as a minimum to match the RMG Year two Pay Agreement, although we have also let management know our aspiration is to explore reaching an Agreement for pay rises greater than this.

Our formal Pay Claim letter has been sent to Neil Chaplain, Director Engineering, Process Design and International Operations, and we have two Pay meetings scheduled in the diaries.  Further developments will be reported at an appropriate time.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB067-26 RMPFSL Pay Claim 1st April 2026

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Royal Mail Processing Engineering Territorial Representative Ballot Extension

• Northern Region

Further to LTB 044/26 dated 12^thFebruary 2026, branches should note we have been made aware that a number of New Entry Engineering members were not included within the data files for the above ballot.

In order that these members are given an entitlement to vote in the ballot, it has been arranged with the independent scrutineer for ballot papers to be sent to these members from Monday 9^th March 2026.

On advice received from the Independent Scrutineer it has therefore been necessary to extend the closing date of this ballot by 1 week.

Consequently, the ballot will now close on 19^th March 2026 (1^st post)

Any enquiries regarding this letter to Branches should be addressed by email to lparrett@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (P)

LTB 066/26

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Additional Leave Unpaid 

No. 64/26

4^th March 2026

Dear Colleague,

ALU (Additional Leave Unpaid)

The purpose of this LTB is to advise all members who did not qualify for POAL (Purchase of Annual Leave) that they can still purchase annual leave using the ALU process. It is important members know that whilst the POAL window has closed, the ALU window will open on 1^st April 2026 and can be accessed throughout the year.

We understand the disappointment felt by those members who applied for POAL and did not qualify. The union has pursued a similar replacement whilst we address the legislation and Royal Mail’s position on the buffer. This has culminated in the Additional Leave Unpaid (ALU) option.

ALU is a facility that enables members to access the additional leave they would like to opt for but in a different way to POAL.

Please see below the key benefits from ALU and its comparison with POAL.

• There is no closing window for individuals to opt to take leave based on ALU.
• The window for applications opens on 1^stApril 2026.
• The cost of ALU is the same as the cost of POAL.
• An individual has the same right and opportunity to take extra leave under ALU as they do under POAL.
• Under ALU managers have to accommodate your request.
• All units were asked to factor into their leave spread the same amount of purchased annual leave as last year so that there will be enough leave slots for the application of ALU.
• ALU does not affect an individual’s accrual of annual leave.
• We are currently in discussions with Royal Mail over how cost implications of ALU could be spread weekly for weekly-paid staff or monthly for monthly-paid staff. This would be done by utilising existing offerings available to you all as employees of Royal Mail. Members are encouraged to look around for appropriate savings vehicles that may help them manage finances. One potential option is there are currently three credit unions able to work with Royal Mail to make deductions directly from payroll, and individuals can opt to save in these as part of their pay.
• There is a legal belief within the business that if an individual saves money within Royal Mail’s own pay system, it cannot be ring-fenced solely for the purchase of annual leave, as this would constitute a benefit and would then be subject to national minimum wage law. Therefore, any such saving scheme could be used for any purpose as a helpful method to manage finances.
• The important factor is that the CWU encourage all of our members who wish to take additional leave of up to six weeks to continue to apply, as ALU offers you the same opportunity at the same cost. The only difference is POAL allows you, via salary sacrifice, to avoid paying the national insurance and income tax on the purchase of the leave at source.
• When you take ALU the cost will be reflective of you being liable for less income tax and national insurance as your income will be less the ALU amount.
• At the point where ALU is taken and pay is reduced if you have utilised a savings plan you would be able to withdraw a sum of money to mitigate the impact.
• We are lobbying Parliament to try to get HMRC to factor the supplement into the minimum wage calculation, which is a permanent addition to basic pay and goes up with pay rises, but until we can achieve this, we believe Royal Mail will avoid any legal implications as a result of the national minimum wage legislation.
• We are also in discussions with Royal Mail over the 20% buffer and whether part of the supplement can be consolidated into basic pensionable pay. Should we be successful on this more members will become eligible for standard POAL.  However, until then we have ensured that members retain the opportunity to gain additional time off of work (via annual leave).

Below are some examples that demonstrate how much you may need to save weekly or monthly to spread the payment over the course of the year.

These calculations are based upon a set amount. The weeks or months are the dates in advance of when you are anticipating taking the leave, i.e. 6 months or 26 weeks from 1^stApril of when the leave is planned to be taken. The amounts suggested are as simple as £500 / 26 weeks = £19 per week or £500 / 6 months = £83 per month. The calculations follow the same principle.Cost of Annual leave Unpaid after tax & NI (£) 

Example: 5 days at £100 per day or 7.5 days at £100 per dayWeeks in advance of when 

ALU is takenPotential savings amount (£)WeeksMonthsWeeklyMonthly500266198350038913557502662812575038919835004811104575048111568

These Illustrations are examples, the suggestion is to either spread the unpaid leave across the year i.e. take 1 day unpaid and 4 days paid in any annual leave week to spread the cost, or leave the unpaid leave to the end of the leave year. The later the ALU is taken the more opportunity you have to save the required amount.

The amount of ALU taken and the actual cost will depend upon your individual rates of pay, the amount chosen to save is a personal choice.

ALU operates in a similar way to POAL except for the fact that you can personally save the money across the leave year into a savings account instead of Royal Mail saving the money for you from your wages across the leave year. You remain in control of all of the savings as well as how much ALU you take and when.

I hope the above provides an explanation of some options available for members to gain the extra leave they wish to take and ways to mitigate the cost.

Attached is a communication that each manager has received regarding the process to follow when ALU is requested.

In closing, please rest assured that the CWU is working with Royal Mail and politically to address the issues which prevent legally our members from using POAL in the first instance.

Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 64/26 ALU – Additional Leave Unpaid

LTB 64/26 – Attachment 1

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ELECTION OF MEMBER-NOMINATED TRUSTEE DIRECTOR – ROYAL MAIL PENSION PLAN

Further to LTB 02/26 issued on 5 January and following enquiries from Branches, please note that ballot papers for the Member Nominated Trustee Director – Royal Masil Pension Plan, will be dispatched on 6 March 2026 with the ballot closing on 30 March 2026.

This position is currently held by Lionel Sampson who has confirmed he is standing for re-election. The other candidates are:

Ibrahim Adewusi, Anna Bisset, Gurdeep Singh Dharni, Jonathan Dunning, Altaf Hassam Hussein, John Kavanagh, Rama Mohana Reddy Mallidi and Ian Stewart

Any enquiries to this LTB should be sent to dwilshire@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,                              

Dave Ward                                                   

General Secretary                                     

LTB 062/26 – ELECTION OF MEMBER-NOMINATED TRUSTEE DIRECTOR – ROYAL MAIL

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Robin – New Home for the RMG People App

Branches will recall LTB 279/25 issued 23^rdDecember, which reported on the Royal Mail Group decision to migrate their own communication platforms away from Workplace and the People App to a new platform called Robin.

Since then, the union has been made aware that as of today (2^nd March 2026), the People App will switch platforms and will only be available via Robin.

Accordingly, attached here is a communication issued by the business further reporting on this change, entitled Final countdown: The People App only available on Robin from 2 March. We also understand that in advance of this, RMG had also written individually to employees who had not signed up to Robin by February this year.

In offering this further update, Branches and members are reminded that guidance on how to navigate this new platform is set out in LTB 279/25.

Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 61.26 Robin – A new home for the RMG People App

LTB 61.26 Attachment 1

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