Royal Mail – Peak / Christmas Arrangements 2026
Branches are advised that discussions have been ongoing with Royal Mail for some time with regards to a Peak/Christmas Arrangements document for 2026. As you will be aware this year Boxing Day falls on the Saturday and in line with the precedent set in 2004, the 26th December is declared an additional non USO day across the whole of the UK. The arrangements for this day mirror those agreed for similar instances since 2009.
In Scotland as part of the standard Bank Holiday allocation there is a second New Year Bank holiday, normally the 2nd January, which moves to Monday 4th January. In 2009 Postcom, declined to authorise an additional non service day in Scotland for the 2ndJanuary though did give Royal Mail the option to move the non-service day associated to the Bank Holiday from the Monday to the Saturday, which following consultation with the Scottish Branches did happen in January 2010, 2016 & 2021. This means that Royal Mail do not operate USO collections or deliveries on the 2nd January, which is a normal working day in the rest of the UK, but are required to operate a full USO service on Monday 4th Januarywhich remains the designated Bank Holiday.
Royal Mail intend to do so again this year, however an issue has arisen over the attendance and remuneration arrangements for the 2nd and 4thJanuary and following consultation with the Scottish Branches this issue will be the subject of separate national discussions, to allow the wider arrangements to be released which we believe is in the best interests of our Representatives and members including those in Scotland. Para 3.10 of the agreed arrangements covers this point and arrangements are being made to meet on this point as a matter of urgency.
Attached for the information of Branches and Representatives are the agreed Peak/ Christmas arrangements for 2026. The document follows the tried and tested format of previous years with only minor updates, which do not change the substance of the content.
Regarding the Attendance and Resourcing arrangements, section 3 covers the arrangements for the Bank Holidays and non-service days and retains all of the established principles and protections.
The document confirms the Christmas Supplement and the additional £100 ex Colleague Share payment will be made as usual and are unaffected by the Peak Incentive Scheme. The traditional paragraphs on Scheduled Attendance, SA Holiday Pay and Temporary Variation to Contract have been retained unaltered in the final draft.
Branches should note the clear guidance on the timing of Supplementary Tracked Parcel Deliveries may be planned and takes place between 07:00 and 10:00 in order to maximise the opportunities to deliver as many items as possible and likewise for the PM operation parcel deliveries should be planned to be delivered by 19:00, with a variation to 21:00during weeks 35 -39, only where the relevant risk assessments have taken place. Equally Mail Centres should ensure that measures are in place to ensure that traffic is available to meet these constraints.
As in previous years cross functional Local Joint Working Groups (LJWG) will oversee this aspect.
We believe that the publication of the attached arrangements much earlier than in previous years will be welcomed and will provide guidance to Reps and Branches. Agreed measures to amend DM26 during peak have also been agreed and will be circulated separately.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:
Processing/Distribution: Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org; quoting reference LTB 298/26.
Deliveries/Collections: Tony Bouch, Assistant Secretary, email: pharacz@cwu.org; quoting reference LTB 298/26.
Yours sincerely,
Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary
Tony Bouch
Assistant Secretary
LTB 298/26 – Royal Mail – Peak Christmas Arrangements 2026
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