Royal Mail staff say they were told to hide post to look like delivery targets met

Royal Mail staff allege mail was hidden to make delivery targets look met

Postal workers from across the UK have told the BBC they were asked by managers to move or hide undelivered mail so it appeared delivery targets were being met. Several workers said the phrase "take the mail for a ride" was commonly used when they raised that they had too many parcels to deliver as well as letters.

The claims come ahead of Royal Mail bosses being questioned by MPs about continuing postal delays affecting millions of people. Royal Mail has a legal obligation to deliver first-class post six days a week, but workers say that with no extra staff, reduced overtime and ongoing pressure to prioritise parcels, it is often not possible to complete both parcel and letter deliveries.

Royal Mail said it took any suggestion that mail was being hidden "very seriously" and said the workers' allegations did not reflect how its delivery operations worked. The company said it would investigate the specific cases raised.

Workers describe "deceitful" practice

Ten postal workers from different delivery offices, all speaking anonymously for fear of losing their jobs, told the BBC that "take the mail for a ride" was a familiar instruction.

One worker said that when senior managers were due to visit, undelivered mail would be hidden by line managers in a trolley and taken elsewhere, only to be brought back the next day. He said staff who pointed out that they had too many parcels to also take out letters were often told to load the mail anyway so that, from the outside, it looked as if the round had been cleared.

"If someone comes in from the outside it looks like you've cleared the round, when in actual fact you'll be bringing it straight back when you finish," he said, calling the practice "embarrassing and deceitful".

A worker in Wales said the instruction allowed managers to say all rounds had gone out "knowing full well they are not going to be delivered". Another said it meant first-class mail would not be visible during inspections, allowing a round to be classed as complete and "manipulate the delivery success of the office".

Performance pressure and public impact

Ofcom has fined Royal Mail £37m in recent years for poor letter delivery performance and warned that further fines were likely without improvement. In the 2024-25 financial year, Royal Mail delivered 77% of first-class mail and 92.5% of second-class mail on time, missing its targets of 93% and 98.5% respectively.

The delays are causing significant problems for customers, some of whom say they have missed important appointments and letters. Anthony Lobo, a pensioner in Welling, Kent, said irregular deliveries had become so frustrating that he now goes to Bexleyheath Delivery Office every Saturday morning to collect his post himself.

He said that on one recent trip he collected 20 letters, including some from the NHS. "I shouldn't have to do it," he said, but added that if he did not go, the mail would "just be sitting there".

Union blames staffing and conditions

The Communication Workers' Union said delivery failures were the result of low wages and poor conditions that had created a recruitment and retention crisis. A union spokesperson said the "devaluing of a postal worker's job", combined with what it called a toxic managerial culture, had created chaos and demoralisation across workplaces.

Royal Mail has already submitted written evidence to the Business and Trade Committee, arguing that delivery rules should change so second-class mail can be delivered less frequently. The company has been allowed by Ofcom to pilot the change and says it has worked well in test areas.

But three staff members in pilot areas told the BBC the changes had not improved conditions. One said performance had worsened and managers were looking for new ways to blame postal workers for failures in the new system. Another said morale was at an all-time low, with stress-related absences increasing and workloads impossible to complete.

Royal Mail said performance had improved in pilot areas, with the proportion of addresses receiving mail each day rising from about 92% to about 97%. It said the new delivery model would create a more reliable, efficient and financially sustainable service.