Royal Mail blames poor weather and sickness for delayed deliveries

Royal Mail will reportedly clear parcels first if they build up quickly and block walkways in delivery offices NewsBusinessRoyal Mail blames poor weather and sickness for delayed deliveriesRoyal Mail will reportedly clear parcels first if they build up quickly and block walkways in delivery officesAnna Wise Monday 16 February 2026 12:48 GMTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverRoyal Mail Fined £21m for Missing Delivery Targets for Third Year RunningYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreRoyal Mail has warned of potential service delays across more than 100 UK postcodes, citing recent storms and increased staff sickness as the cause of disruption. The announcement follows a period of mounting complaints regarding delayed mail, with concerns also raised that parcels are being prioritised over letters.On Monday, the postal firm identified 38 delivery offices across the country, covering approximately 100 postcodes, as those most likely to experience slower service. A spokesperson for the company explained that "adverse weather, including storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra in January, alongside higher-than-usual sick absence, has caused some short-term disruption to certain routes."Royal Mail sought to reassure customers, stating: "We want to reassure customers that the vast majority of mail is delivered as planned and understand how frustrating it is when post does not arrive as expected." The company added that it would deploy extra support to affected routes to "restore deliveries as quickly as possible."open image in galleryRoyal Mail listed 38 delivery offices in the UK on Monday, covering around 100 postcodes, that may be most affected by a slower service (PA Wire)Meanwhile, a report by the BBC uncovered instances where some letters were reportedly held in delivery offices for weeks, leading individuals to miss urgent communications such as appointment notices and bank statements.Citing anonymous postal workers, the report said that parcels were being prioritised over letters in some depots, even if they are first class, while staff shortages were more broadly impacting the service.It is understood that Royal Mail will opt to clear parcels first if they build up quickly and block walkways in delivery offices.The company has said it is delivering more parcels as online shopping continues to grow, while the number of addressed letters going through its network is falling.Royal Mail serves nearly two million postcodes and is required to deliver mail six days a week, and aims to deliver both letters and parcels on time.open image in galleryA report by the BBC uncovered instances where some letters were reportedly held in delivery offices for weeks, leading individuals to miss urgent communications such as appointment notices and bank statement (PA Archive)Regulator Ofcom last year gave the go-ahead for Royal Mail to scrap second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday.It launched the changes across 35 delivery offices as a pilot, but has yet to expand this nationwide across all 1,200 sites due to failing to reach agreement with the staff union.It is in the middle of a month-long dispute resolution process with the Communication Workers Union with the aim of reaching an agreement over how the workforce will be impacted by the overhaul.More aboutRoyal MailBBCCommunication Workers UnionMost popularPopular videosBulletinRead next