Royal Mail has pledged to meet tougher delivery targets by May next year as part of a £500 million investment programme, following a landmark agreement to overhaul the way second-class post is delivered across the UK.
The reforms will mean second-class mail is no longer delivered on Saturdays and is instead delivered on an “every other weekday” schedule, marking one of the most significant changes to the universal postal service in decades.
The phased rollout is due to begin next month, subject to consultation with union members, and follows an agreement with the Communication Workers Union that ends a long-running dispute over the future of second-class deliveries.
Under the new framework, Royal Mail has committed to sharply improving performance standards. First-class post is expected to reach around 85% next-day delivery within nine months of implementation, rising to the 90% target set by regulator Ofcom within a year.
Second-class mail will also be subject to tighter expectations, with 93% of letters required to be delivered within three days within nine months, increasing to 95% by May next year.
Ofcom has made clear that Royal Mail must now “get on and implement” its recovery plan, following years of missed targets and regulatory concern over declining reliability.
The company, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský through International Distribution Services, was fined a record £21 million last year after failing to meet delivery standards, with only 77% of first-class and 92.5% of second-class post delivered on time in 2024–25.
Regulatory changes introduced in April already eased delivery expectations, lowering first-class next-day targets from 93% to 90%, and second-class three-day targets from 98.5% to 95%. However, Ofcom also introduced a stricter backstop requiring 99% of mail to arrive no more than two days late.
The £500 million investment package will also fund operational changes, including allowing around 6,000 part-time postal workers to increase their hours if required as part of the reforms.
Royal Mail said the overhaul is designed to modernise a service struggling under falling letter volumes and rising costs, with savings from the reshaped universal service helping finance the transition.
While the company insists the changes will improve reliability, the removal of Saturday second-class deliveries is likely to prompt criticism from customers and businesses still reliant on traditional postal schedules.
For now, the focus is on implementation — and whether the long-promised turnaround in Britain’s postal service can finally be delivered on time.
Alistair Cochrane, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: “We recognise our service hasn’t always been the standard our customers rightly expect and we’re determined to do better.
“The plan we’ve set out today shows how we’ll make a step change in performance across the UK, backed by £500 million of investment over the next five years.”
It comes after Ofcom said it had been pushing for a “credible plan for change, backed by investment”.
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director for infrastructure and connectivity, said: “Now that’s published, Royal Mail needs to get on and implement it.
“Their plan must deliver significant and continuous improvement, with performance getting back on track.”
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