In the eyes of a mailsorter... (Royal Mail Group Ltd)

Member Name: leverton86

Product:	Royal Mail Group Ltd
Date:	22/06/09 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good money, training, rights...

Disadvantages: Rather tedious and mononous.

I have been working for Royal Mail now for about 3-4 months, as a part-time mailsorter. I work 20 hours a week, and it works out that I am on about £7.80 per hour before tax, and when I work nights (between 11 and 4) or dawn (between 3 and 7) shifts then I get an extra allowance of about £15 - £20 a week.

When I started the training was excellent, a very high standard. A full day's induction (these can get boring!) was filled with varying stuff and was a very interactive day. The job itself is rather boring, not a massive amount of variation (although that could soon change - see below), and I usually find myself sorting out packets into first and second class, pre-paid stuff, and separating out the letters from the packets.

My basic hours mean I work a 4-hour shift every day, with a 20-minute break, which is good. It can be quite a stressful job as the mail has to be out the door by a certain time, and if we are late even by a minute then we fail.

We are allowed a radio on, a must in a workplace such as Royal Mail, and we are allowed to wear headphones. Lots of uniform is provided, 4 shirts, 2 t-shirts, a fleece, stormproof jacket, 2 pairs of trousers, 1 hat, 1 belt, leggings, 2 pairs of shoes (safety and non-safety), high-vis jackets - the list goes on, and all the clothes are of excellent quality.

I have also been offered to get driver training, on transit vans, and it has been mentioned to me that I will probably get training on the HGVs and they'll put me through my Heavy Goods Test - Brilliant! This means soon I will instead of being stuck indoors all the time, be able to go out and do some collections or delivery.

Overtime is usually available, as I said I am contracted at 20 hours per week, but often get closer to 30-35. Wages are paid weekly straight into the bank account, which I much prefer to monthly. Another good thing with Royal Mail is they allow you to buy extra holiday (unpaid leave in effect!) which is very useful should something important come up.

So all in all, the job involves some hard-work, but they treat you well, with good training, uniform, and rights etc... It can get rather tedious, I have to agree with that, but it is well paid, with my wage going up after 6 months, and the job is very secure. Royal Mail is one employee that I think will probably survive the recession with it's head held high, I feel very lucky to work for them.

Summary: A good company to work for, some perks, but can be boring.