Boxing day - moves to make it a non-service day

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consul ... -mail-uso/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An exception to Royal Mail’s universal service obligation - no requirement for deliveries and collections when 26 December falls on a Saturday

Consultation published 30|07|2015

Royal Mail’s request

3.1 On 22 June 2015, Royal Mail submitted a request for a Direction under DUSP condition 1.3.2 for an exception to its universal service on Saturday 26 December 2015. This means that Royal Mail is proposing that there will be no deliveries or collections on that date.

3.2 Royal Mail’s application also requests that the Direction is applied in perpetuity to cover future years when 26 December falls on Saturday, to avoid the need for future applications.

3.3 When a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Government usually designates the next following working weekday (in most cases, Monday) as the
substitute bank holiday. This will be the case in 2015 as 26 December falls on a Saturday and the substitute bank holiday for Boxing Day is on Monday 28
December. This means that Saturday 26 December is a normal working day for Royal Mail.

3.4 Royal Mail wants an exception to the universal postal service for collections and deliveries on that day because of the historic sharp decline in mail volumes in the period immediately after Christmas and lower than normal traffic volumes predicted on the Saturday. The application notes that Postcomm, the previous postal regulator, granted Royal Mail an exception to the universal service the last time the 26 December fell on a Saturday (in 2009) for the same reasons.

3.5 Royal Mail submits that due to the fixed nature of the universal service obligation, it is not able to flex its network to meet lower demand and would incur the cost of operating a full national network over the holiday weekend for relatively low volumes of mail.

Employee relations

3.11 Royal Mail has held preliminary discussions with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) about the proposal for an exception to the universal service on Saturday 26 December. The CWU supports the proposal.

Ofcom’s assessment of Royal Mail’s request

Recommendation

4.1 Ofcom is minded to accept Royal Mail’s request for an exception to the universal service collection and delivery for:

• Saturday 26 December 2015, and
• when 26 December falls on a Saturday in future years, e.g. in 2020, until further notice.

Assessment
4.2 The last time the 26 December fell on a Saturday was in 2009. On that occasion, Postcomm granted Royal Mail an exception to the universal service having regard to the following:
• there were no objections to Royal Mail’s request for an exception on that day;
• historically, there is a sharp decline in mail volumes in the period immediately after Christmas and lower than predicted mail volumes compared to other Saturdays;
• demand for postal services was predicted to be low and therefore the impact on customers would be low;
• it would allow Royal Mail employees to take a four day break during the holidays after the intense period leading up to Christmas. A four day break over Christmas had occurred in 2003 and 2004;15 and
• Royal Mail was required to make clear in its Christmas communications that there would be no service between 25-28 December in that year.

4.3 Ofcom considers that the factors above are likely to apply for 26 December 2015 and when 26 December falls on a Saturday in future years.

4.4 Royal Mail’s forecasts for the Christmas period in 2015 suggests that deliveries on Saturday 26 December will include only a relatively small volume of first class mail posted on Christmas Eve, along with second class mail posted on Wednesday 23 December. Total traffic for the day is forecast to be significantly lower than the average volumes expected on Saturdays in the month leading up to Christmas.

4.5 Ofcom notes that Boxing Day would normally be a bank holiday and Royal Mail would not be required to meet its universal service obligations as it would not be a “working day”, apart from when 26 December is a Saturday, and the bank holiday occurs on the following Monday in lieu of the Saturday. This will be the case in 2015, with 26 December falling on a Saturday and Monday 28 December designated as the substitute bank holiday for Boxing Day.

4.6 Royal Mail is not required to meet its universal service obligations on public holidays. This means that if Ofcom approves Royal Mail’s application for an exception to the universal service for Saturday 26 December, there will also be no deliveries and collections on Monday 28 December as Royal Mail will observe the substitute bank holiday. Normal service would then resume on Tuesday 29 December.

4.7 If Ofcom allows the exception, we would expect Royal Mail to ensure that its customer communications, including those aimed at business customers and access operators, make clear when deliveries and collections will be made over the period in question.

Legal Tests

4.8 We consider that the exception would be:
• objectively justifiable because there is less demand for postal services and significantly lower postal volumes in the UK in the period immediately after Christmas Day due to the closure of most businesses and all public sector organisations on Christmas Day, with some businesses remaining closed for the weekend and/or days immediately after Christmas;
• not unduly discriminatory because the exception would apply to the whole of the UK and therefore there will no deliveries to each delivery point and no collections from each access point in the UK on that day;
• proportionate because it does not go further than is necessary to except Royal Mail from carrying out its universal service obligation on 26 December when this date falls on a Saturday, beginning with 26 December 2015. It is also consistent with the last time 26 December fell on a Saturday in 2009 when Postcomm issued a Direction for that day to be a “no service day” and is aligned with local communities’ needs for collection and delivery services; and
• transparent because the reasons for the exception, the legal basis and Ofcom’s assessment of the exception are set out in this consultation document. The consultation also includes a proposed direction excluding Royal Mail from its requirements to make deliveries and collections on Saturday 26 December.

4.9 Therefore, we consider that the proposal to grant approval to Royal Mail’s application for an exception to its universal service obligation on Saturday 26 December 2015 and when 26 December falls on a Saturday in future years, e.g. in 2020, satisfies the statutory criteria at paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 6 of the Act for granting an approval giving effect to a regulatory condition.

[Red Robbo]

Christmas Day delivery could be on the cards then ????

[bigbazza]

LOL NOT BEFORE I HAVE SEEN THE GRANDKIDS OPEN THEIR PRESENTS AND HAD THE FAMILY BREAKFAST THEN BEEN TO THE PUB FOR A FEW JARS.

[arnold cheshire]

Christmas Day delivery could be on the cards then ????

sat 25th dec 2021

[CharlesSpooner]

Christmas Day delivery could be on the cards then ????

What part of the original post makes you think that?

[Red Robbo]

Smaller volumes of first class mail posted on Christmas Eve plus second class mail posted on Wednesday could be met for Christmas Day delivery, we are in competition remember and you would not be short of volunteers to perform this task.

[arnold cheshire]

Smaller volumes of first class mail posted on Christmas Eve plus second class mail posted on Wednesday could be met for Christmas Day delivery, we are in competition remember and you would not be short of volunteers to perform this task.

?

[interesting]

So we in on Saturday or not

[TrueBlueTerrier]

So we in on Saturday or not

still awaiting a decision but its most likely we won't be working.

[purplesquirrel03]

Just looked at the link, so a decision will be made on 10th September from the look of it? Really hope they grant it long weekend of over Christmas would be great

[CharlesSpooner]

Smaller volumes of first class mail posted on Christmas Eve plus second class mail posted on Wednesday could be met for Christmas Day delivery, we are in competition remember and you would not be short of volunteers to perform this task.

And if you can show the financial benefit of delivering this tiny amount of mail versus the costs incurred and the clear advantages this gives RM over the competition then I'd be surprised And if the volumes are anything like the previous couple of Xmas Eves then the 2nd Class from Wednesday will probably have made it to DO's by Friday.