Royal Mail's union says DM26 has lifted weekly leavers from 330 to 400
Communication Workers Union says Royal Mail now loses about 400 staff a week, up from about 330 before DM26. Royal Mail says delivery reaches 95% of addresses a day. The leaver figures are the union's alone, and the Christmas risk is still a forecast.
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Key figures: about 400 postal staff leave Royal Mail each week, per the Communication Workers Union. The workforce was 83,000 before DM26, per the union. If the extra 70 leavers a week held for 52 weeks, that would be 3,640 people.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postal staff leaving Royal Mail, about, per CWU | 400 a week | 13 | |
| Workforce before DM26 | 83,000 staff, per CWU | 14 | |
| Extra leavers over 52 weeks | 3,640 people | If the extra 70 a week held | 27 |
What happened
- DM26 puts workers into groups of three and changes the walking pattern of rounds, with second class post delivered only every other weekday and first class and parcels daily.
- The union says DM26 is working in about 500 offices and has run into significant problems in hundreds of others.
- The BBC asked eight workers in different areas to track their steps, and since the switchover all of them rose by a quarter or a third, often to around 25,000 a day.
- Royal Mail announced last week that it plans to cut 2,500 head office and supporting roles by the end of 2027.
Why it matters
- decision Royal Mail must choose between finishing the roughly 200 offices still to switch before Christmas and the pause the CWU has told members to seek.
- contradiction Royal Mail calls the roll-out 90% complete, while about 1,000 of 1,200 offices is 83%. The two may count different things, and the gap decides how much work remains before the peak.
- exposure Because DM26 runs in groups of three, each unfilled vacancy removes a third of a group's capacity. Attrition therefore lands hardest where vacancies stay open.
- cost Missed delivery targets have already cost Royal Mail more than 37m pounds in Ofcom fines over three years. A weak peak would add to a record the regulator has been penalising.
The union's number is a rate of change, and a modest one. A rise from 330 to 400 leavers a week [13][14] is 70 more people each week, or about 21% on the baseline [22]. Against a workforce of 83,000 [14], it moves weekly attrition from about 0.40% to about 0.48% [23]. The BBC's report does not include a Royal Mail figure for leavers or say over what period the union measured either number. The company's reply, as reported, is about delivery: a spokesperson said Royal Mail always worked to ensure all mail, letters and parcels, was delivered on time [20].
Aggregate headcount can absorb those numbers. If the extra 70 a week held for a year, it would come to 3,640 people [27]. Royal Mail says it is hiring an additional 22,000 temporary workers over Christmas, as usual [26], about six times that figure [28]. The comparison is crude, since seasonal hires and departing staff are not interchangeable. It does show that who leaves, and from which offices, is the open question.
On who leaves, the union offers a partial answer. It said most leavers were believed to be new starters on part-time contracts, and that more staff on legacy contracts were also going [16]. Bryn Dymott delivered in Wootton, Bedfordshire, for nine years and left in July, saying he could not face another "shambolic" Christmas [5]. He said the company is "proving it's impossible to have four people's work done by three people. It shouldn't really come as a surprise." [6]
The evidence on how DM26 is working is anecdotal. The BBC has been in touch with more than 30 postal staff across the four nations [12], against a workforce of 83,000 [14]. Those speaking anonymously said parcels are still prioritised and letters left behind [19]. One postman in the East Midlands said: "We all think this Christmas will be the worst ever, for us and our customers." [11] The company forecasts the opposite, saying the system is on track to run in all offices by Christmas [21].
The union attributes a rise in weekly leavers to DM26 [13], workers expect a bad peak [11], and the company expects the system to be in place on time [21]. The peak itself has not yet tested any of the three. Martin Walsh of the CWU put the union's case this way: "Put simply, if a boat is already taking on water, adding more passengers is unlikely to solve the problem." [7] Royal Mail describes the reforms as part of a plan to deliver a more "efficient and financially sustainable" service [8].
What to watch
- Whether Royal Mail and the CWU agree a plan that lifts the union's pause request before the remaining offices switch.
- Whether Royal Mail publishes its own leaver figure, or the union gives the period behind its 330 and 400.
- Royal Mail's delivery performance through the Christmas peak, measured against Ofcom's targets.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption83
- Hype gap
- Insufficient
- Incentives70
- Confidence45
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
DM26 allows second class post to be delivered only every other weekday and is supposed to guarantee first class mail and parcels are delivered every day, by putting workers into groups of three and changing the walking pattern of rounds.
- [2]
The CWU has told its members to pause further roll-out of DM26 until a plan can be agreed with Royal Mail to address problems.
- [3]
The union says DM26 is operating successfully in around 500 offices but has run into significant problems in hundreds of others.
- [4]
The BBC asked eight workers in different areas to track their average step counts; since the switchover all their steps increased by a quarter or even a third, often up to around 25,000 steps a day.
- [5]
Bryn Dymott delivered post in Wootton, Bedfordshire, for nine years and left Royal Mail in July, saying he could not face another "shambolic" Christmas.
- [6]
Dymott said the company is "proving it's impossible to have four people's work done by three people. It shouldn't really come as a surprise."
- [7]
Martin Walsh of the CWU said: "Put simply, if a boat is already taking on water, adding more passengers is unlikely to solve the problem."
- [8]
Royal Mail says the reforms are part of its plan to deliver a more "efficient and financially sustainable" service.
- [9]
Royal Mail last week announced plans to cut 2,500 head office and other supporting roles by the end of 2027.
- [10]
Ofcom has fined Royal Mail more than 37 million pounds in the last three years for missing delivery targets.
- [11]
A postman in the East Midlands said: "We all think this Christmas will be the worst ever, for us and our customers."
- [12]
Over the last year the BBC has been in touch with more than 30 postal staff in all four nations of the UK as they switched over to DM26.
- [13]
The Communication Workers Union says about 400 postmen and women are leaving Royal Mail per week, and claims the number has gone up since the company introduced DM26 earlier this year.
- [14]
The CWU says Royal Mail had been losing about 330 postal staff a week from a workforce of 83,000 before it rolled out DM26.
- [15]
DM26 has been introduced in about 1,000 of Royal Mail's 1,200 delivery offices.
- [16]
The union said most Royal Mail workers leaving were believed to be new starters on part-time contracts, but also said there had been an increase in staff on legacy contracts departing.
- [17]
Royal Mail says the DM26 roll-out is 90% complete.
- [18]
Royal Mail says it is now delivering to 95% of addresses every day across the UK, up from 88% before the roll-out.
- [19]
Postal workers speaking anonymously to the BBC say parcels are still being prioritised, letters left behind, and time wasted in sorting and dividing mail into first and second class.
- [20]
A Royal Mail spokesperson said the company always worked to ensure all mail, both letters and parcels, were delivered on time.
- [21]
Royal Mail says the new system is on track to be up and running in all offices by Christmas.
- [22]
The union's figures imply 70 more leavers a week, about 21% above the 330 baseline.
- [23]
On a workforce of 83,000, 330 leavers is about 0.40% a week and 400 leavers is about 0.48% a week.
- [24]
About 1,000 of 1,200 delivery offices is about 83%, against Royal Mail's stated 90% complete.
- [25]
About 200 delivery offices have not yet switched to DM26.
- [26]
Royal Mail says it is hiring, as usual, an additional 22,000 temporary workers over the Christmas period.
- [27]
If the extra 70 leavers a week held for 52 weeks, that would be 3,640 people.
- [28]
The 22,000 temporary hires are about six times the 3,640 annualised extra leavers.
- [29]
In a group of three, one unfilled vacancy removes one third of the group's capacity.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- bbc.co.ukRoyal Mail losing 400 postal workers a week, says union
1 article · October 13, 2026
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