Inclusion

Royal Mail has always played a crucial role in helping people engage with others in the community, and we actively promote inclusion – providing access to financial services, digital services, business and employment opportunities.

We are a vital part of the UK’s economic and social infrastructure. As the public's valued Universal Service Provider, our six-days-a-week, one-price-goes-anywhere service means that people in rural communities are not disadvantaged because of where they live.

We deliver to almost 29 million UK addresses, and collect mail from over 118,000 post boxes – often more than once a day. We provide a key communication channel for people and businesses no matter where they are in the country. 

Inclusive employment

We are an inclusive employer and help those facing barriers access good jobs.  Examples of our programmes include: 

  • BITC’s Business Action on Homelessness– we have offered over 450 work experience placements since 2005, with 185 of these people going on to work at Royal Mail or other organisations.
  • Employment for the disabled - we have been working in partnership with Remploy, the UK's leading provider of employment services to people experiencing complex barriers to work, since 2005. We are one of only two organisations to have placed over 1,000 people through the partnership. 80% of individuals go on to be offered paid work within Royal Mail.
  • Ready for Work - we have employed over 250 Ready for Work graduates over the past six years. This accounts for 11% of the total employments secured by clients after completing the Ready for Work programme.
  • Work experience and apprenticeships – we have committed to offering a minimum of 80 work experience placements every year for a period of up to eight weeks for 16-24 year olds. We have also committed of offer 30 apprentices a two year Business Improvement scheme which focuses on World Class Mail.
     

Financial inclusion

Our sister company's network of Post Office branches is bigger than all of the UK high street banks combined and has around 20 million customers every week.  With thousands of free-to-use cash machines and cash-over-the-counter services,

The Post Office helps ensure everyone has access  to financial services, and those in the most remote or deprived areas of the UK are not excluded.