Attendance levels improve 18% across UK Royal Mail

Sick absence has been cut significantly as postmen and women increased their attendance levels by 18% over the 2005-06 financial year, Royal Mail announced today.

The latest improvement builds on earlier gains and underlines the success of a Royal Mail incentive scheme offering employees with a 100% attendance record the chance to win a new car in a draw.

The winners of 39 Vauxhall Astras have been collecting their prizes, while 780 Royal Mail people won shopping vouchers. In total, nearly 56,000 employees did not miss a day at work during the 12 months to March 2006 and all have been sent a £150 holiday discount voucher as a "thank you" for their commitment.

The improved attendance rate has been a key factor in Royal Mail delivering record quality of service in 2005-06, when 94.1% of First Class letters arrived the next working day after posting, well above the 93.0% target level.

Absence rates fell to 5.0% at the end of March 2006, compared to 6.1% in March 2005. This drop of 1.1 percentage points, which amounts to an 18% improvement, represented around 1,800 extra people at work on any one day delivering mail to customers.

"It is great news for our customers and our people that we are improving attendance at work through recognising those people who have an excellent attendance record while improving the support to our people if they are off sick," said Tony McCarthy, Royal Mail’s People & Operational Development Director.

"I congratulate the prize winners and everyone who was eligible to enter the draw. Our people do a great job day in, day out, and it’s right that we reward and support them. This is key to making Royal Mail a great place to work, and to enable us to provide a consistent, high quality service to our customers in a fully competitive marketplace."

Royal Mail has now launched a new scheme to recognise good attendance. Anyone not taking a day off sick from 1 April to 30 September 2006, and again from 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007, will be entered into a draw to win £2,000 of holiday vouchers and five days annual leave. Runners up will win £275 worth of shopping vouchers.

"The new scheme has been developed after feedback from our people, who wanted more chances to win if they didn’t have a day off sick," explained Mr McCarthy. "We are also committed to tackling long-term absence by identifying best practice and sharing this more widely across the business. Continuing to improve attendance levels is the right thing to do for our people, our business and our customers whose mail we deliver."

INCENTIVE SCHEME HELPS ROYAL MAIL CUT SICKNESS ABSENCE
PA News, p 1 05-25-2006
By PA Industrial Correspondent By Alan Jones

Sickness absence among postal workers has been cut “significantly” after an 18% increase in attendance levels which has led to thousands of staff receiving holiday vouchers, the Royal Mail announced today.

The improvement followed an incentive scheme offering workers the chance to win prizes ranging from shopping vouchers to new cars.

Almost 56,000 employees who did not miss a single day at work during the year to March have all been sent £150-worth of holiday discount vouchers as a thank you to their commitment.

The Royal Mail said the improved attendance rate had been a key factor in a record performance for postal deliveries.

“It is great news for our customers and our people that we are improving attendance at work through recognising those people who have an excellent attendance record while improving the support to our people if they are off sick,” said Tony McCarthy, Royal Mail's People & Operational Development Director.

Royal Mail has now launched a new scheme to recognise good attendance.

Anyone not taking a day off sick from April to September, and again from October to next March, will be entered into a draw to win £2,000 of holiday vouchers and five days annual leave. Runners up will win £275 worth of shopping vouchers.