Royal Mail is on the hunt for more than 170 temporary workers at its Croydon Mail Centre to manage the Christmas post.

The seasonal positions will be available from late October through to early January 2024.

The employment period also includes peak shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The company aims to accommodate workers seeking flexible hours and offers competitive pay rates.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We are encouraging applications from people looking to earn extra income for the festive season, inviting them to come and join the Royal Mail teams across the UK delivering Christmas to its customer.”

Applicants don't need previous experience, and contracts will be in effect from late October to early January 2024.

Applications can be made through the Royal Mail website, email, or an automated helpline.

Grant McPherson, the Chief Operating Officer of Royal Mail emphasized their commitment to deliver this Christmas: "We are pulling out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.

"It’s our busiest time of the year and we know how important it is for people that we deliver letters and parcels on time.

"By planning ahead and hiring more people, vans and trucks, we are well-prepared to handle the expected increased festive mail and parcels and deliver the high standards of service our customers expect from Royal Mail."

In preparation for the festive season, the company has also increased its fleet with an additional 6,800 vehicles across the group and hired over 1,000 road haulage contractors to transport the festive mail and parcels nationwide.

Royal Mail has allocated a total of 176,500 sqm of temporary space for sorting parcels, which is equal to the area of 16 football pitches.

Apart from the positions at the Croydon Mail Centre, roles are also available in the 37 other mail centres as well as in its logistics and data inputting teams.

The company's two new Super Hubs, based in Daventry and Warrington, will need up to 600 additional staff to process an anticipated two million parcels per day.