The group is set to begin rolling out changes to letter deliveries next month that will see second-class post scrapped on Saturdays.
Royal Mail has pledged to meet new postal delivery targets by May next year as part of a £500 million investment after agreeing a plan to roll out changes to scrap second-class post on Saturdays.
The group said it would begin to phase in a new letter delivery model nationwide next month, subject to a consultation with union members, which will see it deliver second-class post every other weekday only.
It follows agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite last week, bringing an end to a lengthy dispute over the second-class post overhaul.
Royal Mail said the changes and planned investment will see it improve first class next-day delivery to around 85% within nine months of the reforms being brought in, before reaching the 90% target set by regulator Ofcom within a year.
The firm also vowed to deliver 93% of second-class letters in three days within the space of nine months, and hit the 95% target by May next year.
Royal Mail was fined a record £21 million by Ofcom last October for missing targets after it delivered just 77% of first-class post and 92.5% of second-class post on time in 2024-25.
From April 1, Ofcom lowered the delivery targets for first-class post to be delivered the next day from 93% to 90% and second-class to be delivered within three days from 98.5% to 95%.
But Ofcom added a new “enforceable” backstop delivery target, so that 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.
Royal Mail said its £500 million investment in the service over the next five years included an agreement to allow around 6,000 part-time postal workers to increase their average weekly hours if needed as part of the second-class post reforms.
It will be funded by savings made from the changes to the Universal Service.
Alistair Cochrane, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: “We recognise our service hasn’t always been the standard our customers rightly expect and we’re determined to do better.
“The plan we’ve set out today shows how we’ll make a step change in performance across the UK, backed by £500 million of investment over the next five years.”
