When it doesn't matter if you get the sack

THE ability to ride a bicycle is not a skill required by most jobs, but it is useful for anyone wanting to help deliver some of the 430 million letters handled by the Royal Mail every week. It has a fleet of 33,000 bikes which must be ridden with a mail-pouch on the front weighing 16kg (that's a hefty two-and-a-half stone).

Worn-out bikes are donated to developing countries, while tired posties can apply to drive one of the 28,400 post vans or to work in a sorting office.

"Delivering post can be very satisfying and brings you close to the community," says Nancy Bryant, 27, who has been with the Royal Mail in London since joining as a 16-year-old cadet. She has left her biking days behind and now drives a van.

"You can be the first to notice that someone living alone is unwell.

Detailed knowledge about areas is also accumulated, often enabling an incompletely addressed letter to be delivered which gives a terrific feeling of a challenge overcome. An envelope with just a nickname and a street is sometimes enough for the right person to receive it, although we recommend using the correct postcode!"

Bryant acknowledges that while starting work at 5am six days a week and riding a loaded bike in all weathers is excellent for fitness and self-discipline, she has no regrets about switching to a van. "I applied for driver-training to widen my experience," she says. "I am now usually behind the wheel of a three-and-a-half-ton van collecting mail from business customers, our branch offices and pillar boxes."

Bryant is based at Mount Pleasant sorting office, off London's Farringdon Road, one of the biggest in Europe.

She usually works a 12.30pm to 8.30pm shift, five days a week. Overtime is available, which can mean a 7am start.

"Coping with heavy traffic while keeping to a tight schedule is the biggest challenge," she says. "Businesses still expect me to arrive on time for collections however snarled-up the roads may be."

Mail is collected in 11kg sacks and Bryant has to load several hundred into her van each shift. "I'm kept on the go," she says, "but I love my job. Most customers really appreciate what we do and there's a strong tradition within the Royal Mail of teamwork, where firm friendships are formed and people stay in the job for many years."

Collecting and delivering mail on the streets is only the most visible part of the postal service; there are also opportunities to specialise in behind-the-scenes activities.

Bruno Valentine, a former postman, is one of Mount Pleasant's team of Sherlock Holmes figures who try to ensure letters with addresses in foreign languages, often incomplete, are delivered.

"Thousands of letters arrive here every week with addresses in this country and abroad written in almost every language and dialect you can think of," he says.

"An address in Oxford or Southampton written in Russian, Mandarin or a flowing Arabic script, can be baffling at first sight."

Valentine is fluent in French, Spanish and Italian and has a working understanding of many other languages which he combines with a wide-ranging knowledge of postcodes and geography, an office packed with reference books and a computer database.

His expertise, boosted by more than 15 years' experience in his present post, is such that the postal services of many countries send difficult-to-deliver mail to Mount Pleasant; a service for which the Royal Mail charges.

The ending of the monopoly on delivering letters in this country has led to pressure to become more competitive and for reviews of working practices.

Industrial relations have been under strain, with disputes at several sorting offices, but the Royal Mail recruitment team believes career prospects for those joining "at ground level" have never been better.

Post facts

Pay: 270.82 a week rising to 391 for inner London; 250.30 rising to 278.11 for outer London.

There are also shift payments, a driving allowance and performance- related bonus

Leave: 23 days (based on a five-and-a-half-day week)

Hours: 40 a week

Selection: application form, numeracy and sorting test, interview

Skills: team-working and interpersonal

Benefits: Contributory pension, free uniform, training

To apply: 020 7239 4949

Copyright 2001
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