Following a consultation, Ofcom has granted an exception to the universal service throughout the United Kingdom for Saturday 1 January 2022. This means that Royal Mail does not have to collect or deliver mail on that day.

To allow colleagues to rest and recuperate after the busy peak period, Royal Mail will also observe the substitute public holiday on 3 January and, in Scotland, the additional substitute public holiday on 4 January.

Due to the way the public holidays fall, we needed to request an exception for Saturday 1 January to be a non-working day. 1 January is generally a public holiday. However, in 2022, when this date falls on a Saturday, the following Monday has been designated as the official public holiday.

We wish our customers and colleagues a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.