Peak season delivery company temporary staff recruiting has got off with a bang as Royal Mail announced it is looking for 23,000 extra staff this year, a slight on last year’s numbers.

Royal Mail and ParcelForce Worldwide are looking to fill positions between the end of this month and early January to help sort the e-commerce peak season as well as Christmas presents, cards and letters.

Some 13,300 staff will be needed across Royal Mail’s operations in England, around 1100 in Scotland, 470 in Wales and 445 in Northern Ireland.

There will be driving jobs too as well as logistics roles at the Heathrow international hub and several hundred temporary jobs in data inputting.

Additionally, ParcelForce Worldwide is looking to recruit 2250 temporary staff. Pay is set to be between £7.83 an hour and £12.48 an hour depending on age and the job being done.

Royal Mail post and parcels chief executive Sue Whalley, said: “Christmas continues to be our busiest time of year. We plan all year round to ensure we deliver the best possible service for UK consumers and businesses before, during and after the festive season.

“We continue to make this substantial commitment in additional resources, including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers, to ensure we can continue to deal with the huge amount of festive parcels, cards and online shopping orders, which we will be asked to deliver for our customers in every part of the country.”