STAFF absence at Royal Mail sorting offices is having a continued impact on post deliveries in the borough.

Responding to concerns about problems in the Sherborne Fields area of the borough, Royal Mail told the Gazette: “Like many other organisations, we have seen a significant rise in Covid-related absences since the emergence of Omicron.

“Currently, absence rates are approximately double what they were at the same time of year in 2019 (pre-Covid) and higher than the same period in 2020.”

The spokesperson added that in some offices this has led to around one third of employees being absent which “makes delivering our usual levels of service very challenging”.

As previously reported, some residents in Sherborne Fields have been experiencing problems with their post since last year.

Read more: Sherborne Fields residents report post delays for six weeks

Jonathan Page, who lives near Sherborne St John, said he has also not had regular post since the beginning of December.

He has complained twice and said on both occasions he then received a backlog of post delivered.

However, he is frustrated that Royal Mail has not responded to his complaints, saying: “Customer services said I would be receiving a letter outlining what they were going to do to improve the service but of course, I haven’t received the letter.”

He added: “They told me that Basingstoke sorting office had reported slight delays because of Covid but nothing serious and post was delivered on most days. This is clearly untrue: the customer service team is not being told the whole story.”

It is not clear why delays are affecting only some areas.

When the Gazette asked Royal Mail why some residents have been severely affected, a spokesperson said: “In the local area, we are experiencing some delays to service due to Covid-related sickness absence.”

They said when offices are affected by staff absences, Royal Mail “makes a range of changes to support the office such as bringing in additional temporary staff, bringing in support from neighbouring offices or rotating deliveries so that we can provide as regular a service as possible.”

Mr Page said his main problem is that he pays for a postal DVD rental service, explaining: “I am paying for something I cannot receive. I know I had a DVD posted to me on the 31st of December but I have not yet received it.”

He added: “I will have to freeze my subscription if I don’t receive anything this week.”

Hampshire County Council member Cllr Peter Chegwyn has urged residents to be patient while the Royal Mail deals with its backlog.

He said: "In Gosport alone I know we had more than a dozen posties off work, which has hindered the postal service over the past two weeks.”

Councillor Chegwyn added: “I’m still waiting on some Christmas cards myself.

“The bottom line is that right now there are too few workers having to do too much work – and that is the case in a lot of different industries.

“What makes this worse is how the government has changed the isolation rules.

“The lateral flow tests aren’t 100 per cent effective so you could be walking around spreading Covid and be none the wiser about it.”

Royal Mail has vowed to resolve its ongoing issues as soon as possible.

The organisation has urged anyone with worries about their post to get in touch.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “The vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time.

“We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In some areas of Hampshire, we have been experiencing some delays to service due to high levels of sickness absence and Covid related self-isolation.

“We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience experienced.

“We have been working hard to get our levels of service back to normal as soon as possible.

“Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740740 or via the Royal Mail website.”

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