The Post Office has increased the pay of its postmasters in branches by 10%. The move is part of a major drive for an improved commercial partnership with the thousands of individual business owners and larger multiple partners that make up its network, it said.
The fees postmasters receive for providing Post Office services in their branches in 2020/21 will be 10% higher than in 2018/19, an increase of £37m nationwide.
It follows a six-month review that included engagement with the National Federation of SubPostmasters, minister for postal affairs Kelly Tolhurst, BEIS officials, retail partners and about 50 independent postmasters.
Postmasters will receive increased fees for providing everyday banking services, additional payments to smaller, rural post offices for the services they provide, increased payments for handling digital passport applications and increased payments for handling online travel currency purchases that are collected in branch.
The £37m pay bump is made up of a £20m increase during 2020/21 and the £17m a year rise already announced in August 2019.
“Post Office branches are the backbone of our business and the heart of their communities,” said Post Office group CEO Nick Read. “I am determined that the commercial partnership we enjoy with them genuinely reflects that and I am delighted to be able to begin that process through today’s announcement.
“The retail landscape is tough, and the dedication and hard work postmasters show day-in, day-out, must not only be acknowledged, but be properly remunerated too.”
Every postmaster will also have a dedicated, area manager to support them in “all aspects” of their businesses, including driving footfall into shops, increasing their revenues and offering “a great service” to customers, the Post Office added.
Read said: “We are putting our customers, and the postmasters who serve them, front and centre of our future business. Our recent agreement with 28 UK banks to provide everyday banking services is evidence that we are able to negotiate great deals for Post Office.
“I am determined that we share the benefits appropriately with our partners, postmasters wherever they are, the length and breadth of the UK.”
The Post Office network is made up of more than 11,500 branches, with 98% run with retail partners on an agency or franchise basis.
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