ROYAL Mail has denied claims temporary staff were given an upsetting Christmas present by being cut from their jobs weeks early.
A member of staff working at the Shire Business Park on Wainwright Road claimed that on Friday night (December 20), he, along with 34 other colleagues, received an email which said they were all losing their jobs on Christmas Eve.
The man further claimed that until that point, he had no knowledge he was due to leave at that time, believing he was safe in his job work until mid to late January.
However, the Royal Mail has rebuffed this claim, saying colleagues were briefed ahead of time and made aware their jobs were due to end in December.
Temporary staff were hired at the Shire Business Park as Royal Mail attempted to deal with the Christmas rush of extra post being delivered.
Around double the amount of mail is delivered in the UK in December compared to most other months.
The man, who has been working as a delivery driver for Royal Mail, told the Worcester News: "No one knew anything about this email, they sent it five minutes before the office closed so we couldn't call or ask why.
"We are all stressed and upset, we have families at home and we were given false intelligence.
"We had been promised we would have a job after Christmas."
An email sent to staff by the Royal Mail on Friday, seen by the Worcester News, said: "Unlike previous years, we will be saying goodbye to the majority of our temporary workforce on Tuesday, December 24.
"There are some locations where we will need to maintain some support for a few more weeks, so you will be contacted directly if that applies to you.
"We would very much like to stay in touch with you to welcome you back to Royal Mail for future peak periods."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Seasonal work always varies in terms of duration with end dates this year ranging from late December to mid-January for temporary colleagues.
"In this case, colleagues were briefed ahead of time and made aware that their assignments were due to end in December.
"As planned, we will be retaining some temporary employees beyond December 24.”
