Evri is set to expand its courier network with a recruitment drive for 5,000 new couriers, as the company looks to compete in the business letter market.
The Yorkshire-based parcel firm recently announced a collaboration with DHL’s UK ecommerce division, creating one of the UK’s largest delivery networks. The addition of these new roles will bring Evri’s total number of self-employed couriers to 33,000.
These positions will be available across the UK, with a focus on areas such as Plymouth, Bury, Hastings, Dover, and Scarborough.
Approximately 1,000 of the new jobs will be permanent, while the remainder will be flexible roles designed to accommodate the increased demand during the summer and other peak delivery periods.
Couriers who commit to working five or more days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, are also given the chance to opt in to its revamped “Evri Plus” scheme, which includes paid holiday and automatic enrolment into a pension scheme.
Evri, which was previously part of the Hermes parcel group, was bought by US private equity firm Apollo for around £2.7 billion last year.
It announced plans last month to merge with rival DHL’s UK ecommerce business to create a combined company set to deliver more than one billion parcels and one billion letters each year.
The deal means Evri will enter the UK business letter market for the first time, bolstering its competition to Royal Mail.
Evri has spent £32 million on improving its customer service offering and has seen an improvement in its ratings over recent years, but has said there is “more to do” to improve with customers continuing to report delivery issues.
Chief executive Martijn de Lange said: “We know that service, reliability and quality are critical factors for our clients and consumers, and so by expanding our self-employed network further, we remain focused on delivering in each of those areas.”
Couriers typically earn about £20.90 an hour on average, according to Evri.
