Staff shortages see rural Post Offices offer reduced services

EXCLUSIVE

SEVERAL Post Offices across Wokingham Borough are now closed due to staff shortages amid the Coronavirus pandemic. A number of others are currently running at reduced capacity and opening hours.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “The majority of Post Offices in theWokingham area are open as Post Offices are designated as an essential retailer by the UK Government.

“Some branches are operating revised hours.” Embrook, Maiden Place and Finchampstead Post Offices are temporarily closed due to staffing issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and underlying health issues.

Their spokesperson continued: “It is not known at this stage when these branches will reopen. In the interim there is a wide choice of alternative Post Offices.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these temporary closures as we know how important Post Offices are to communities. Customers are advised to visit www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder for the latest information.”

The Embrook Post Office, based inside the One Stop store in Reading Road was closed, until further notice, last week.

Gowtham Karunakaran, the store manager, said: “We closed onWednesday as there were not enough staff.

“We normally have four people covering both the shop and the Post Office but nowwe are down to two, so we had to shut the Post Office.

“After lockdown, when everything is back to normal, the Post Office will be open normal hours again.

“At the moment we are re-directing people to the Post Office in WHSmith in Market Place.”

Mr Karunakaran added that the One Stop store gets very busy and it is hard to ensure social distancing is taking place outside the shop when people are queuing to get in.

The shop has enforced a three-person limit, to avoid overcrowding in the store.

“We are busy like Christmas, it’s hard to manage social distancing when people are queuing outside. With only one of us working, we can’t keep control.”

The Wokingham Post Office, located inside WHSmith in the town centre is open but with reduced opening hours.

The service has imposed a six-person limit, and staff have reported many people queuing outside and that the service is “busier than expected”.

Chris Taylor, a staff member at Wokingham Post Office, explained that there are health and safety measures in place to keep employees safe: “It’s not been much tougher than usual.

“We’ve got precautions in place, we have plastic screens between us and customers, hand sanitiser, regular hand-washing and obviously social distancing.

“We’ve switched off our self-servicemachine to avoid having people crowding around the machine.”

Opening hours of local branches:

Information correct at time of going to press

Wokingham Post Office, WHSmith, 26-28 Market Place: Monday to Friday: 9am-3pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm Barkham Post Office, 50 Bearwood Road: Monday to Friday: 10am-2pm; Saturday: 10am-noon

Binfield Post Office, Southern Co-op, Terrace Road South: Monday to Friday: 9am-3pm; Saturday: 9am-1pm.

California Post Office, Midcounties Co-op, 420 Finchampstead Road: Monday to Friday: 9am-5.30pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm.

Hurst Post Office, The Street: Monday to Friday: 9am-5.30pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm.

Lower Earley Post Office, McColls, 5 Chalfont Way:

Monday to Friday: 9am-5.30pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm. Shinfield Post Office, 7 School Green: Monday to Saturday: 6am-7.30pm; Sunday: 6am-2pm.

Spencers Wood Post Office, Basingstoke Road: Monday to Friday: Noon-5pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm.

Swallowfield Post Office, The Street: Monday to Friday: 9am2pm; Saturday: 9am-12.30pm.

Three Mile Cross Post Office, Basingstoke Road: Monday to Saturday: 6am-7.30pm; Sunday: 8am-5.30pm.

Twyford Post Office, 17 London Road: Monday to Friday: 11.30am-5pm; Saturday: 11.30am-12.30pm.

Wheelers Green Post Office, 6 The Parade, Coppice Road: Monday to Saturday: 8am-6pm; Sunday: 9am-5pm. Winnersh Mobile On Sherwood Road, Winnersh: Open Monday and Thursday: 9-10am

Wokingham Road Post Office, Reading:

Open Monday to Saturday: 9am-6pm.

Woodley Post Office, McColls, 141 Crockhamwell Road: Monday to Sunday: 7am-10pm.