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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to hope they keep the extended shopping hours on a sunday

303 replies

hawaiiWave · 13/08/2012 13:30

I am a bit of a loser shopaholic and I love the current extended shopping hours on s Sunday, my local town centre shops are now open 10-6. I love drive,but it seems to help traffic congestion too, as shoppers are less concentrated.

Aibu to wonder why there is a restriction in the first place?

OP posts:
Sabriel · 13/08/2012 14:06

YABVU. The difference in shops is huge. I used to be a waitress and I took a job deliberately working weekends. My choice. Same with a lot of other touristy type things - people go into the job because they want to work at weekends, because it suits them.

What has happened in Retail is that the poor sods are told they have to work weekends and BHs. Sunday used to be double time, but now it's classed as a normal working day so they don't even get that. You can "opt out" of Sunday working in theory, but in practice they don't have to offer you alternative hours so you could find you lose a day's pay every week. When you are already on low pay who can afford to lose 20% of their income?

"Take turns" on the weekend shifts? Haha funny joke. My DH is lucky if he gets 2 weekends off a Year (and then he wouldn't have Friday night and Saturday). When he started the job, over 20 years ago, he was guaranteed Saturday nights off because they didn't open Sunday. Sadly because he has been there so long he can't leave because any other job he'd be back on minimum wage and we just couldn't live on it. So we now have no weekends, they "don't recognise" Bank Holidays (they add them to your holiday entitlement but there is too much holiday for everyone to fit it in, so he ends up taking a week off in November when I'm at work and the kids are at school), and there is a constant campaign for them to open at Xmas and easter too.

Why can't people plan their shopping needs more effectively? Supermarkets used to close at 6pm every day and yet people still managed to do their shopping. Perhaps Sunday hours should be later for the inept? Say 4pm - 10pm?

Denise34 · 13/08/2012 14:06

You don't have to be religious to think that Sunday should be a day of rest. I think it's sad that people have such empty lives that they feel put out that they can't get retail therapy 7 days a week.

EasilyBored · 13/08/2012 14:09

Or it could be that other people work shifts too and Sunday might be the only day they can go shopping?

Kladdkaka · 13/08/2012 14:09

Have been to Europe, no Sunday trading, people go for walks with their families, etc.

I live in Europe. No Sunday trading laws here and shops can open when they like. Supermarkets open the same as any other day. Little shops are closed, but that's down to choice (they only do half day Saturdays and no weekend openings at all during the summer).

EnglishGirlApproximately · 13/08/2012 14:11

Many supermarkets open from 8am on Monday morning until 10pm on Saturday night, then for 6 hours on Sunday.

I find it very hard to believe that people are unable to find the time to shop during those hours.

McHappyPants2012 · 13/08/2012 14:11

i don't get the religious POV either the Vicar will be working

EnglishGirlApproximately · 13/08/2012 14:13

kladkakka where in Europe? I lived in France and the Casino only opened for 4 hours on a Sunday and closed for lunch every day Grin

Kladdkaka · 13/08/2012 14:16

Sweden. Don't get me wrong, there's feck all open here on a Sunday or Saturday but that's because they don't want to, not because they can't.

EnglishGirlApproximately · 13/08/2012 14:20

I think that might be the same in France, certainly in the rural towns. Everything just closes and they all go for a 2 hour lunch! Very civilised way of life...

drjohnsonscat · 13/08/2012 14:21

kladkakka everywhere in Europe that I've lived (France, Belgium Switzerland) has rules at least as restrictive as hours. In Switzerland you're hard pressed to find a shop that stays open on Saturday afternoon! All our local restaurants were closed at the weekends.

I don't think they should extend the hours. Recent history has taught us that giving in to corporate demands does not work out as the corporates claim it will. And it just spreads the existing money out more thinly.

Our economy needs a boost but not from more people trudging down Oxford St buying Chinese-made plastic stuff from Claire's Accessories (not that I'm implying that's what you buy hawii Grin). I think the last couple of years have actually taught us that capitalism doesn't have all the answers and we have a task ahead of us to work out how to tame it so it works for us rather than vice versa. I don't know if that makes me sound a bit woooo - I'm not. I work in the City. But to be honest I find if it's something the Institute of Directors or the CBI want, I'm inclined to disagree.

drjohnsonscat · 13/08/2012 14:21

as restrictive as ours, not hours. Idiot.

Ragwort · 13/08/2012 14:25

Cake I find it quite convenient to go shopping straight from church (and tend to bump into most of the congregation anyway Grin).

I don't get this 'family day/religious' argument - it is easily possible to do church and shopping, for many people Sunday can be an incredibly lonely day, most people do not live in happy families that spend their sunday doing fun things together.

I used to work in retail and actually much preferred to have my days off mid week, far more going on than on a sunday which can actually be quite boring.

LST · 13/08/2012 14:27

YABU Angry

elizaregina · 13/08/2012 14:30

depends where you go in europe - some places close sunday but stay open till 10 or later in the week.

i cant bear always having to remind dh - dont forget its sunday !!! shops shut at 4!

i would much rather have them open and be able to choose when to go for walk sand the like.

elizaregina · 13/08/2012 14:35

You don't have to be religious to think that Sunday should be a day of rest. I think it's sad that people have such empty lives that they feel put out that they can't get retail therapy 7 days a week.

Its not just retail therapy - its a buzz when people are coming and going in a place where shops are open, as oppposed to a dead ghost town.

its also a question of time management and being forced to do certain things on a saturday when perhaps - we would like to " rest" on a satruday instead of sunday.

as someone else said - not everyone has someone to spend sunday with either - in some places it can be dreadfully lonely if everything is shut.

NovackNGood · 13/08/2012 14:36

It is silly to compare sunday trading in the UK to the fact shops in Europe are closed too. At least in spain you can go to the local town centre and find the shops are all still open until 9pm every day of the week or even 10 pm it it's a shopping centre. Hardly the same as being hounded out the door at 5.30 on a UK high street. is it.

Sunday trading laws are a throwback to when the government would cave to a bunch of bishops in the house of lords but one good thing about the over inflated Lords is that the cross bench bishops have less relevance than ever.

spoonsspoonsspoons · 13/08/2012 14:39

I could see the point more if Sunday trading was restricted regardless of shop size. Tesco express can open until 10pm but the larger store has to close at 4pm. No rational explanation behind that one.

CrispyCod · 13/08/2012 14:40

YANBU I totally agree with you.

Everlast · 13/08/2012 14:41

I live in Scotland and find it very odd that shops over the border close early on sundays we're living nearer to the England border now than we used to and some shops here seem to close early on sundays or not open at all and it seems to be occuring more each passing year! very strange when you grew up in a city, just yesterday we thought we would have a day browsing the shops in a neighbouring town and nothing was open it was like a ghost town, horrid. Not everyone wants to walk around the park every sunday

OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos · 13/08/2012 14:51

Shops are already open on Sundays, people that work in them will just have to work a couple of hours over what they already do, which is hardly going to destroy their entire family life.

I don't get this arguement about the workers at all, it makes no sense when shops are open on a Sunday anyway, we are only talking about extending the hours.

I think it woud be great to have longer opening hours on Sunday, and for us it would actually increase family time because we would be able to have a leisurely Sunday breakfast and fit in everything else we wanted to do before rushing to get things in for Monday before 4.00.

It's not about planning better, I plan my shopping already, and it suits my plan to be able to buy fruit and veg and meat fresh on a Sunday so that I don't have to drag the dc along to the supermarket after they have been to school and I have been to work.

SCOTCHandWRY · 13/08/2012 14:55

It is silly to compare sunday trading in the UK to the fact shops in Europe are closed too.

NOT UK, England - here in Scotland our shops can open all day Sunday, and most do. They tend to open a bit later (10am, or 12noon).

reluctanttownie · 13/08/2012 14:57

I'm torn. I don't much like shopping so I don't do it as a leisure activity for the bulk of the day at a weekend like some people seem to. Mostly I'll tend to do it early or late, and do something I actually enjoy in the middle of the day. In the winter especially I often wish I could go to the supermarket/B&Q etc in the early evening - I don't want to waste precious daylight hours trapped in a shop. I particularly love late night shopping - go home, have dinner and pop out again really late when everywhere's deserted. Tesco at midnight is almost pleasant.

I also don't have any desire for Sunday to be different on religious grounds as I am an atheist. Having said that I have fond memories of my childhood when there was less to do on Sunday and people just stayed at home or went out for walks. I think time like that is precious, and essential to my happiness but accept that others find more satisfaction in doing things more of the time.

One reason for not wanting Sunday trading to be relaxed long term is for the sake of retail workers. Having said that, as another poster has said, so many other people in hospitality/transport/entertainment etc have to work normal hours on a Sunday, why should it be different just for some?

The main reason for me however is to protect smaller businesses (although given that the increasing number of mini branches of Tescos/Sainsbury's etc can open whenever they like on Sundays, I guess the intention ends up somewhat watered down in practice).

cantspel · 13/08/2012 14:58

No one has to work on a sunday. You can opt out.

Clytaemnestra · 13/08/2012 15:00

I went from Tokyo (all shops open 7 days a week from 9/10AM until 8PM) to living in Geneva (nothing open anywhere after 6PM and no chance on a Sunday). I much prefered the convenience of Tokyo, you could do a bit of proper shopping after work, and you were far less restricted.

So am totally in favour of extending opening hours across the board really! I think it would encourage people to buy more as well.

Denise34 · 13/08/2012 15:01

"It's not about planning better, I plan my shopping already, and it suits my plan to be able to buy fruit and veg and meat fresh on a Sunday"
There is no "fresh" mean and veg on Sunday. It's the same stuff that's there on Saturday.