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Original poster

About non-essential shops being open on boxing day

292 replies

NayrusWisdom7 · 26/12/2014 13:12

Just that I am sick and tired of christmas being ruined every year by having to work Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. The sales may be all well and good but someone has to give up their day to make it happen! I think if stores are to be open at all on boxing day they should be subject to sunday trading hours of 1-6 only. I'm sure fellow retail workers will agree.. Or maybe I'm just bitter?

OP posts:
CockBollocks · 26/12/2014 21:57

Oh no, the customers are fine. If the government had not allowed these extended hours on bank holidays then no shops would be open to this extent.

I don't even mind the boxing day opening - but 5am-7pm is too much and unnecessary.

The money argument is irrelevant, if no shops were open the spending would be delayed not gone.

woodhill · 26/12/2014 21:58

I don't agree with big shops being open on BD, it never used to be necessary. yanbu

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 22:01

Big shops didn't open before because the world has changed and retail has moved with it.

I agree that the early opening on Boxing day seems unnecessary though.

TheBooMonster · 26/12/2014 22:06

We're staying with family and the only place open in this town is a little Nisa shop, DH and I took DD to feed the ducks and there were a fair few people about just wondering, it was lovely even though I'm going stir crazy from not going out to the shops or really leaving the house since Monday I had a 50% chance of having to work Boxing Day this year but luckily have been drafted in for New Years instead as I am pregnant and thus not likely to be out on the piss the night before! When I was little I don't remember the shops opening on Boxing Day...

TrendStopper · 26/12/2014 22:06

CockBollocks - do you work for a clothing company beginning with N? I worked for them and it was shit. When you are at the interview or when you get offered the job they don't tell you about not being allowed holidays around december or january. They don't tell you that you have to work late christmas eve after the shop has closed. They don't tell you that even though you have a contract with specific hours you are expected to work more than triple your hours per week around sale times.

Why do shops need to be open boxing day? Why can't we go back to january sales? All day yesterday the television was filled with advertisements for boxing day sales so if you work for any of these companies you get constant reminders all day Christmas Day.

Infinity8 · 26/12/2014 22:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MidniteScribbler · 26/12/2014 22:11

Everyday on MN I get to add to my list of twats that I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. Welcome to the list mean and dastardly.

Binkybix · 26/12/2014 22:17

Wow. Some people are just beyond the pale. So sorry for what you went through expat. My worst nightmare.

mean you should be annoyed with your greedy boss who gives his rousing speech for opening, not the customers. There's a big difference between not wanting to go to work and hating the customers.

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 22:19

Nice one Midnite

I'd actually like to work on Christmas and Boxing day - I'd rather have two days off somewhere else - though I appreciate I'm in a minority.

The way people have bought into consumerism has been a factor in retail opening hours though. Look at the queues to out of town shopping centres before Christmas, the angst about buying all the tat deemed necessary, the heaving crush in supermarkets with no thought to the fact that they'd be open again very quickly. And all for the sake of cooking a poshed up roast dinner.
Of course shops are going to open. They know the customers are there.

haphazardbystarlight · 26/12/2014 22:20

This thread is nasty.

I do think at the least Sunday hours should apply. Opening at 6 is stupid.

I also think that retail and health and other jobs where Christmas working is unavoidable should have a rotation system meaning people get some time off.

But, Christmas is a big deal to some people but not to others and just as it's annoying when people minimise you wanting to spend the day with the family, it's annoying when people minimise you wanting to spend the day doing normal things!

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 22:21

haphazard I wish we had a like button for your post! Flowers

haphazardbystarlight · 26/12/2014 22:24

We go back a bit ILS Xmas Wink and so sorry to hear about your DMum Flowers

The day I LOVE is Easter. What's not to like about bunny rabbits, lambs, baby chicks, daffodils and chocolate? We make a big fuss over Easter - that's "our day" but since the rest of the world doesn't agree this is the day to be celebrated we have to go along with it and that's just how it is!

Wanting to do what you want to do hardly makes someone a terrible person but making snarky mean posts does

alseb · 26/12/2014 22:26

I have to work tomorrow and thank myself lucky that I managed to get out of working CD and today.
I hate leaving my family - I work shifts, including weekends and Easter.
I think eventually CD will be the only holiday the majority of people get off work. I think BH's will cease to be. We are going back to Victorian times, workers are treated so badly especially those in retail.

haphazardbystarlight · 26/12/2014 22:31

I can't disagree a lot of workers are treated very poorly and I am the first to object to this.

But realistically, NO ONE likes leaving their family to go to work usually - many of us, if we won the lottery, would opt never to work again.

Retail is an area that needs attention, as is care (there is another thread on here re low pay and travel time) and many others I daresay. But I don't think working bank holidays is the issue. It's low pay and poor working conditions and unreasonable demands, the days themselves are a bit of a red herring.

jellybeans · 26/12/2014 22:48

I went shopping today but only as it is DH's only day off and we needed some house stuff. Not for sales stuff. He always works every day over Xmas (essential services) so this was rare. I did feel sorry for the retail staff. Many small shops were shut but most big chains were open long house. I used to work in retail but the hours were much less. I would be happy with xmas eve to boxing day closed.

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 22:52

Why should anything be closed on Christmas Eve? (obviously people in retail wouldn't have to work so late on Christmas Eve if shops opened later on Boxing day)

People in most jobs work on Christmas Eve. It's not a special day or a public holiday

woodhill · 26/12/2014 23:08

I know Sooty but do u think it is for the best, do you think it is better. are we any happier.

rhetorical questions but food for thought. Smile

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 23:13

Overall I suspect not woodhill but I think it's a wider issue than shop opening hours.

Lweji · 26/12/2014 23:14

I had almost forgotten that exH used to work in a restaurant (up until 10 years ago). Not only he only had one day off per week, alternate days on weekends, as he often had to work over the holidays. Bloody tourists going to the West End...
It never felt like Christmas was ruined. Nor it occurred to us to blame the customers for showing up at those times.
I also worked retail for a while, pt, which meant covering weekends and holidays too. It came with the job. Never blamed or felt resentful towards customers.

RonaldMcDonald · 26/12/2014 23:29

I'm not a christian but see no need not to have the shops closed at some points during the year
we'll hardly snuff it

Lweji · 26/12/2014 23:34

What if there is a zombie apocalypse on Boxing day?

RonaldMcDonald · 26/12/2014 23:36

in those circs I'll do without Next etc

FunnysInLaJardin · 26/12/2014 23:43

Jersey is quite civilised. No shops are open on Sunday at all. Shops here all shut Christmas eve afternoon and will prob re open tomorrow. The petrol station was open today, but that's it. Most offices close from the 24th Dec to the 5th Jan. As I say, most civilised

depecheNO · 26/12/2014 23:48

I work in small business (think novelty and merch) and we were open today - albeit Sunday hours only. I quite enjoyed it (at least, until the barrage of verbal from my absent boss) as it broke things up and made the Christmas "weekend" seem longer, but I can imagine not being too pleased if I had a large or young family to spend Christmas with. YADNBU for wanting the day off / not to have to think about sales.

ilovesooty · 26/12/2014 23:50

I don't think it's particularly civilised if people in offices are forced to take annual leave between 24th December and 5th January. Does this enforced leave come out of their annual allowance?

Why is it a good thing to force people to use their holiday entitlement like that and reduce the holiday time they can take during the summer months?