Sunday opening hours

[moutonfou]

So I know there are valid reasons for which certain people continue to fiercely protect these laws.

But AIBU to wonder what the point is anyway when it's only a very small group they protect - workers in large shops. Workers in small shops, cinemas, restaurants, pubs, bars, petrol stations, fast food outlets and most other service industries you can think of have no limit to Sunday hours? What's the point of continuing to fiercely protect one very specific group in law and no others?

I hate Sunday opening laws. As an aside, did they not cancel the restrictions during the 2012 olympics?

Oh ffs just give people a day off!

Do you routinely work sundays op?

I don't think we have them in Scotland, my local ASDA is open 24/7 except Christmas day and possibly New Year. Seems strange it only applies to part of the UK.

I routinely work Sundays and think that supermarkets should open. There are plenty of people that have to work normal hours on Sunday without being paid overtime so I don't understand why others shouldn't.

Ah the race to the bottom has begun

Are you so disorganised that you can't cope with shops opening for only 6 hours on a Sunday?

I remember when no shops except for newsagents opened on a Sunday. Now places like Meadowhall are at their busiest on a Sunday. Roads are busier through the day on a Sunday. There is no "Sunday feeling" any more.

C0untDucku1a I'm not suggesting getting rid of them or keeping them either way. I'm just questioning the logic of them only protecting a very specific group. If we decide as a society that shop workers deserve Sunday off or at least a shortened working Sunday, why don't cinema workers, or restaurant workers, etc?

I shop on Sundays because the shops are open. I'd cope if they weren't. I think Sunday trading should stop not extend.

I agree with you, OP. I wouldn't particularly welcome a move to everything - cinema, restaurants, all shops - either being shut or having short opening hours on a Sunday, but it would make some sense. I agree with you that it's really strange and illogical that if I want to go to our local Tesco metro tonight I can, meaning that those staff will be working until 10pm, but the law prevents the bigger Tesco from doing the same. It just seems so arbitrary.

Are you so disorganised that you can't cope with shops opening for only 6 hours on a Sunday?

And I think this is an odd comment. It's no more 'disorganised' of me to want to do my weekly shop at 6pm on a Sunday than it is to want to do it at 10pm on a Tuesday, and it's odd that the law prevents one of those.

I agree with you but I think we have it pretty good. I used to live on the continent and there was literally fuck all you could do if it was Sunday and you didn't have milk and wanted a cup of tea.

I agree with the OP too.

Why are the Sundays for people working at Tesco Extra more important than those working for Tesco Express?

If it is just grocery shopping why not do it online?

Although, I agree with the OP' question about why is the law different for big shops as opposed to other places?

Now places like Meadowhall are at their busiest on a Sunday.

Why do you think that is?

I used to work in retail (convenience store) and worked every Sunday. I now work in an office so never work Sundays.

I do see the point you're making that it's strange to have different rules for different groups. Many of the other workers you named like convenience stores, cinemas, pubs and restaurants etc will have similar shift patterns to those working in big supermarkets on the other 6 days.

I wouldn't mind going back to nothing open on Sundays but I don't think it will happen. I don't think it's the answer either. I think the answer is cultural shift to better employers that recognise workers work/life balance

Even my devoutly Christian parents, who were fully paid-up members of the Keep Sunday Special campaign in the 90s think nothing of popping to a supermarket on the way back from church now.

Huge numbers of people work outside of the old Monday-Friday 9-5 and longer supermarket opening times make it more convenient to shop when it suits you. I don't see when Sunday daytime is a bigger deal than an evening to be honest. And for many workers with children it can actually be beneficial to work at weekends so that you can be around in the week when they get home from school etc.

The laws still just about make sense to me for department stores etc (many of which are open until late in the week and there is no necessity for people to be shopping there particularly early or late on a Sunday). I don't really understand them for supermarkets. Sunday is often the most convenient night for people to do a weekly shop - it's not about being disorganised when you work late in the week and often have plans or want family time on Saturday evenings / weekend daytimes.

Sunday is about the only day I ever get time to myself to go and browse clothes shops or department stores. As I've said to similar effect in the "closing time" thread, reducing Sunday closing hours would not mean I shop on other days. It would just mean I would only ever buy clothes online. All of my food shopping is also now done online, apart from emergency late evening purchases.

We do need to think about how these laws tie in with the easier availability of online retail. Jobs are already being lost because of it.

I work weekends (NHS) and think Sunday hours should extended, not to a normal day but at least until 6pm. But then I always hated Sundays as a kid as I was bored. Nothing was open and we weren't allowed to go knocking on friends doors because 'it was Sunday'

The laws still just about make sense to me for department stores etc (many of which are open until late in the week and there is no necessity for people to be shopping there particularly early or late on a Sunday).

But it's not really 'necessary' to ever shop in a department store, is it? But people want to. And I don't see why working Sunday evening is inherently worse than working Thursday evening. I can see why you'd restrict everyone to 9-5 weekday hours (though it would obviously be incredibly inconvenient) but once you've accepted that retail workers are going to work non-standard hours I think it's bizarre to legislate what those hours are. And it's so obviously a hangover from older cultural attitudes towards Sundays - no one would ever come up with the Sunday trading laws if we were starting from scratch now.

I did my shopping at 8am in Tesco this morning, perfect.

Go and visit a town in a country where most shops are closed on a Sunday, and you will appreciate how good it is to have one day different from all the others. Then look at how they still have independent stores, and their clothing retailing is much better than the disgrace we have had in this country. Since we changed the law to allow the level of opening we have, the concentration of retailing, and in the case of fresh fruit/veg and clothing has markedly worsened.

If it was my choice then large stores would be allowed to open from noon on a Sunday, and be closed for a few weeks a year (and Boxing Day)- perhaps in Lent. Small stores would only open say at 9, unless somewhere such as an airport or rail station.

And we would be giving more people Sunday as one of their days off, so that families would have the option to be together if they wish. And if you are so desperate you cannot do without shopping for those few hours, then there is internet shopping, for click and collect.

The rules for Sunday hours also only limits the opening hours, it doesn't mean people aren't working in large supermarkets outside of those hours. I used to work Sat/Sun and Sun/Mon nights when i worked for Tesco.