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?

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.

That's a matter of opinion. I've been to lots of places where this is the case and I still think that it's shit.

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.

Nonsense.

In Scotland we have 24/7 opening, produce is top notch, Sunday is a huge shopping day and shelves are packed.

I lived in Germany with no Sunday trading. Ditto France. Hated it.

Sunday trading hours should have been scrapped years ago. It's neither one thing or the other. If you work in retail and are on shift on a Sunday, you're working an eight-hour day anyway - the hours don't give you anything approaching a 'day off'.

As for all these people saying 'you can shop online if you're that desperate', do you think online orders are taken and delivered by magic pixies? Major retailers will have call centres and warehouses open on Sundays, and the real people with families you're so concerned about will be working there, probably doing far less sociable hours in a less convenient location. Don't fool yourself that you're somehow saving someone's day off by ordering online at 7pm on a Sunday.

When my DCs were small, I actively sought work on evenings, Saturdays and Sundays. It meant I could look after DCs in the week and DH could at evenings/ weekends. This way we had no childcare costs.

MargaretCavendish - yes, I agree with you really. I suppose it's just that I don't think it inconveniences customers too much (or affects the viability of retailers) if department stores, as opposed to supermarkets, retain restricted hours. But ultimately I don't quite understand why some workers have more artificial protection than others.

And I also agree with PPs that I would hate to live in a country with shops or other attractions closed on Sundays. I remember Sundays being so boring when I was growing up. While there are people prepared to work in jobs at weekends (and indeed needing jobs at weekends), just let them do it.

The Sunday hours annoy me too. The dc are up and about early and on a Saturday thats easy to accomodate but Sundays nothing is open til about 10/11am. In the time between them waking we could have done a weekly shop or visited a museum or gone swimming. But I cant because someone thinks Sundays are sacred. They are just a day.

I can do these things on a Saturday, but that still leaves Sundays void of much to do.

As a consumer, it would be more convenient. In terms of people having to work longer weeks, surely it would be better for the economy, if there were laws to protect the right to contractually not work weekends and instead offer the Sunday roles to part time employees?

There's plenty of people who'd prefer to only work weekends.

I dont see the point of sunday hours anymore. Maybe it is because i am in scotland and we dont have this law.

I work sundays and to me it is the same as every other day. Some small shops here close on sundays but cinemas, restaurants, supermarkets, clothes shops are all open the same hours as the other 6 days of the week.

"In the time between them waking we could have done a weekly shop or visited a museum or gone swimming. But I cant because someone thinks Sundays are sacred."

And those employers who don't have small children are to be deprived of the opportunity to have a lie in one day in the week?

If someone is working seven days a week then that's a completely separate employment issue. I'd happily support legislation against excessive hours in retail, but I think that Sunday trading laws are a really indirect and ineffective way of doing that.

Retail workers in large supermarkets DO work all day Sunday, just because it isn't open doesn't mean they aren't working...and getting 10 times as much done without customers around.

YY Sunday opening hours really don't change things for retail workers, it just affects the customer in my experience.

I used to work for ASDA. We had so many customers saying "you must love getting a lie-in on Sunday" - ha! I was in at 6am, the same as every other day of the week, because the shelves don't stock themselves, and if you want a fresh, hot chicken at 10am, it means someone has to be in to sort the delivery (which arrives anytime from 5am), pre-heat the ovens, cook the food, AND do all the other bits that need doing before we can open.

Now I work for a smaller retailer, and we close an hour earlier on Sundays, but otherwise, nothing is different. We don't get extra pay, we often stay late because we don't have time to finish up everything (we get paid for it, though) and we're just as busy as we are any other day of the week!

*Sunday trading hours should have been scrapped years ago. It's neither one thing or the other. If you work in retail and are on shift on a Sunday, you're working an eight-hour day anyway - the hours don't give you anything approaching a 'day off'.

As for all these people saying 'you can shop online if you're that desperate', do you think online orders are taken and delivered by magic pixies? Major retailers will have call centres and warehouses open on Sundays, and the real people with families you're so concerned about will be working there, probably doing far less sociable hours in a less convenient location. Don't fool yourself that you're somehow saving someone's day off by ordering online at 7pm on a Sunday.*

^^ this.

Lonicera I would assume they have other days in the week they dont work. Supermarkets etc dont usually expect their employees to work 7 days a week.

Can't stand Sunday trading hours. I don't need to be forced by law to relax and focus on the important things in life. I can do that all by myself. But it would be nice to not have the inconvenience caused by 4pm close. In a job market where everyone seems to be whingeing about there being no jobs it would make sense to have a full 24/7 week with more people employed. If religious people or sunday devotees don't like it: don't choose to work in retail.

why bother having weekends at all I say we force EVERYONE too work weekends it would increase the economy productivity because everyone is working more hours plus places will have more spread out bunessess as people would have random days off during the week.

hmmm i thought not most people who hate sunday hours would also hate to have to work their prescous sundays/ saturdays

worridmum I worked weekends every week for last 3 years (self employed) before pregnancy (couldn't do old job after) and it didn't bother me. All sorts of people have all sorts of lifestyles. Not everyone has a 9-5 mon-fri job.

I'd love to go back to keeping one day at the weekends quieter, with most people not having to work (I realise many medical staff and others would still have to)

Doesn't necessarily protect workers in larger shops.

My SIL works for a big 4 supermarket (I mentioned it on a thread of mine previously). She still has to work 8am-8pm on a Sunday even though they're only open 10-4 because they get all the staff in to do a "stock take" and to replenish all the stock before and after the shop opens on Sunday and Sundays the busiest day of the week for the store so all staff are in anyway. SIL doesn't get a weekend despite being only 19

The thing is, the people who want Sunday Trading restrictions ALSO want to be able to go into Tesco at 7am Monday and buy fresh produce, which will never happen unless there are drivers working through the weekend to deliver it, and workers around on Sunday night to unpack the deliveries and put them on the shelves!

It's the same as people who say "yeah, don't shop, go online!" - okay, but that still requires people to work! To answer your online chats/queries, to submit orders, to pick things for your next-day Prime delivery, or to sort and pick your food to be delivered to your house on Monday morning before school.

It just doesn't work like that!

I do not everyone works 9-5 mon-fri but the vast majority of people only work monday to friday times vairy, they would not be impressed with weekends being treated as normal days they could have there days off spread out during all 7 days like retail people.

Though it would not be popular with people it would do wonders for the economy as a whole (not for morale proberly but who cares about that right with tories in power workers should be happy they just have a job)

It isnt just retail though. I worked in a hotel for over a decade and there was no difference to us (or management!) in weekends/weekdays/nights/earlies etc. No difference in pay rates for any shifts. Got our christmas dinner (leftovers) if at work christmas day. Not under the workung time restrictions of retail but not actually offering a crucial life or death job. Still had to be there, as people like to stay in hotels at the weekend.

People also like to shop on a weekend. Or go to a museum or gallery.

I dont know about other supermarkets but asda do not make their staff work both Saturday and sunday. You have to work one day ovee the weekend but you get days off during the week depending on your hours/days/rotas.

I have never worked a 9-5 mon-fri job so maybe thats why working over a weekend doesnt bother me.