To think some large supermarkets should be open until 8pm

[jnfrrss]

Fed up of getting back on a Sunday after a busy hetic weekend and having to do my shop at a Tesco garage.

There's three large supermarkets in my town and all close at 4pm on a Sunday. Why can't at least one do an evening shift?

After being used to Scottish shops it really sucks in England. Sunday evening would be perfect for me to do a shop. I just dont like online shopping either, but if they have to work Sunday late evenings why is it so different for the shop workers?

Again someone else not getting that even if they are closed on Sundays it's still a 24 hours operation and people will still need to be in. Everyone is overworked and stressed these days, it's not just people in large supermarkets.

Germany has industry, it's nothing to do with supermarkets opening hours.

Why aren't the close them on Sunday people interested in "saving" any other people other than shop workers. You are just looking to take away working hours from people that maybe desperately want more.

I don't want any more. I want fewer for better pay in more of a 9-5 structure

There have been massive cut backs in retail across the board, all of the big five are having restructures and cutting managerial roles. Both Tesco and Asda are doing away or have done away already with in house HR managers. Regardless of whether the shop floor staff want extra hours I can assure you, they won’t get as many as they want/need because all of the big five are on a race to the bottom, cutting resourses and expecting one person to do the job of two,three,four.

Whilst zero hour contracts aren’t a big things amongst the major supermarkets, tiny contracts are. So an increasing number of shop floor staff have two jobs. Whilst being expectated to be completely and utterly fully flexible across the 95-150 hours the shop is open a week.

I think it's a bit silly to use the extended opening hours over the Olympics as proof that people don't want to shop on a Sunday evening - that was an unusual one-off, and a lot of people wouldn't have known it was an option. You'd get quite a different pattern of use if people knew they could rely on the supermarket being open at 6pm on Sunday.

The other thing is shops opening more and more has a knock on effect. It means suppliers, warehouses and drivers have to be open - and the offices that support them in all kinds of industry. I think we are slowly saying goodbye to the 9-5 culture and hello to all the stress that comes with 24/7 society

Did you know most European countries have more public holidays than us? And they really are holidays. Yet our economy is floundering. We are tired and burnt out

gandalf456 Drivers have driven trains and then lorries through Sunday night so that you and I can have fresh produce on Monday morning since we stopped eating only what was in season in the place where we lived and died and which most of us never left.

Quite. And for the past 20 years, it's been Saturday, too, because they are open on Sundays so many workers don't get a full weekend.

And the longer and more often people work 24/7, the more they will be expected to do it, rather than, say, Tuesday. Yes, it's nice having a Tuesday off but you have no one to spend it with because other people are working then.

And with the erosion of 9-5 structures, most supermarkets and other retailers have stopped premium pay. Sunday working is no longer a treat, which is rewarded.

This is all because people want to shop when they want and where they want and have it as cheap as they want.

Yes, minimum wages are going up but with that, many supermarkets have taken away the paid element of breaks so the money is the same.

The discounters have driven prices right down but, with that, they have driven down wages, too, right across the board.

It's not hard to move from retail to an office, for example, I did it myself with no difficulty. I also worked in the leisure industry when I was a student, and we used to stay open until 1am - lots of people were willing to work that late, and no there weren't any financial incentives to do so. Working all hours on a Sunday would be fine for plenty of people, and working in retail requires a lot of flexibility. If you're not happy to be flexible with your hours then maybe retail isn't for you and moving to a job with fixed hours would be more sensible.

It is for me at the moment. I need the flexibility for the children. They are too young to be left home alone for long yet and would absolutely detest any childcare setting (to this, they will testify).

So, in a nutshell, the longer they open, the more they pressure you to up your hours, whilst deeming it unnecessary to reward you in the same way because society has normalised this way of working.

I remember them being 8.30 to 5.30, too!

I agree it's strange people are fine with them being open 24 hours 6 days a week, but to open for 10 hours on a Sunday is unthinkable and the distruction of society

If you want to have a pop at the Catholic church, there are many more pressing issues than extended Sunday opening (which, incidentally, is also opposed by USDAW).

Yes and I'll have a pop at the Catholic church on other threads, but this one is about Sunday trading

I'm not ok with either. I mean, who wants to shop at 3am? Must make for interesting work stories. But Sunday is all that's left. Half a day per week.

Anyway, why do you have to shop Sundays? What would you do in other countries where you had to work round Ramadan and the like? You would have adapt, wouldn't you?

If you were pressured in a 24/7 rota you might be defensive of what you you had left too

This is the weakest and most bizarre issue to pick up on! Not to mention that we're talking specifically about England here. You know, as in "Church of..."

Sunday trading hours may have their origins in Christianity, but for many the religious aspect no longer matters. Churches back all manner of things, not all of which are bad.

It's not weak - they were one of the main lobbyists against relaxing Sunday trading. You bought them back up anyway with the flawed "there's bigger issues" argument.

For goodness sake just shop at another time. I think shops should shut at half day Xmas eve and not open again until after Boxing Day, people will get used to it

I wouldn't move to a country with Ramadan but if I was forced to I would sure complain about outdated and sexist practices.

Facepalm! That's the exact point I was making, reducing hours makes them less competitive than the internet.

Well then logic isn't your strong suit. No-one is talking about reducing hours - opening hours have increased over time. You aren't making any sense.

..countless people here have been talking about reducing hours including several just on this page

I'm a Scot and had no idea that Sunday trading laws even existed these days. How odd.

Lol at all the 'It's the law' and poor wee workers 'need a rest' comments.

It's not the same 5 people that work in the supermarket 24hrs a day 7 days a week, and 4pm Sunday til opening hrs Monday is the only time they get off!

The law comment makes no sense, why is it the law? Scottish stores operating 24hrs have no problems functioning...most stores don't just wait until closing time to restock their shelves, you can do it with customers in the store. The additional business hours more than pays for the added employee hours. Everybody wins!

I agree re Christmas closing as most people (though not all) want to spend time with family or just have a break after the hectic pre Christmas business. Weekends, just standard weekends I think are really just another day and plenty of folk happy to work them. My DSis works for an on;ine bank and gets a bigger Salaray for having her standard week covering over the weekend. She is single with grown up kids so is perfectly happy with this and organises her social life around mid week days off. Appreciate it isn't for everybody. I think as long as there is choice then it's fine.