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?

Weekend working isn’t a shocking concept within the modern world and loads of professions require it. It’s not just retail.

You can book child care for the days you need last minute with some child care providers.

Not really viable for everyone, though. I love how you make it sound so simple though

This thread feels very little Englanders wanting to live in the past.

Nonsense. Few contributors want to return to all day Sunday closing. Of those who aren't desperate for all day opening, most take the attitude that limited opening hours simply don't bother them because they are capable of organising their lives around them.

‘I love how you make it sound so simple though ’

No need to over complicate what would happen if some shops stay open on a Sunday though is there? The world won’t end as we know it. They are afterall already open on the weekend. This debate about weekend child care seems pointless and off topic considering the latter don’t you think?

This thread feels very little Englanders wanting to live in the past

Not at all, its actually having more family time & that is good for the future!
Just because we did something long ago does not make it obsolete and only "new" ways of doing things work and are worth while.

So yes, i fall into the category that would have no large shops open on a Sunday.

Yes there has been lots of little Englanders saying "no shops should be open Sunday".

Reminds me of my ex in-laws who would complain about them but yet still shop then, stupid twunts.

9-5 isn't standard these days, people want entertainment, restaurants, cinemas and so open all week. Therefore it's ridiculous to have laws against just one industry as it's making other people's lives more difficult. Either everything is shut on a Sunday or everything open to support everyone. Everyone I know from outside the UK thinks its ridiculous that some tescos are open Sunday nights and others aren't.

But people are saying that we should all plan better so we don't have to shop on a Sunday because everyone has the same lives!

By that logic, plan family time better so that it doesn't coincide with shopping time or Sunday afternoon.

Not always doable, is it? Same with shopping.

Not always doable, is it? Same with shopping.

But it is doable or just doesn't get done.

To be honest there are quite a lot of people who are saying they would prefer not to have so many things in return for more time. It might take adjustment - but maybe its the kind of society that the majority want?

Yes there has been lots of little Englanders saying "no shops should be open Sunday".

Go and tell that to the French, Germans (and Irish).

Not always doable, is it? Same with shopping.

If you can't do without the services of a massive fuck off Tesco or wherever for a few hours a week then you're a pretty sad case IMHO.

‘most take the attitude that limited opening hours simply don't bother them because they are capable of organising their lives around them.’

So somebody that has had a serious emergency in the week isn’t capable of organising their life? Sounds very self righteous to me. Shit happens. It’s great that your life is perfectly planned and organised and that nothing ever goes wrong.

Yeah I am a pretty sad case. As I've already explained, I'm disabled and I don't live in accessible housing so my wheelchair doesn't fit through my bedroom door and I have to live in it. If DH is away for work as he sometimes is, he is the only one who can do shopping and sometimes on a Sunday he doesn't get home until 5, which means he has to shop at our rural, expensive corner shop.

I'd say that living, sleeping, eating and shitting in my one room does make me a pretty sad case.

@ICantCopeAnymore

I refuse to believe that people are just given whatever hours without taking into account preferences
Really? You really need to open your mind.
In a previous job we were constantly reminded that we need to work to the needs of the service.
( ok so we have year of a boss who ALWAYS put us on a Friday late and a Monday early on our weekend off yet another manager in another unit always put his staff on a Thursday lunch finish and Tuesday late on their weekend off. )

@ICantCopeAnymore

France and Germany are very different cultures and there are shops open on Sundays anyway in the cities.

Sounds like you need better management if they are giving you shifts you don't want to work. As I said in hospitality I almosy always got the shifts jwanted, as did everyone.

Shops should be open when the customer's want them, Scotland shows that 10-8 on a Sunday makes buisness sense.

Condensing to keep saying that shop workers need family time on a Sunday. What about those who's families are working Sundays or without any family and want to work?

Would love to know where this amazingly flexible childcare is and how retail workers on minimum wage manage to pay for it? I have several friends/ family who work shifts (retail or hospital) and none of them get any kind of regular days. It's also incredibly late notice often a week or less when shifts announced. The only way they manage childcare is by having a partner who also works shifts as they've never managed to find paid childcare with that kind of flexibility

Haha. When I worked in hospitality you had to be flexible to the needs of the business, as you do with a lot of minimum wage jobs. Somebody once handed in an application form stating they could only work 9-5, my manager wouldn't even interview him and binned the form.

What about those who's families are working Sundays or without any family and want to work?

And those without families who don't want to work every Sunday? If there is Sunday work to be done (or nights or early or late shifts) it must be shared out equally regardless of what sort of private life people have.

And those without families who don't want to work every Sunday? If there is Sunday work to be done (or nights or early or late shifts) it must be shared out equally regardless of what sort of private life people have.

I think that is only the case where there is poor management or where no-one wants to work anything other than a standard 9-5 monday to friday. The sensible thing to do is to take account of preferences by asking if anyone would like to work the apparently unpopular hours first, if they do then great, you allocate them those hours and whatever else is required to make up their week. If no takers then the shifts need to be shared equally meaning people aren't doing it all the time. It's not rocket science and millions of organisations seem to manage it perfectly fine.

I don't like the shorter opening hours on Sundays but for a different reason - it means that town centres are dead after 4pm (sometimes 5pm in some towns/cities) and it's not very pleasant. You need a bit of life going on.

Retail staff do deserve a break but presumably shifts are organised so everyone gets 2 days off a week? It would also be a good way to get some Saturday/Sunday jobs available for teens.

I never know what people quite mean by the hallowed "family time" anyway.

But there are plenty of smaller retailers who are open - and they are often the chains like the Sainsburys Local etc which are not expensive like the traditional corner shop.

If it works in Scotland I can't really see why it wouldn't work in the rest of Britain. And Sunday working was traditionally far more of an issue in Scotland with the Presbyterians than it has ever been in England. So if they've got over it, I really think people in England can.

Anyway it was the SNP that stymied an attempt to relax the laws in England back in Cameron's time.

sounds like you need better management if they are giving you shifts you don't want to work. As I said in hospitality I almosy always got the shifts jwanted, as did everyone

Well it's not my issue any more, I'm long gone from that job. However there are plenty of services where you don't have a say in your rota . The nursing homes that my friends work in, the shifts my friend does as a mental health practioner, the factory shifts my nephew works in, the civilian work my SIL does. All these people can put an odd request in but generally speaking if they want time off they have to put a leave request in.
Why do you find that difficult to believe that people can't always pick when they want to work?

Lots of places won't employ teens anymore (especially on the tills at supermarkets) because they can't sell alcohol or cigarettes without a supervisor there to watch. And a lot of retail outlets don't employ weekend staff - full-timers are expect to cover weekend shifts, and if shops opened longer, they'd just be told they need to work longer. Employing and training staff is expensive, and they're not going to bother for just one/two days a week when they have more experienced staff that can be use instead.

Agreed WaxOnFeckOff provided management are certain that Nick who likes nights and Sam who wants the Sundays are not under pressure from people with families who think their private lives come first.

’and if shops opened longer, they'd just be told they need to work longer.’

Again this sort of comment conjurs up an exaggerated image of a ‘poor’ frantic over stressed retail worker being ‘forced’ to work 7 days a week with no days off by a ‘big bad’ boss.

‘The nursing homes that my friends work in, the shifts my friend does as a mental health practioner, the factory shifts my nephew works in, the civilian work my SIL does. All these people can put an odd request in but generally speaking if they want time off they have to put a leave request in.’

Exactly the kind of people that may need to shop on a Sunday evening.