To think shops should be open longer Sundays

[Habba]

We aren't a religious country, churches are empty and it would be great to do the weekly shop at 6-7pm on a Sunday when the children are in bed.

Dragging them around busy shops during the day would give me more family time.

Scotland manages just fine, people up there find it bizzare the government forces shops here to close.

I'm hotels, if one of the night porters doesn't turn up for a shift or calls in sick, those who worked the day are expected to cover. I've done it several times myself. Breaks are nonexistant, in fact, quite often I would eat cold left overs from food service otherwise I wouldn't get a chance to eat. I was a HOD so unfortunately that also meant I had to answer my phone in an emergency, whether it was linked to my department or not. So no unsociable hours pay, no on call pay, no over time, no family time. But I bet most of you who think that shops shouldn't open wouldn't think twice about using a hotel?

Habba - not all churches are empty, some people like me still go.

My brother works full time in a supermarket (England.)
Regardless of the days worked he is on just a standard hourly rate. Last year he had to work Boxing day / new year's day for no extra pay.
How many people posting would be happy working Sundays, bank hols etc for just over £8 an hour?

YANBU
outdated, people want the shifts (legislation to manage this), Scotland manages.
Some people on here just one to have a go at you as it's AIBU.....

I’d just like to point out that the big supermarket workers get more than minimum wage. Sainsburys get £9.20ph including 16 year olds. I’ve worked in 4

@Biancadelriosback

You’ve had a very unlucky experience(s). I’ve been in hotels for 15 years until a recent change and I’ve never been expected to cover for a night porter, never been fed cold free service food (unless I specifically want it) always been fed by the chefs properly, which is actually a perk and saves you money!

I’m so sorry you’ve had a crap time of it though, it’s been the most fun years of my life

My husband is a chef. Has been for nearly 30 years. He has worked split shifts, 21 days on the trot, exhausted himself for those years. If I am honest I truly honest I'd prefer it if Sundays were a complete day of rest for everyone, but realistically it can't happen and we just need to accept that.

I just like to point out that although supermarkets on here get more than minimum wage (ive seen sainsburys jobs advertised as well)

Lots of high street shops get minimum wage

I get spot on £7.83 and ive seen othe jobs advertised as the same

Having said that some shops surprise me no end....16 year old dd of a friend gets over £8 working at Monsoon

In the good old days when lots of places did time and a half or double time for working sundays and bank holidays it was much more of an incentive...for the younger members of staff at any rate (casts mind back to long a go Saturday job)

I have not seen DP in weeks, I love a Sunday evening. We will not spend a day together until Christmas day but it will have to be a quiet one as the shopping will start again St Stephen's day.

Lucky you, mine in hospitality will also be working Christmas Day, after working til late on Christmas Eve and being lucky to finish before midnight the rest of the time.

For everybody that thinks shops should open longer on Sundays would you also be happy for prices to go up in order to fund this added convenience?
Increasing opening hours does not mean that people will eat more and therefore spend more. All it will do is dilute the existing trade whilst creating extra staffing and general running costs, the inevitable result will be price increases.
In a perfect world it would be great to offer retailers the choice to reduce hours elsewhere in the week if they want to have longer hours on Sundays. Unless every business, in every sector is open 24/7 people will always be inconvenienced when they can't get the item or service they want at the time that suits them, where do we draw the line?

Lots of high street shops get minimum wage

And lots pay more than that, especially for good workers. We have a small bakery/pie shop in our village where the staff are on £10 per hour (I know, I do their payroll!).

Increasing opening hours does not mean that people will eat more and therefore spend more. All it will do is dilute the existing trade whilst creating extra staffing and general running costs, the inevitable result will be price increases.

Not necessarily at all. If it opens longer, people may buy from the shop instead of buying online, in which case the shop definitely benefits.

Retail is in the middle of a war between physical bricks n mortar shops and online/websites. Surely, making it easier to shop in actual shops is going to increase the shop's turnover and profits rather than driving even more business online?

I agree kazzy

Although we cant have two lots

But the frequent mention of minimum wage and over minimum wage is getting a bit irritating

Though to be very very fair i would imagine good independent shops would pay good wages

And you can be a good worker or a shit worker in my shop

You still get bang on minimum wage

When i had a Saturday job many years ago you could become a senior assistant and earn more money...i think you could also get a payrise for good work as opposed to the government making you give your staff a rise . But i might have made that up, it was a long time ago

pickles184 government intervention in the free market in this way does NOT guarantee lower prices! Why on earth do people think that government legislation dictating opening hours rather than letting stores have that autonomy themselves is a more economically efficient setup. Hint: history has shown that to be false, time and time again. Maybe stores would close at 2am Tuesday until 8am Tuesday but the point is they would do it based on known local market forces, not a country wide arbitrary cut off imposed by the Jesus brigade.

You're also ignoring lots of posters telling you they still shop for essentials but are forced (economically held captive) to pay higher convenience store prices at e.g. little Express stores.

And that's before we even get onto reduced product choice as an additionally economically offensive level of fucked up ness.

Actually we could have two lots couldnt we

Lots do A but more do B

Can that be right? Its early still

pickles184 I completely agree! I don’t think the shops will make any more profit, just dilute their sales whilst increasing their costs to cover.

I wonder how many of office based workers would want employers to decide to open weekends too? Would you be happy to work weekends so that more work could be completed, for no enhanced pay?

I would be happy if all shops shut on a Sunday so that everyone had a chance to relax and spend time doing things with family and friends, or even just chilling by themselves. It would give us a chance to get away from being so materialistic.

We have lived in 3 countries where the shops and supermarkets were open from 10 til 10.
It was great and way less stressful as you were not limited when you could get your shopping done.
Also economically it would bring in more money and more employment.
The worst one was Germany with half day closing on Saturdays and all closed on Sunday. Very stressful as had to run round like a blue arsed fly on a Saturday morning.

I see there’s been no response from the “keep Sunday special” mob about why this only applies to shop workers and not other workers who get treated like shit for a low wage.

Exactly.

I see there’s been no response from the “keep Sunday special” mob about why this only applies to shop workers and not other workers who get treated like shit for a low wage.

Isn't that because this thread is purely about changing retail hours and nothing else?

Personally, I think the limited hours are a good compromise between the two sides.

I see there’s been no response from the “keep Sunday special” mob about why this only applies to shop workers and not other workers who get treated like shit for a low wage.

I am not part of any 'mob' (horrible pejorative / inflammatory language!)

however, I mentioned some of the logic above - there are different needs for different jobs - some jobs require 7 days a week cover (e.g. care of the elderly / even petrol stations or you limit longer journeys...) others don't - e.g. a supermarket where you can buy everything ahead of time...

for businesses where 7 days is not required, the reality is they sell zero extra by opening for a 7th day - they just distribute sales across 7 days rather than 6 - which increases staffing costs -> for the same profits they have to pay staff less... so 7 days v. 6 days can push salaries down p/h

how you are treated / low wages / etc. have nothing to do with sunday trading - you are conflating disparate issues to try and bolster a weak argument

Convenience stores and local corner shops will just die a death if supermarkets open more, won’t they?

And Surely longer opening hits mean the same amount of groceries are sold over a more drawn out timescale? So more expensive to staff the stores, so lower wages!

Sunday trading hours aren’t a thing in Scotland. My local (large) Tesco is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They only close Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The last few years they shut early (about 11pm) before Black Friday and reopen about 5am.
Pretty much all of the larger supermarkets open later on a Sunday. A lot of the clothes shops do shut around 5/6pm as normal though. Thursday is generally the late night shopping day for those types of shops.

I still get thrown by the Sunday training hours every time I’m in England. I always forget everything shuts early and somehow find myself standing outside a closed supermarket that I was planning to go into to buy stuff.

I just don't think the whataboutery and lowest common denominator stuff really works. Yes, hospitality and service industry staff have to work Sundays - thus there is plenty of chance for all the students and those who want to work Sundays to work in those industries.

It's really shit that HCP get attacked and abused at work. It's disgusting. It doesn't change the fact that 24/7 access to medical care is essential and nothing like wanting to pop out to Asda. It's abysmal that HCPs are paid so poorly, although when I was nursing there was a premium rate for weekends and evenings which hasn't been abolished (at least not in the NHS) afaik.

It doesn't change the fact that I think current opening hours are beyond adequate. Nobody needs to shop 24/7. Nobody is so busy and important that they can't shop (shop! Not go to the cinema or access A&E which are totally different) at any other time than between 4pm-midnight on a Sunday.

All of the retail staff that I have known like to have Sunday afternoon off as a given - it doesn't matter how shit the rota is, they'll be home by 6pm ish (after cleaning up etc) each Sunday. I can only comment from my personal experience but I haven't met any retail workers who are clamouring to work a Sunday evening (or Easter Sunday or a Christmas Day since "religious zealots" are the ones insisting on those days off too.) I guess those people who want to work a Sunday evening look for work in smaller stores (that are exempt and therefore open for emergency tampons) or in catering etc.