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 think all unnecessary businesses should be closed on sundays and I object to 24/7 society were in. Do shops really need to open every night until late? nope. Did my local petrol station have to be open xmas day? nope.

consumerism will be the death of us. We should be fostering strong relationship with families and communities not encouraging everyone to go out and spend every spare second they have.

whilst were at it I want boxing day sales stopped. It can wait. Black friday can go fuck itself off a cliff.

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

No I'm (just me that is) responding to the virtue signalling of 'give retail staff a break' - which is being given as a reason for not opening on Sundays later, I pointed out that the same as no one needs to go shopping after 4pm on a Sunday, no one also needs to go to a pub, or hotel, or restaurant. Health care is obviously different because people don't stop being ill or frail because the clock hits 4pm on a Sunday.
I'm pointing out that hospitality workers are treated very much the same as retail workers with regard to pay and conditions, however it would seem it's ok for them to work past 4pm on a Sunday but not retail workers.

Many have pointed this out actually, with no response from those saying Sundays should be special for family time - maybe because they realise that to have family time that's not in the home but an activity (meal, cinema etc) someone needs to work to make sure these places are open, and with retail and hospitality workers getting pretty much the same deal they're being hypocritical demanding retail workers get a break because they don't want to use that service, but keeping quiet about hospitality workers because they do want to use that service, so that's ok.
The post I quoted described exactly what I was thinking.

YANBU.

I think it's only England and Wales that have the outdated Sunday trading law. Scotland doesn't have it. Not sure about NI.

I had a holiday in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year. I was expecting that their Sunday trading law would be stricter than ours, being as Ireland is a strongly religious society on the whole. I was surprised to discover that all of the shops were open as usual and there appeared to be no restrictions on opening times.

I lived in a country that had Sunday closing if the weather was good then great you could get out and about as a family. If the weather was not good then it was ridiculous.

I think all unnecessary businesses should be closed on sundays

Does that include pubs & restaurants, gyms, National Trust parks & buildings, cinemas, call centres and helplines, petrol stations, etc?

You could argue the only "necessary" organisations are emergency services and healthcare.

Not part of a mob

Not stated my thoughts about opening til later on a sunday

But i would be happy not to go to a hotel restaurant cinema trampoline park etc if they were all shut in solidarity with shops

I am not keping quiet about hospitality workers cos i want to use them past 4pm on a sunday

I think it's only England and Wales that have the outdated Sunday trading law. Scotland doesn't have it. Not sure about NI.

Google implies that NI is the same as England and Wales so it is only Scotland that's different.

YANBU. People got to museums, theme parks, football matches etc on Sundays so why should shops be any different?

BakedBeans47 That is shit, he must be exhausted. My own job transport is open Christmas day to facilitate hospitals and hotels. I am lucky I am PT and managed to get Christmas eve and day off.
I will do the social night shifts to pay the younger crew back

NHS workers, police etc don’t get Sundays off. Not sure why retail has to be different.

As stated above medical staff is a must unlike shops. I can guarantee most top consultants are off, non urgent operations or appointments are not booked for the weekend. It purely emergency or inpatient only. I work every bloody Sunday over night, We open 24/7 it is vital for the nature of the business, food shopping is not.

"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."

Then you clearly didn't rtft cos myself and a few others who would like Sunday closing ALSO said it should only be essential services operating on Sunday's.

And likely the weighting towards comments being on retail workers is because THATS WHAT THE THREAD IS ABOUT.

"Lots of Jobs have unsociable hours, nobody is forced into retail" people need to work, there aren't enough jobs far more workers than jobs so no there isn't true choice. Especially as retail work isn't a profession at grass roots level it's one of the few sectors left where minimal qualifications are needed at entry level.

"Surgeons, doctors etc. do tougher work than retail and certainly deserve a break. Imagine the carnage if hospitals just started closing on a Sunday." Healthcare is a different scenario that's a necessity - shopping is not a necessity. Sunday opening is a very recent option.

"This country needs to move forward with the rest of the world"

Until it happened people absolutely managed fine and still do in many other countries where they close on their sabbath. Plus honestly you'd be lucky to find many consultant surgeons working on a weekend at all, hell in many places they don't work fri afternoons, so no not all healthcare workers work at weekends.

"Surgeons and doctors get paid for being on call" excellent point.

Coughlaughfart we suggested online not necessarily meaning on Sunday's/antisocial hours because that's a possible solution to op's issue, as are the suggestions she could shop at the time she prefers ANY OTHER DAY, that's 6 other days a week she has available.

"I wonder how many saying they want longer opening hours work in the jobs you listed!! I bet they would kick up a fuss if they had to work Sundays!!" Yep I suspect most of them don't work Sunday's or even weekends, probably have never worked retail (certainly the ones saying 'they can refuse if they want to'!) and would not be happy being made to work weekends etc themselves.

"How many people posting would be happy working Sundays, bank hols etc for just over £8 an hour?" Yes I've noticed a few of them who claim they've worked retail saying it's extra pay - clearly they've either not really worked in retail or certainly not recently because extra pay for Sunday's hell even Boxing Day is long gone.

"I’d just like to point out that the big supermarket workers get more than minimum wage" not much more and still not a living wage (instead expecting govt to subsidise) and no pay at all for hours where they might not be working but are expected to be available. Also not all retail workers working on Sunday's are working for the big supermarkets.

I live down in France for a bit - there was one shop open in the (small) city I lived in for approx 5 hours on a Sunday, with gap for a 3 hour lunch break. Once I got used to it I really liked it. For the sake of retail workers (which I have been) and more than anything because it just gives you a break from mindless shopping for the sake of it and an enforced day of having to do something else.

All those saying that retail workers want more hours, the problem is it would probably start being voluntary - who wants to work late on a Sunday? Then once it's established as normal opening times there won't be any choice, it'll just be what your rotared on for.

DH gets very little time with DS as it is as he works in retail. Add on that long days, often doesn't get his breaks, often has to leave late which is essentially unpaid, and no, he does not want to work until 7, 8, 9 or 10pm on a Sunday.

And what graphista said

Though i think it would be too hard to roll back Sunday opening

It has occurred to me that the only time I visit a restaurant past 4pm on a sunday is when work have a leaving do or Christmas do, as its the only time in theory everyone can make it

(Though between the few of us on the thread...it would not be a problem if i didnt turn up to those or we were unable to do it...)

So once or twice a year

And our Christmas do is in January

I love the more peaceful feel of Sundays. Long may Sunday be special! (And shops are open on Sunday for those things you cannot live without anyway).

Yes, and offices and banks should be open at the same times too, so that retail/hospitality staff don’t have to struggle sorting out taxes/overdrafts etc because of the crazy work schedules they get pressured into.

YANBU. All this crap about retail staff having to work on a Sunday, not fair on them. If posters think it’s not fair, I suppose they think hospitals should shut on a Sunday to allow the staff time with their families? Then, how about police, firemen etc????? Not everyone works Monday to Friday 9-5.
I live in Scotland and the opening hours are great. I am a nurse and take my turn over all shifts, including - shock horror— Sunday’s. For some people Sunday is the only day that they can manage to go shopping.
There are many other people like hotel staff, leisure centre staff, carers, public transport etc. that are none emergency but would cause major disruptions and problems if their Sunday hours were curtailed to those currently in place in England. Why is it always just the poor retail staff who are being treated unfairly? Think about it if everyone (except emergency staff) were restricted to these limited hours on a Sunday there wouldn’t be much point in being off!

What’s really unfair, Chucky16, is all the office/call centre/bank/public sector staff who don’t get the same opportunities as retail/hospitality staff to work every hour god sends. I think they need to do more, to fit around all the workers who have our amazing “24/7” society resting on their shoulders, so that they can sort their fucking taxes and shit out.

Yes it is convenient but not essential. Is it any wonder people are so stressed, more and more children are suffering with anxiety. I truly believe this instant entertainment, 24/7 lifestyle is a cause of lots of it.
Sure who cares lets have every department stores open 24 hours 7 days a week. My friend worked the night shift in Tescos all they got were drunks, and crazy people in shopping, she said it was risky shelf stacking.

Anyway, you can’t stop progress and I live in lovely Scotland where like it or not we can get to do our shopping after 4pm :D hopefully the rest of the UK will be dragged out of the dark ages soon.

Btw our supermarket isn’t open usual hours on Sunday, it shuts at 7, still much better than 4!

Here's a really radical thought - take your children with you!

7 is still reasonable on a Sunday. Most shops open at 12 close at 6 in Ireland. Though supermarkets are open later, lots of Tesco have 24hour stores already. I wouldn't mind if it was earlier on a Sunday as I can see it getting later in the future.