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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think shops should be open longer Sundays

432 replies

Habba · 03/12/2018 07:07

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.

OP posts:
Kazzyhoward · 03/12/2018 08:13

If there's a demand from customers, then shops should be free to open when they choose.

All these people virtue signalling about retail workers - I presume you stay indoors every Sunday or go to Church! Because if you did anything else, such as go to the pub/restaurant, go to the cinema, use public transport, go to any other attraction, then you're just a hypocrite. Don't you care about hospitality and tourist industry workers who work 7 days a week?

AlexaShutUp · 03/12/2018 08:13

many customers already have unrealistic expectations of the level of service they require from retail assistants

I'm fascinated by this - what kind of unrealistic expectations?

In general, I find that the level of service in this country is very low in comparison to the service that you often get in shops overseas, so I tend to have quite low expectations of retail staff and it's a pleasant surprise to find someone who is actually good at their job.

I'm therefore curious to know what kind of unrealistic expectations people have. On the Sunday trading issue, I'm in two minds. I do find it really inconvenient that I can't shop on a Sunday evening, but I understand that some retail workers may benefit from the earlier closing, and although staff at pubs, restaurants and petrol stations might have to work late on a Sunday anyway, I don't think it should be a race to the bottom. That said, there may be plenty of workers who would like to have the extra hours on a Sunday evening, and why not?

Ultimately, if we could find a way of extending the hours on Sundays without putting individuals under any pressure to work those hours if they chose not to (and those rights would need to be protected), I think longer opening hours would be a sensible way forward.

Unihorn · 03/12/2018 08:13

DaffoDeffo it's not really comparable to care services because they are vital. People die without doctors and nurses. They tend to survive perfectly fine without a full weekly shop.

Eilaianne · 03/12/2018 08:16

Love the hypocrisy on threads like this

Lots of people who've never done retail assuming that shop workers want to have their store opening hours dictated to them legally so "they can have family time".

How patronising! Perhaps some do, but not all, and it benefits some to be able to choose an extra shift or flex around other family members who work plenty of unsocial hours too! (Police, hgv drivers, medical staff, loads of people!)

I believe it's mostly 9-5 office workers saying that retail workers need time off when the government thinks it suits them... Do they not realize how offensive that is?

Adults should be able to choose their working patterns, and if we want to protect workers, focus on choice, strong union access, fair treatment, protection from abusive employment practices... Not some arbitrary guess at what you think is best for all the little supermarket worker bees.

Sheesh.

littledrummergirl · 03/12/2018 08:18

Cut the hours shops are open and use the money saved in wages, running costs etc to pay the staff a proper wage so they don't need to receive tax credit/universal credit to live on.

PylonsPylonsPylons · 03/12/2018 08:18

Many people in this country are living strassful lives and always rushing from one thing to another. I think Sunday opening has had a negative effect on family life, I love going to Spain where there is very little Sunday opening and Sunday tends to be a family day. It's nice to have a day which is different to all the rest.

user1457017537 · 03/12/2018 08:19

Fridays and Saturdays used to be the busiest days in retail. People only have a certain amount to spend and they now spend over 7 days. People who work all week have to go shopping at the weekend.

SillySallySingsSongs · 03/12/2018 08:25

I believe it's mostly 9-5 office workers saying that retail workers need time off whenthe governmentthinks it suits them... Do they not realize how offensive that is?

Wow you know what work everyone does. That's sone power you have. Hmm

AlexaShutUp · 03/12/2018 08:25

Many people in this country are living strassful lives and always rushing from one thing to another. I think Sunday opening has had a negative effect on family life

But surely, you don't have to shop if you don't want to? I don't really understand.

SillySallySingsSongs · 03/12/2018 08:26

and as for people saying give retail workers a break - do nurses stop nursing, carers stop caring just because it's a Sunday?!

Hardly the same sort of jobs are they.

redsummershoes · 03/12/2018 08:26

yabu
shops should be closed one day a week to give everyone a breather

Petalflowers · 03/12/2018 08:26

YABU.

Shops open so much longer than in the past. Large shopping centres open late also,

opening times

Retail have a life also, and are often working on minimal staff at the moment. Working longer hours won’t produce extra profit.

If you want more family time, then perhaps we should encourage shops,to close on Sundays, allowing people to spend time with their families.

PiperPublickOccurrences · 03/12/2018 08:27

Move to Scotland, we don't have restricted opening hours on a Sunday. Much more reasonable.

LostInShoebiz · 03/12/2018 08:27

I see absolutely no sense in particularly multicultural areas for shops to stick strictly to Sunday hours. Fantastic for those who want to enjoy the Christian day of rest, not ideal for other religions who might be at home or at worship on one of the government-allocated shopping days so can’t shop or work on that day.

alwaysthepessimist · 03/12/2018 08:30

YABU - I worked in retails for years, way before legal opening on a Sunday, we were allowed to open 12-2pm & 7-10pm on a Sunday then, when they brought in Sunday trading hours it basically wiped out the day off most retail workers had - shops are open enough for everyone to sort themselves out & get their shopping without having to open on a Sunday - it's getting to the point that soon they will be able to open on Christmas day. Bring back Sunday closing & half day Wednesdays I think!!

Santaselfhasarrived · 03/12/2018 08:31

Yabu i dont work in retail but do work with the public, I have to work every Sunday and I hate it.
I wish all businesses closed on Sundays.

Unihorn · 03/12/2018 08:31

alwaysthepessimist
But presumably they just have other days off. I work in hospitality and just have Tuesday and Wednesday off as my "weekend".

Sakura7 · 03/12/2018 08:34

YANBU. It works fine here in Ireland. The idea that retail workers would never get a break is ridiculous, they'll still do the same hours but part time workers can pick up an extra shift if they want, and the shops would hire more staff. Pubs and restaurants seem to manage ok, so why is retail different?

DaffoDeffo · 03/12/2018 08:34

hardly the same jobs

no they are not! But people saying retail workers shouldn't work longer on Sunday because they deserve a break - well err you could say that about anyone who works Sundays, that was my point

schnubbins · 03/12/2018 08:35

Why not just get everyone to do a seven day week including those in office jobs .Then there will be no more discussion and no more family time for anybody .Fair all around

LostInShoebiz · 03/12/2018 08:44

I think it’s worth remembering what this magical golden time when all shops were shut on a Wednesday and all day on a Sunday was actually like. Fewer women worked out of home and generally in economically less rewarding jobs, often in the shops themselves. As a woman working long hours during the week, and quite often at weekends, I would relish the chance to do all sorts of things on a Sunday morning or Sunday night. The weekend isn’t so much family time as a mad dash to fit in all the things there isn’t time for during the week, all to be jammed in around clubs and parties and actually trying to have a bit of a rest.

Kristingle · 03/12/2018 08:44

People working in retail on 0 hour contracts for terrible pay working most weekends so people can shop 24/7 is just shit in my opinion

This.

Some people are addicted to shopping.

Eilaianne · 03/12/2018 08:45

SillySallySingsSongs

There's of people using terminology like "give them a day off", as if working adults need government intervention to protect them in this one particular way that non-retail workers think (guess!) will benefit them most.

You might not like it but the whiff of champagne socialism on this thread is offensive and patronising to me - if we're serious about protecting workers, this is a poor target to focus on. Isn't it better to regulate working hours in more impactful ways e.g. across zero hr contracts, unsocial hours, nmw...?

It's simplistic to randomly focus on this one weird suggestion when Scotland has already proven it works perfectly well without laws about store trading hours.

I say: focus on what actually benefits workers, not some arbitrary throwback to religious (Christian) observance of the past. Or at least be honest about motivations if you do.

PiperPublickOccurrences · 03/12/2018 08:46

So many virtue signallers about the poor retail workers on threads like this. Probably the same people who on threads about money are advising people to work around their partner to cut childcare costs.

Sunday working suits a LOT of people.

Sakura7 · 03/12/2018 08:46

schnubbins

Nobody is suggesting people work 7 days a week Hmm

People will work their regular hours split over 5 days.