To think other supermarkets should follow Waitrose lead and close on Boxing Day

[Sparklybaublefest]

So hard on the workers.
My Asda is open from 8 am on boxing day, not even sunday hours.

US tend to have longer summers.

Plus, the costs of living in the US aren’t as much as here.

M and S in my town are open on Boxing day!
But in the nearby town which only has Lidl and Waitrose, they are not open until Friday.

In the US you get about 2 weeks holiday all told - and the big celebration is Thanksgiving. (Where most people get a long weekend).

Everyone in my shop has to work Boxing Day - it's in your contract that you come in, even if it's not your contracted day

Then if its your contract you know before you start the job it's expected?
So, you sign up for that dont you? Presumably, you'd still have Christmas day off to see family? I guess I dont think you can really complain if its written into your contract which you have signed....

I work Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It not only shops that open on the 26th. For all you saying how awful it is, I presume you don’t leave your house on 26, and have never been to a restaurant, theatre, pub, cinema, petrol station, or on a bus or in a taxi on 26th.

So, you sign up for that dont you? Presumably, you'd still have Christmas day off to see family? I guess I dont think you can really complain if its written into your contract which you have signed....

Sure, I'm not complaining. I get double time so it doesn't really bother me if I have to work.

But what I'm saying is that in most retail jobs, you can't just opt out of Christmas working by booking holiday in the same way you can book holiday in November for Eid or Diwali, so people get resentful when they have to work in non-essential jobs for no extra pay or time off or benefit of any kind.

But what I'm saying is that in most retail jobs, you can't just opt out of Christmas working by booking holiday

ah ok- yeah fair point.

I guess I like going out and about on Boxing day- weather is often cold so after spending all day cooped up indoors on the 25th its nice to go somewhere, maybe browse around the shops etc.
For the people saying "can't you go one day without shopping"- well yes, of course I could, but I like to get out and about. I dont see what's so wrong or immoral about that. As Freda points out, unless you have literally never left house on Boxing day, like, ever, we have ALL done some activity or another that involves someone working on Boxing day so I'm confused why shop workers are any different.

Personally I have no real problem with shops opening on Boxing Day. Retail/hospitality workers just get their time off at different times of the year - it's not as though they're sacrificing their annual leave to work on the 26th.

I normally work but due to illness I'm on a phased return to work and have been given tomorrow as a day off. I plan to go out with DH for a dog and we'll probably end up in the pub on the way home. I'm sure said pub will do a roaring trade with dog walkers and cyclists and families coming in for hot drinks, mulled wine and bacon sandwiches!

It's a family run business so they wouldn't open if they didn't think it was worth their while.

My Dad used to work as a delivery driver for Sainsbury's. He would get to the shop at around 6am and there would already be queues! So some people clearly are banging on the doors! I suppose it's handy for people who have to work in the run up to and during Christmas Day.

I used to work for the same warehouse and you had to do your normal shift pattern, you couldn't book days off over Christmas. The only day work stopped was Christmas Day and if your shift fell on any other bank holiday you got a day off in lieu.

I think a lot of retail and hospitality places put a block on anyone booking holiday in December so the ‘just book it off’ doesn’t work.
I won’t be going shopping tomorrow. Don’t need anything but might browse JL online.

Do the workers get overtime? I grew up in Oz and got double time and a half for public holiday shifts and we all LOVED it as uni students working in part-time jobs.

I do agree we could probably survive two days without a trip to the shops though! We won't be going tomorrow

It's much nicer to go shopping once the shops are back to normal after the New Year. All the so called sale stuff is gone.

Wrong thread, sorry.

I’ve had to work Boxing Day before when in retail/hospitality. No - it wasn’t a choice and I didn’t get paid time and a half. Most people didn’t want to work. It was always an awful shift as it was the sales, and people act fucking barmy when price reductions are at stake. Nothing festive about it.

Yes, but if they were ALL shut on Boxing Day, surely they'd make that same money the next day?

I doubt it would because lots of people have Boxing Day off work as a bank holiday, but the 27th is a normal day.

Huge numbers of people are alone over Christmas or do not celebrate it at all. Why should Boxing Day be singled out here?

Yes, sales definitely bring in the most GHETTO clientele. It’s certainly different from normal clientele, people act feral at times.

I didn’t know Waitrose closed on Boxing Day but think it’s fantastic that they do!

It's much nicer to go shopping once the shops are back to normal after the New Year

Most people are back to work then and therefore don't have time to go shopping during the day!

I did say I posted that on the wrong thread @beautifulstranger101. But shops are open 7 days a week these days...

I work 9-5 Mon to Fri, then have to go home and sort kids out, Sat I usually do all the cleaning and housework I don't get done in week, and errands/chores, and Sunday I go to church which is really important to me so not exactly loads of time to go shopping unfortunately. Most of my shopping in town is done on days off or bank holidays.

That's a fairly particular set of circumstances then.

Spectacular? its pretty normal to catch up with chores/stuff at the weekend when you work full time and have kids lol
Its hardly unusual

Devved to realise Waitrose isn't open it's a stones throw from my house and I've got crackers and no cheese. 😂