We should all boycott Next shops Boxing Day ( well too late for today as I was fast asleep at 6 am)

[Mammajay]

I just heard a husband on the radio. His wife had to work Christmas eve ( no problem IMO with that) and also had to work today Boxing Day.. She had to be in work for 5.30 a.m. for the 6am Next Boxing Day sale. No public transport and Christmas Day overshadowed with the worry of getting up early enough to get ready and get to work for 5.30am. No choice about whether to work either. Spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge IMO. Very poor Next. 0/10 for caring about your staff!

Me too .. people were crazy !!

Theyd tell you all that at interview / application stage at which point you wouldn't apply and leave the job for someone who can do it

That doesn't make it right though and plenty of people don't have the option of simply leaving the job for some who can do it. It's compulsory for Next staff to have to work Boxing Day, I'd bet other retailers have a similar policy. They should either operate on a volunteers only basis with appropriate additional pay (e.g., time and a half or day off in lieu) then those that want to work it can and those who don't can stay at home, or they should close and give all of their staff some time off.

My husband has worked all Christmas, as he does every Christmas. His job - a dairy farmer. Its unavoidable. I think working boxing day is a first world problem. My sister is a doctor and was on call yesterday. She spent 3 hours working. We all coped, her children were surrounded by love (dad, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins). DSIS didn't complain.

@DisorganisedOrganiser cinema has always been open boxing day , like panto, nothing worse than being at work and no one coming and shift is quiet !

Personally I wouldn't choose to spend boxing day shopping.

Anyone who shops on Boxing Day is a selfish pig, imo

Dont worry, I stopped in at the police station on my way back from the shops to hand myself in. Oddly, they didnt seem very interested.....

The thing with Next in particular is they haven’t moved with the times. When I was young sales were in January so you bought at full price knowing things would be discounted after Christmas.

We’ve gone more American now with sales before Christmas/Black a Friday etc. yet Next don’t give an inch to customers. I’m surprised consumers don’t go elsewhere.

I think the big deal is that some who work over the festive period are essential workers i.e emergency services etc. I have done my time in this area and didn't mind one bit doing my stint over Christmas.
I now work retail and frankly people should manage a couple of days without shopping. I mean it's not like we do nt know when they will be closed it wouldn't be hard to work around the two days they are closed, get what you need it's not like they're closing for the whole period.
I find it sad people can't manage two days with out shops.

@HoHoHoik

We'll have to agree to disagree , they're jobs that don't involve starting at 5am on boxing day in retail

bigchris, I am aware that they have always been open but that doesn’t make it right. Panto I suppose is a tradition but I can’t imagine all the theatre staff are thrilled by that either. If the shifts were consistently super quiet it wouldn’t be worth opening. That requires people to stay at home though which they won’t, even for 2 days.

Farming and healthcare are essential jobs, there is no possible way for then to be closed over Christmas without causing harm or endangerment to their "customers" (animals and people). Something which doesn't really apply to retail. Karen from Basingstoke isn't going to bleed to death if she has to wait two days to buy a cut price handbag, is she?

I'm back at work tomorrow anyway , no shopping for me until Sunday

My mum was at work 9-3 YESTERDAY at a shop owned by a national chain newsagents/convenience store. There was a queue of people waiting for it to open, fairly brisk trade all day and still people coming in 5 minutes before closing. This is after her working until 10 on Christmas Eve. A good 90% of customers kindly told her how disgust it was that she had to work on Christmas day, without realising that if people like them didn't use the shop then the owners wouldn't open on Christmas day. I have worked numerous Christmas days when I worked in care but that is totally different as that is a necessity, brian down the road forgetting the paxo is not.

Yep, I’ve got to go and clean a couple of holiday lets tomorrow. Early start too. Would much rather stay in bed.

@HoHoHoik true. I'm so used to family working, I'm just a bit blasé about Next staff. You are right it is not essential.

Boxing day is leisure time , cinema , eating out etc is what people do in their leisure time

These staff will still get days off , when the rest of us are working

Plus usually it works if you have to work boxing day you get new years eve off etc

Whilst I agree that 6am start is ridiculous I do think its just a sign of the times that places are open in boxing day. I personally dont go shopping but i have in the past since i work in healthcare and that's been the only chance I'd have to check out the sales.

As an aside not everyone celebrates christmas. On my way home from the in laws last night we drove through a largely Muslim part of the city and most of the shops were open. Some of my muslim colleagues do celebrate the cultural aspects of christmas but most of them just aren't bothered and all kindly offered to work the Christmas shifts so those of us that do celebrate could have the day off.

I’m in the Canaries right now. Pretty much everything was open yesterday. Some shops closed early on Tuesday but yesterday (and today) are very much business as usual.

She could always sling her hook and go and work somewhere else that doesn't involve working at 5am on a bank holiday.

Working in retail = working bank holidays and that the Christmas holidays are the busiest time. I'm sorry, but surely this is a given. I work in the emergency services. It is a given I am expected to work Christmas and bank holidays. I knew this when I took the job. If I don't like it, I will find another job.

"Anyone who shops on Boxing Day is a selfish pig, imo"

"Do you ever think before you post ?

Some people have had shit Christmases, desperate to get out , partner and families currently pissed up watching football

But great to know that wandering round Debenhams and having a coffee in cafe Nero just to get out the house makes me a selfish pig".

Totally agree, I love mooching around the shops on Boxing Day but I dont think if I stayed in the shops would stop opening on Boxing Day. I dont think people should have to work on boxing day, and they should be paid double time. People don't seem to realise that all of this is part and parcel of the erosion of worker's rights and the erosion of the unions. That's why it's become common to work all sorts of stupid antisocial hours with no extra pay.

I used to work at next. One year I worked untill 1.30am prepping for the boxing day sale and then I was on the early shift for boxing day so was in work for 5 30am. It was horrid. I have always boycotted the sales since then as I just remember what it felt like standing there at 6am while customers literally trampled on you.

There isn't any need to go shopping or anywhere really on Boxing Day.
We have a day at home with a walk in the woods or a trip to the park.

To be fair next ( and probably most) retail staff get no perks for these silly starts on a BH. No bank hol pay unlike us nhs workers who still get enhancement pay for BH.

However we all know wherever we work if
there is an expectation to work and yes it's crap but it's a job and in this climate I'm happy to have one!

I disagree that the early start at Next is driven by demand. People get there early because they want to get the best bargains, ie they don't want to get there after everyone else has bought the best stuff. If they opened at a normal time or even tomorrow, people would just go in time for whatever time they opened.

These were the queues before the 6 am opening at the biggest shopping centre in our city - madness! Most stuff in Next is shite anyway.

Working in emergency services is essential work Fatted. Serving people in Next at 6am Boxing Day with no enhanced pay is not essential work.