To be thinking about Easter Sunday shopping laws

[JellyfishandShells]

DH and I were just discussing our food options for the next week. We have no problems in getting what we need (SW London) - supermarkets well stocked around here and we are very flexible about when we can shop.

Just checked and the usual Easter Sunday closure is on the timetables of all our local stores. It’s an anomaly, a concession given to the anti campaign in the 80s, when Sunday opening was first allowed. The reason given was that staff and customers would be able to go to church on an important day in the religious calendar.

Not religious myself, and not bringing this up as a general discussion point, but at this time I think an exception could be considered. It is going to increase the number of people who are still working a traditional week, either from home or physically there , having to do their shopping on Friday or Saturday. The queues on those days will be proportionately longer. Stores have taken on a lot of new staff, on flexible contracts, so could surely cover the hours.

There are 4 days a year that supermarkets are closed. As an ex (15 years) supermarket manager, knowing your shop was shut and all was well was lovely. Night and day workers get a proper break. Please don't begrudge it for Christ's sake. Supermarket workers are working hard enough as it is. Go and shop another time. It's one day.

@Scrimpshawthesecond - I am sorry but the United Kingdom IS a Christian country by a huge majority. Minorities are allowed their various religious festivals, so surely the majority in our country are also allowed the same?

@Tunnocksmallow 😩I'm sorry. Thank you for being part of the team keeping the food supply going (I assume you're food supply?!). Did they even ask for volunteers to work first?

Organize yourself and get your arse into the shops another day. The poor bloody retailers deserve a day off all the abuse they are suffering dealing with obnoxious, rude and entitled customers. HTH

I agree that supermarket staff need and deserve a day off. If anyone desperately needs something smaller shops will be open.

And to people saying churches are shut so people won’t be worshipping, a lot of churches are live-streaming services, not just for Easter, but for normal Sunday services and sometimes midweek too. I will be streaming our church’s online service on Sunday and then having a Zoom social with fellow parishioners afterwards.

Regardless of the religious sentiment, I’m a fan of there being some days all shops close in the year.

Yes nhs can pick up extra to cover a closed day.....they get an hour in the mornings just for them and queue priority test of the time!!

We know this as we use it!

My partner will have worked over 60 hours this week, he is a supervisor in a supermarket. He has not stopped for weeks, working through lunch. He puts himself at risk every day and he along with other people who work in supermarkets have dealt with all sorts and abuse from customers when they don’t have stock.

No they should not also be made to work on Easter Sunday.

Yes I’m is a Christian country by majority

I work in a large supermarket. Do you know what out of stock item has been the most requested this week. Paddling pools. Hardly a necessity is it. We have also sold loads of bbq stuff and patio sets. Now some people may be buying these things whilst they are doing their essential shopping but an awful lot aren't. This is all things for those lucky enough to be wfh or having to self isolate being able to do so. Meanwhile myself and my colleagues continue to risk our lives on a daily basis putting up with an absolute shit load of abuse both verbal and physical on occasion so everyone can keep a well stocked cupboard. And still we get begrudged for daring to have 2 days a year where shops are closed.

*uk

No, it's not, @MilkTrayLimeBarrel.

www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/latest-report/british-social-attitudes-36/religion.aspx

"Is this an English thing? The shops don’t shut for Easter in Scotland"

Seems to be. The last company I worked for closed it's shops on Easter Sunday in England and Wales but we had to open here in Scotland. We had New Year's Day off instead though which is much better

@GetOffYourHighHorse

Er, not all retail is food retail

Retailers open at the moment don’t all have the smaller Tesco extra type stores you know!!

Biggest seller at our store this week has been dulux white paint and compost! Really essential eh?

Fwiw I tried to do some shpopping today. The two supermarkets I normally go to had massive queues when normally they dont.
I had a chat with the staff at one of them and they said that the queue had been there since 6.00am when they opened which they hadnt seen before.

I went back home wo any shopping (I cant physically stand for 20+mins and then do my shopping - hence why I have been doing it online for the last 15 years).

So my thoughts on that are:
1- Its too late anyway. People have reacted like thye would on a bank hol weekend. By doing a huge shop the day before (which is today)
2- This lockdopwn thing seems to be the reason to pedal backwards on a lot of things (numbers needed in care home, one doctor to take a decsion etc...). I dont think we need yet another backward movement removing some protection from people. Im not sure that pushing people even more to work any day, at any hour is the right way to go atm.

'My store is closed to trading on Sunday, but we have been told we still have to go in to work, as the store needs re-stocking, tidying, cleaning, databases put right. So no, we can’t even have Easter Sunday with our families.'

Exactly. It has bugger all to do with cosy days off for poor staff and more to do with ancient trading laws that no one can be arsed to change.

There are many things I would like to see change in this country as a result of this pandemic and the shopping habits of our nation is one. I would like to see shops closed for one day a week like the old days. I'm not religious and don't want this for religious purposes but I think Sunday would work well. I also think shops should be closed from lunchtime Christmas Eve right through to the day after boxing day. But then I'm old fashioned.

Our convenience is considered more important than work life balance for workers. Hopefully this crisis will have taught us that these workers are important people and deserve to be treated with respect.

I agree with this, but from reading some of the posts on here some people will never change their ideas of entitlement.

@AmelieTaylor no, we don’t get asked to all. It’s all just put on a rota. If you in, you’re in.
And thank you, but I can’t take the credit for food supply, I work at a well known DIY retailer, who has been told we must stay open as we are essential. Keep safe 🙂

And of course NHS workers deserve a day off too. The difference is that you can't tell people not to be sick on a Sunday, whereas everyone knows the Easter Sunday rule in shops. It's advertised. So there's no need to have a rota holiday system as it's a day off for many in retail (not all as some other people have already pointed out).

If we could say no-one would get sick from Covid 19 or anything else on Sunday then the NHS staff could have the day off. But we can't.

It's a bit like saying teachers should be working (in the school) on Saturday and Sunday because the NHS workers are doing it.

If the supermarkets around you are well stocked and you are flexible in when you can go shopping, then why on earth does it bother you that they are closing on Sunday? I actually wish that all shops closed every Sunday like they used to. We all used to cope then, I’m pretty sure we could manage it now 🤷🏼‍♀️

but at this time I think an exception could be considered

YABU - give shop workers a bit of a break. They are taking the brunt of infection risks with little personal protection, having to police selfish idiots, and still smile and wish us all a nice day.

All on minimum wage.

Give them a break.

There are 4 days a year that supermarkets are closed.

Try two days a year - Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.

If you work in a smaller retail shop, then you don't even have to close Easter Sunday. When I worked in retail (small clothes shop) we were open everyday of the year except Christmas Day.

Meanwhile myself and my colleagues continue to risk our lives on a daily basis putting up with an absolute shit load of abuse both verbal and physical on occasion so everyone can keep a well stocked cupboard. And still we get begrudged for daring to have 2 days a year where shops are closed

@sweeneytoddsrazor I hear you!

And thank you for all you do. I find it appalling that you have to put up with abuse. I'm saying thank you to every shop assistant who serves me.

And then someone starts a thread complaining about shops being shut on one Sunday!

The weather here is predicted to be hit Today, tomorrow or Saturday so I'm expecting paddling pools, booze and bbqs to be selling well when I get my arse into gear and go out.

I think Easter Sunday closing and Sunday trading laws are antiquated considering that most people certainly won't be going to church (the reason why this law probably exists) but this year I totally support it for the sake of the safety of staff. Many people are happy to work Sundays normally- my student son wants to earn extra money so working Sunday is not a chore for him. He happily does Xmas Eve too. Scotland has normal shop trading and they are hardly a country of anti-Christian heathens just because they can go to Tesco at 6pm on a Sunday.