To think most shops should be shut on Sundays

[withthefeelignofgreece]

I have family in Jersey and over there most shops are shut on a Sunday.
AIBU to think this could be a good idea to introduce here in the UK?
It would give retail workers a Sunday off every week from having to work.

a) Jersey's economy isn't reliant on the retail sector as its main business is offshoring financial services

b) the UK high street would find it even harder to compete with online.

Nope. I worked weekends as a student. I would have been starving otherwise!

No thanks. I remember the sheer monotony of Sundays in the late 80's/early 90's as a child.
So boring.

Oh love...

I think the shops should be shut on Sunday. It would give all retail workers a day off

You do realise that retail workers don't work 7 days a week... don't you...?

Because the management believe that it’s the right thing for the business. They know that there will be some weirdos who think that Sunday has some significance, but they are able to work around those just as they will accommodate Jewish staff who prefer not to work on Saturdays.

Why would a business favour your preference over other staff? What makes you special?

They already get a day off. So, your argument not being valid, what’s your actual reason?

If you are having mental problems and need to “self-actualise” then that’s your issue, why would normal people with healthy minds change their lives to accommodate someone else’s psychological issues?

Closing shops on a Sunday still requires people to come in and deal with deliveries, clean and set the shop up for the week ahead. (Monday might be the day that prices change ) People would have to come in and do the online shopping orders too.

Here in rural Ireland, small shops close for an hour at lunch time 1-2pm every weekday.

Only supermarkets are open on Sundays but till much later than in the UK.

Even the local garden centre and the hardware shops stay closed on Sunday. I do find that a bit frustrating sometimes.

Otherwise, I like the idea of a quiet Sunday.

Only supermarkets are open on Sundays but till much later than in the UK

Really? My local supermarket closes at 10pm on a Sunday. Doesn't get too much later than that.. 😉

But they can only be open for 6 hours on a Sunday in the UK so what time does your supermarket open?

No they don't. In England shops over 5000sq feet (I think) can only be open for 6 hours. Any shop under that size doesn't have the same restrictions. So supermarkets will close earlier but convenience stores such as coop or premier stores can and do stay open later!

Sorry fat fingers that should say 1000

That's only true for some of the countries of the UK. It's not true in Scotland. My local supermarket is open from 8am till 10pm on a Sunday.

But I'm not surprised you weren't aware, because many people on this forum talk about England's laws like they are the UK's. (most people in Wales and Northern Ireland seem to be aware that there are differences).

if you close the shops to let the workers 'have a day off' (you know they don't work there 24/7 don't you) then you'd better close everywhere - every entertainment venue, every park, country estate, stately home, museum and visitor attraction as they too should be entitled to a day off too. And all the people that run the tv broadcasts and power stations etc.
Then you could sit in the dark bored shitless till monday comes

I used to live in Germany where shops still close on Sundays. I don’t think it would work in the U.K. because we treat Saturdays and Sundays the same now really. In Germany there is a stronger cultural pressure of Sunday being the quiet day but even then they sometimes trial Sunday shop openings. Also in Germany bank holidays are sometimes on a Saturday which means shops don’t open all weekend which is super annoying.

I think we should be like Scotland and open all day.

No way would I like the shops closing on a Sunday.... I've lived through that once before .

Do you think offices should open over the weekend?

Councils, passport offices, DVLA.? In fact everyone who works mon-fri should be forced to do shifts to ensure that the services they provide are available to those who can't access them due to their shifts?

I’m undecided. What effect has Sunday opening had on society? Good and bad… does anyone know of any research into the effects?

I work in retail. Bloody love working Sundays especially if I am on an early shift (5am start) as it means I get through a massive chunk of my shift without having customers in my way 😊

Yeah, because that's how it works in retail. The weekends are only staffed by people that are already working 5 days a week and are given no choice. Everyone is forced into working all weekend (despite the fact that anyone can legally opt out of working a Sunday).

Now, that's the best argument I've seen yet for closing on a Sunday. Rather than giving retail workers the day off, give us the chance to get our work done in peace!

Surely there wouldn't be enough jobs to go around if shops closed on Sundays. Not everyone can work in the week and some couples like to work around each other for childcare.

If there wasn’t enough demand, the shops would close. Rather than telling shops to shut, you should be telling people to stop using them. I suspect you already know that that’s a non starter.

Not every worker can opt out of Sundays