To think it is time to extend Sunday opening hours?

[Sundayopeningplease]

It really is time for the restrictive Sunday trading hours to be lifted. The archaic laws have not kept up with modern society.

Sunday may traditionally have been a family day but there have been a lot of changes since then. People are in increasingly different family set ups. The working hours have changed for a lot of people and being able to shop on a Sunday morning would improve things greatly. It would help trade for businesses too.

Sunday is now a major shopping day and the hours need to reflect this.

I'm old enough to remember early closing day during the week when shops closed at lunchtime one weekday, to make up for shop workers having to work on Saturdays. Most shops would also be closed by 5.30pm other days, no late evenings, everyone still managed okay and this was before online shopping existed.

Well just do online shopping then if you can’t cope with the six full days and six hours on a Sunday. What a fuss about nothing.

It's like that where I live now - the only shops open on Sundays are the two chain supermarkets, everywhere else is closed. Most places keep to half-day closing on Wednesdays and some do it on Saturdays as well.

And you know what? Everyone manages just fine - even all the shift workers and emergency workers seem to cope with such restricted hours lol.

surely some of the problems could be addressed by retailers changing the way they employ people or allocate shifts. I know that right now there is a staffing crisis, but that isn't always the case, and when there are more workers available, stores could change how they employ people. Where I grew up, stores were open generally til 9pm, and although it was reduced on Sundays, it wasn't as much as here - it was more by convention than law. And there was a much greater expectation of students working (both school age and university/college) - they had specific shifts that they could say they were available for, and might only work 1 or 2 a week. Sunday was quite popular, as were evenings. Other people could choose weekdays, or school hours, or whatever.

Then those who really want slow Sundays and family time can choose to have them, without going into towns or shopping centres. It's not like they are forced to go there when they're open, and if they feel they need them to be closed to stop themselves, there's something wrong!

I would quite like shops open more in the evenings too, actually. Our town centre feels dead in the evenings, and if you go in to go to a play or concert or whatever, it can feel a bit unsafe before and afterwards if there aren't lots of people around. Restaurants might do better, too, with people there are part of shopping. So many shops are closing now, and being replaced by restaurants, but the central ones seem busy mostly in the day, and I think it's on a downward spiral. They can't make enough money if they aren't busy in the evenings; they won't get enough people if too many shops close as people won't come in specially to go to a restaurant, etc. Shops do bring people into town to then make use of other facilities while they're there - markets, small businesses, cafes, restaurants, activities etc. When I just order stuff online, I don't use any of those. When I am motivated to walk into town, I get not only what I'm buying, but also use other services. In my town they are trying to make it harder for people to drive in or park, and they insist that it will make the centre nicer and people will come in more, but I think they've forgotten the huge effect that online shopping has since covid - it's so easy to get anything online now. For town centres to survive, I think increasing retail access and hours is possibly necessary.

Can’t do online shopping. I have to shop for several people all from different places. Not everything is available online believe it or not 🙄

Just because you think it is a fuss about nothing doesn’t make it true. There is a lot of demand for extended opening Sunday hours.

I wasn't unaware of the hours - I know full well that I can be in 6 days a week, 6am-11pm ... I also know that I am guaranteed Sunday evenings off 52 weeks of the year, regardless of what hours I am scheduled in any given week.

That's why I am protective of keeping those Sundays, it's the one guarantee I have as a retail shop worker and one I am loathe to lose just because people cannot find time in the 108 hours we are open, out of the 168 hours available in a week, to do their shopping.

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts

And where I I've restricted opening isn't a thing and everyone copes absolutely fine.

It's never even mentioned. Never heard anyone saying they want it changed

You make it sound so simple. Are you aware that some people with caring responsibilities do not have 168 hours available to shop? Many people cannot just go to the shops whenever they want.

Wow! Of course they know the hours - the hours they signed up to. Everything shut by 4 or 5 in the larger supermarkets. They didn't take the job with a clause saying we will work until Midnight on a Sunday in the future so that @Sundayopeningplease can physically walk into the store. That level of flexibility and convenience is called online shopping. You can even use Deliveroo (i think) and amazon to have somethings delivered same day.

This. Retail works are people too.

*workers

🙄 it is simple ... Tesco/Asda/Morrisons/Sainsbury's etc are open 108 hours a week. If you can't shop in those 108 hours then you need to find somewhere that is open when you can shop, not demand they open longer for you.

My gym closes at 10pm, on nights I finish at 10pm I don't demand they stay open for me, I just go on a different day/time when they are open. If I need to go the the library, I find out when it's open and figure out when in my schedule I have free time when it's open. If I can't make it work then I just can't go to the library that week or have to sacrifice something else to go.

Everyone has 168 hours in their week and you have to work your schedule out to fit your needs, not have everyone else to fit yours.

Unfortunately for you if you can't do online shopping or shop at any time between 6am-11pm Mon-Sat or 11-5pm (or if you live by a 24hr supermarket any time between 00.01am Monday and 23.59pm Saturday and 11-5pm Sunday) then you are going to have to rely on smaller shops to do your shopping who aren't restricted to 11-5 on Sundays. I suggest finding your local Tesco metro or Sainsbury's Local

Better as it is or less

Everywhere becomes so busy and crowded, people need family time

Not everything can ordered online via Deliveroo and Amazon. The 88 year old I look after is on the breadline and does not have the money to afford this kind of service.

Neither does the disabled person I shop for.

Such ignorance that not everyone is well off financially.

I am not demanding they stay open for me.

An overhaul of opening hours is needed to accommodate the times we live in now. When the Sunday trading laws were introduced, society was very different back then.

Tesco Metro or Sainsbury’s Local don’t have the things that the 88 year I look after needs. But thanks for the tip.

I used to love working a Sunday as a student. I’m glad Scotland don’t gave this ridiculous law. I was able to get 10 hours on both a Saturday and a Sunday which gave me most of my money as a student. Those were my two days of availability.

Totally disagree. Family time is more important. I don't think shops need to be open at all on a Sunday

Yes people say this but don’t hesitate to go to the attractions open a Sunday or go to the pub, restaurants, cinemas etc. It is like only retail workers count not those in other places.

Crikey are museums restricted in England too? I thought it was just shops.

Yes they have restricted hours too.

@maddy68 not everyone has a family to spend 'family time' with....

Agree. Childcare and family keeps being quoted but people live in many different setups. Some have no families or are estranged and Sundays are incredibly lonely for them.

You're talking about your own, very specific circumstances. There are equally people who work nights nd are asleep during normal trading hours. Do you think shops should stay open 24 hours a day to accommodate them as well? You can't expect everything to be available exactly when you personally need it

Blimey.

I think the only shops and establishments with restricted opening in Scotland is off licences and that's 10am until 10pm

Retail workers are hardly rolling in money either!

In fact extending Sunday working without also extending the surrounding infrastructure could leave some of them worse off!

A friend of mine doesn't drive as she can't afford to run a car so gets the bus to work in our store. This is not an issue Mon-Sat as she lives on a direct bus route which runs 6am-11.30pm to a stop 5mins walk from the store but on Sundays there are only buses once an hour from 10am-4pm. She can get to work via bus but to get home she either has to walk for an hour or get a taxi and if it's raining she gets a taxi both ways (if nobody offers a lift). A taxi costs about £6.00 ... We are paid £10ph so on wet days she essentially works just over the first hour of her shift just to afford the taxi fare to/from work.

If they extended store hours then not only would she potentially be having to either work at least an hour of her shift just to afford the taxi fare or having to walk to/from work alone at 5am/11pm if she is scheduled on open/close shifts. This would leave her at least £10 a week worse off and in the CoL crisis nobody can afford to be losing £40 a month (and that's just if taxi prices don't go up in the near future, like everything else has)