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Original poster

To think it is time to extend Sunday opening hours?

635 replies

Sundayopeningplease · 19/02/2023 09:32

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.

OP posts:
Botw1 · 19/02/2023 11:46

@AnnoyedFromSlough

I don't

Pp said how awful it would be if weekend working was enforced as people would never see their families

It's nonsense

Nitgel · 19/02/2023 11:46

of course cinemas should be open, bit odd to suggest otherwise

CrappyJob · 19/02/2023 11:47

PrincessHoneysuckle · 19/02/2023 11:44

Don't mind shops opening at 10am on a Sunday but the closing at 4pm really pisses me off

Indeed!

I was down in England on a course, and was in a b&b next to a supermarket. The course finished at 4, so I thought I would pop in after to get food for dinner. Nope, not allowed. I had to go to the town centre to get some food.

Not the end of the world, but it was inconvenient.

PuppyMonkey · 19/02/2023 11:47

I can’t believe people are still posting on
this thread when MN is the very definition of a non-essential activity. Come on @MNHQ get this site closed now so you can all go home and have Sunday off.Grin

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 11:48

Botw1 · 19/02/2023 11:45

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts

Its not a race to the bottom it's just following the logic.

If it's OK for some it's OK for all.

There's no logical reason for exemption

Non shift workers have such weird attitudes to this stuff

It's not logical at all Confused

You can't compare someone working in the emergency services with someone working at a checkout counter at Cineworld.

Your logic is "well if I have to work long hours so should everyone else" - but why? So you feel less hard done by?

Rellywobble · 19/02/2023 11:51

PuppyMonkey · 19/02/2023 11:47

I can’t believe people are still posting on
this thread when MN is the very definition of a non-essential activity. Come on @MNHQ get this site closed now so you can all go home and have Sunday off.Grin

Great reply 😍

Botw1 · 19/02/2023 11:51

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts

No.

I don't feel hard done by. That's the point. It's not a hardship

It has its benefits

I just don't see the issue

If you don't want to work shifts, don't

It's not a big deal

What you're saying is I don't like something so no one should

Rather than I don't like it so I won't but others can if they want

Which is obviously the more reasonable option

CrappyJob · 19/02/2023 11:51

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 11:48

It's not logical at all Confused

You can't compare someone working in the emergency services with someone working at a checkout counter at Cineworld.

Your logic is "well if I have to work long hours so should everyone else" - but why? So you feel less hard done by?

Show quote history

You clearly don't work in retail. I do.

Most contracts are between 16 and 25 hours. Most people are actively looking to work hours, in order to pay the bills.

Needmorelego · 19/02/2023 11:52

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts but people might be working on those other 6 days of the week so they can't go to the cinema/sports centre/pub/shop/whatever then.
For 20 years I couldn't go to any Saturday held events that I enjoy like crafts fairs, model shows, adult social groups, collector markets etc because on Saturdays I was working - ironically in retail.
Those activities ran on Saturdays. I worked Saturdays.

Grapewrath · 19/02/2023 11:53

I agree OP I work really long hours Mon-Fri so more flexibility on a Sunday would be helpful.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 11:54

@CrappyJob I worked in retail for over a decade.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 11:55

Needmorelego · 19/02/2023 11:52

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts but people might be working on those other 6 days of the week so they can't go to the cinema/sports centre/pub/shop/whatever then.
For 20 years I couldn't go to any Saturday held events that I enjoy like crafts fairs, model shows, adult social groups, collector markets etc because on Saturdays I was working - ironically in retail.
Those activities ran on Saturdays. I worked Saturdays.

Nobody works 24 hours a day, six days a week.

Rellywobble · 19/02/2023 11:56

Agree with OP . Many workers choose to work on Sunday’s because it makes child care arrangements easier.

AnnoyedFromSlough · 19/02/2023 11:56

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 11:54

@CrappyJob I worked in retail for over a decade.

How long ago? Things have changed a lot. When I first worked in retail, full time hours and set shifts were the norm. Over the last, say, ten, years, that has all changed. The only people on set full time shifts are the 'old timers'.

Needmorelego · 19/02/2023 11:57

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts by the way.... I hate shopping. It's a tedious chore. I rarely go into shops when it's my choice (my daughter loves Primark unfortunately). The last thing I want to do on a Sunday is go shopping.
I can think of anything more boring and dull to do.

CandleInTheStorm · 19/02/2023 11:59

Botw1 · 19/02/2023 11:22

@CandleInTheStorm

Do you base figuring out your days on the fact some shops open a bit later on a Sunday?

That seems weird

It's not a thing here and we manage to distinguish the days of the week absolutely fine

I guess I just mean having Sundays as a "quiter" day it feels like the wind- down end of the week and if sunday were like every other day the week would just feel continuous.

I could choose to not go out or not go to the shops yes and have family time, but where I live you can certainly feel the difference between Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is busy, more cars on the road and it's just noise everywhere. Sunday is much quieter, less busy, less cars and traffic jams. You can definitely tell the difference in the days but maybe that depends where you live?

Botw1 · 19/02/2023 12:00

@CandleInTheStorm

Obviously

Restricted opening hours doesn't even exist here

melj1213 · 19/02/2023 12:01

Why is it retail that had to open later on a Sunday because everyone else works M-F and can't possibly shop on a work day as opposed to those M-F workers having to move to a 7 day shift pattern so that they can have different working days to allow them to shop on another day?

Instead of supermarket staff having to work past 5pm on a Sunday (as well as Monday to Saturday) why aren't we petitioning for the staff working in all the office jobs to work 11-5 on a Sunday so they can finish an hour earlier Monday to Friday so they can do their shopping on one of those days?

Or is it just other people who should be inconvenienced because their working patterns aren't convenient when you want to do your weekly shop on a Sunday?

Needmorelego · 19/02/2023 12:02

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts yes no one individually actually works 24/7 - but society does. But my point was I missed out on things I would have enjoyed doing because they happened on one of the days I worked.
Some people only get the chance to go to the supermarket on Sundays because they are working on the other days of the week or can't get there on those other days.
So people working on Sundays will miss being able to do activities on a Sunday but people who work Tuesday can't do activities on a Tuesday, or people who work Friday do them on a Friday......

Botw1 · 19/02/2023 12:02

@melj1213

Why do you think it's an inconvenience to work on a Sunday?

MajorCarolDanvers · 19/02/2023 12:03

24/7 for supermarkets in Scotland and had been for years - except for parts of the Highlands and Islands where they are strict about Sabbath observation

KangarooKenny · 19/02/2023 12:04

Shut them on Sunday’s and Boxing Day 🎄

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 12:07

Needmorelego · 19/02/2023 12:02

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts yes no one individually actually works 24/7 - but society does. But my point was I missed out on things I would have enjoyed doing because they happened on one of the days I worked.
Some people only get the chance to go to the supermarket on Sundays because they are working on the other days of the week or can't get there on those other days.
So people working on Sundays will miss being able to do activities on a Sunday but people who work Tuesday can't do activities on a Tuesday, or people who work Friday do them on a Friday......

You can shop online if you can't really can't get to the shops in person. There's no need for them to be open on Sunday just because some people happen to work shifts six days a week.

It's unfortunate you missed out on a lot of Saturday activities but opening things for longer on a Sunday won't change that.

MargaritaRita · 19/02/2023 12:09

I'm in Dublin for a few days. There is a mahoosive shopping centre near where I'm staying. The Tesco there is open from 8am to 10pm on Sundays. The centre itself (usual retail stuff) is open 11am to 7pm Sundays.

Similar hours seem to apply to all retail/large supermarkets other than Tesco on Sundays. Just for comparison!

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 19/02/2023 12:10

@AnnoyedFromSlough I've said numerous times on this thread that I worked "five days in seven to suit business needs"

I never had set days or set times.