To think that Sunday trading hours need to be abolished?

[HFJ]

I remember the hullabaloo about Sunday trading back in the late 80s

Whenever I talk to people about this, many usually give the following reasons why Sunday trading restrictions are a good thing:

1. Everyone can have Sunday lunch/family time together
2. Retail workers can have some weekend time off

However, I can’t be the only person who thinks the above is BALONEY

On the family time thing, I object for feminist reasons because it usually means a hard-working woman somewhere has to peel potatoes and rustle up a Sunday lunch for everyone else. Then, when she has done all that, can she treat herself to an emergency handbag, pair of shoes, just get away and meet a friend for coffee, or perhaps get the family shopping in on before the working week starts? Can she heck. Why? Because of some Bishops in the house of lords decree that the world should shut and therefore her indoors should remain indoors.

On the weekend time off thing, I really don’t see what the issue is. There are plenty of students who would like to and need to work. Also, there’s nothing to stop religious workers asking their employer to prioritise time off on Sunday for them (just as Muslims, Jews, people with caring responsibilites can make requests).

Am I the only one who feels this way?

I should be more specific and say that the shop is restricted to when they can open.

Shops can open on Sundays though, just between certain hours.

Many shops in my town don't open at all on Sundays through choice!

Yes, my last post clarified.

I’d much rather Sunday didn’t have trading at all because I remember how much I hated it when I worked retail and overworked employees deserve a break

Deserve a break? Surely they have other days off. Why is Sunday so important?

I like working Sundays. Shorter shift and I much prefer my day off during the week when the children are at school.

And many shops would open longer if they had a choice.

Just like some vets, barbers, dentists, car repair garages, etc who open at weekends according to the organisation, their staff and their customers needs/wants/agreement, etc.

Retail has had that choice taken away from them.

Can't you see the difference??

@Beezknees my dentist opens Saturdays. There is also access to the 24 hour emergency dental service through them on Sundays.
But as @user1497207191 says - can't you see the difference about it's to do with choice?
When I worked in retail many times I had to physically stop people trying to enter the shop when we were having to close because our 6 hours on a Sunday were up. As a shop we couldn't adapt to the needs of our customers - by law !

And many shops would open longer if they had a choice.
I’m sure many large retailers would open longer hours on a Sunday to appease their shareholders, it won’t have any anything to do with the wants of their staff.

Retail has had that choice taken away from them.

Can't you see the difference??

Large retailers were given limited hours on a Sunday, to give corner shops and other small retailers a chance to remain profitable, it’s got nothing to do with protecting retail staff, as obviously plenty of retail staff do work full shifts on a Sunday.

I would like to keep Sundays as vaguely different to the rest of the week, purely to break up the 24/7 work / grind mentality. Nothing to do with religion, or family time.

But, as has been said many times on here - the staff have a legal right to not work Sunday. It's the only day of the week that applies to!!

People will not go to shops rather than the internet. People use the internet because it’s cheaper and they don’t have it go to the shop. In countries where they don’t have Sunday trading, online shopping is just as, if not more, popular. All physical retail around the world is struggling.

Most online shopping in the U.K. is done on a Monday morning.

But, as has been said many times on here - the staff have a legal right to not work Sunday. It's the only day of the week that applies to!!
How realistic do you think it is that staff will be refusing to work Sunday given that most are on zero hour contracts.

Sure, but is it really THAT big a deal in the grand scheme of things? I don't get why it irritates people so much.

@HelenTherese2 that's fine as long as people stop whinging about the "town centre dying" and act like it's the start of the apocalypse if the local M+S closes down.

@Beezknees if you were the owner of a shop and wanted to make money (because why else would you be the owner of a shop) wouldn't you just be a little bit annoyed you have to refuse sales and turn people away at 5pm on a Sunday - but the pub, cafe, restaurant, cinema or whatever next door can carry on making money as long as they want.

You can do that for yourself without inconveniencing those who feel otherwise.

Trouble is that for a lot of towns, the closure of the M&S really was the death-blow for their retail High Streets!

You can do that for yourself without inconveniencing those who feel otherwise.
Or I guess the compromise would be shops being open for half a day ?

@user1497207191 I can't see why. Practically every M+S I go in has more tumbleweed than customers.
(Not counting Food Halls - they seem quite popular)

Most are, are they?

I work for a major supermarket. They don't employ anyone on a zero hour contract.

Can you back that claim up?

No, because everyone going into that line of work knows already. As people like to quote on here, if they don't like it, find another job. Start a business where you CAN work Sundays. Run a pub instead of a shop. Don't go into a job knowing exactly what the rules are and then start moaning about it.

@Beezknees it's more that so many people (not necessarily me) constantly complain their local High Street/Town Centre/Shopping Mall is dying and shouldn't "they" do something about it.
Well surely the "they" is the government and the government have the chance to think "right how can we help and improve this part of the economy" - by scrapping the 6 hour rule. That's how.

Do you seriously think that will help?

People aren't shopping in the high street because they can get things online made in China for a fraction of the price. That's the issue, not store opening hours.

@Beezknees it's part of the bigger picture.
Not the only reason - but it's part of it.

I do find it slightly mad that I couldn’t even buy petrol at a self service pay at pump, on a Sunday, at about 6pm. I was running out of fuel, and had to make it back over the border to get some

I don't know where that was, but it has nothing to do with the Sunday trading rules. You can buy petrol at any time a garage is open and they are not subject to the rules for shops.