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've lived in Scandinavia where everything was closed on Sunday....literally everything. It wasn't family time, it was just dead and bloody awful

Yes, agree with this.

And as a woman and a feminist I’ve never spent my Sunday cooking a roast

Not the point of the thread, but there's no problem cooking a roast and it doesn't take a whole Sunday.

More staff would ease the burden 😂 at least the pay is decent though. Make more money than I did in a school.

Struggling high streets will lose out if shops open longer. Why? Because shops instead of paying wages over six hours, they’ll have pay over a longer time period. It will put pressure on families as people will be expected to work longer hours.

It won’t generate more money as if you have a hundred pounds to spend, you won’t have a hundred and fifty because a shop is open three hours longer on a Sunday.

@AlltheFs what makes it "lovely"?
If you don't want to shop on a Sunday you don't have too. But if your only opportunity is to shop on a Sunday then why shouldn't you be able to.
Oh and shopping doesn't have to be "buying crap" - but just normal everyday day things like food, clothes for your children, cleaning products, toiletries....you know. Stuff that people need everyday to function.

When I had a Saturday job I used to get double time for working Sundays. This was in the late 80s and there were strict limits on when they could open on Sundays but it was great for sixth formers and students.

It's treated as part of a normal shift pattern now, but weekends are working days in many sectors, not just retail but also healthcare and hospitality.

There’s loads to do that doesn’t involve a bloody shop. The restaurants and pubs are busy, there’s community activities most weeks. We live in a beautiful rural area with amazing walking, wildlife, scenery etc.

Shopping as a leisure/entertainment activity is revolting. So much more to life!

YANBU but proper Sunday closing works well in other countries.
Usually all restaurants, cafes and leisure facilities are open (plenty of jobs) so people are sociable, not shopping. Places like France have restaurant vouchers and things too though so Sunday leisure is affordable.
In Russia and many ex Soviet countries it is the opposite, things are always open, which is nice too, but Sunday isn't as special.

I had no idea sunday trading hours were still a thing. We don't have it in Scotland and even Northern Ireland (where I spend quite a bit of time) doesn't appear to have it. I don't pay much attention, try to avoid shops as much as possible anyway.

Absolutely not
I already work 1 in 3 Saturdays. If we opened Sundays I would then have to work Christmas Eve this year and get 48hrs only off for Christmas
We reopen on the 27th dec as it is and people still complain we are closed for too long (not an essential retail)

If the shops weren’t open you’d manage to buy these things on other days, you wouldn’t die. People in other countries do. You don’t find the French or Germans panicking about loo roll on Sundays.

Possibly, but possibly not.

If shops are open longer and sell more stuff, people might use them instead of using Amazon for everything. If you think you need something at 3.45 on a Sunday (or 5.15 on a weekday) it's too late so you go online.

If shops were open until 8pm it would be different.

YABVU. You don’t need 24/7 access to shops.

Your “solutions” to students and religious exemptions show you have absolutely no knowledge of the retail and hospitality sectors at all. Your ignorance is embarrassing.

And you can piss off trying to turn this into feminist bollocks too.

Don’t shops in Spain and Italy, for example, close for a few hours in the middle of the day and reopen late afternoon/ early evening. Or is that just in the summer months, or even outdated now.

If the shops weren’t open you’d manage to buy these things on other days, you wouldn’t die. People in other countries do. You don’t find the French or Germans panicking about loo roll on Sundays

there are still shops open in Germany (not sure about France) on Sundays. Large railway stations often have a supermarket in them.

Just wait until they take Christmas day off us.

@AlltheFs who says shopping is a "leisure activity" though? For many people shopping is actually a boring chore.
But even if it is....why are people "allowed" to go to a restaurant or pub as a leisure activity but not to shops? Surely everyone should just eat/drink at home if that's your thinking.

I agree with you- we should be like Scotland.

Just because a shop is closed, it doesn’t mean people aren’t working. There are still deliveries to accept and unpack etc

I didn’t say that at all. I said if it were up to me, SHOPS would shut on Sunday. Who do you think you are, putting words in my mouth and then attacking me on the basis of what YOU have said?

Exactly. And to the Christmas Day point - why am I allowed to go to a pub or restaurant, or stay in a hotel, but not allowed to go to a shop?

Although lots of shops/petrol stations etc do open on Christmas Day now if they are run by immigrant families who don't celebrate Christmas.

What about all the people who buy online because shop opening hours aren't convenient. Longer opening hours may mean they spent less online and more in the shops!

@AlltheFs a LOT of people buy everyday basics online now because they can't easily get to shops.
Often it will be the online version of a physical shop (I actually have an Iceland delivery coming in an hour or so) but for many they will naturally go for the cheapest thing they see from random online sites.

I didn’t say that at all. I said if it were up to me, SHOPS would shut on Sunday

But why do you give shops a special status?

OK, so you don't mind workers in those other places having to work, but you don't want shop workers working. Okay Dokey!

Buying at a medium to large supermarket is often cheaper than a small petrol station, delivery service like Uber Eats or Co-op so it is in the interest of the consumer.

No YOU said "I used to enjoy having a day where everyone could suit themselves what they did." People wouldn't be able to suit themselves if everything was closed would they? Likewise workers in places that you deem worthy of being open wouldn't be able to suit themselves if they were forced to work. Presumably in this past that you "enjoyed", you actually went and did things, i.e. restaurants, cinemas, fairground, etc? I can't understand why you think that's ok for those to be open and their workers forced to work, but not shops? What about shops within entertainment, i.e. the gift shop in a zoo or museum, or the food/drink counter in a cinema?