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AIBU?

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Original poster

To say ‘well done’ to the bosses of M&S, Waitrose, Lidl & Aldi

381 replies

MargaritaThyme · 23/12/2023 00:00

For deciding not to open their stores on Boxing Day, thereby giving their staff, who have been working very hard through December, a proper break with their loved ones?

OP posts:
Baffledandalarmed · 23/12/2023 08:23

YABU simply because bar staff, waitresses, waiters, cleaners etc, don’t get those days off and are probably more deserving as they get abuse all year round and it’s even worse at Christmas due to families being drunk and expecting the world cos it’s Christmas (I worked in bars and restaurants for five years and people are total scumbags when they eat out or drink around Christmas). Edit: not to say that shop staff don’t deserve the time off, just that you can’t include one group and not the other.

Also it’s clearly being done by management for financial Reasons - not because they care about staff.

YANBU that everyone should have two days off to spend how they wish.

Daylightsavingstime · 23/12/2023 08:26

I worked in retail for 15 years and not one member of staff wanted to work boxing day! The students didn't mind it as meant they had New Year off, but noone wanted it. It's either your day off, or like all other jobs, annual leave.

It's got nothing to do with privilege. Back in the day we'd get double time for bank holidays, so some would volunteer to work it, but now it's standard time so why would anyone actively volunteer??!

2023forme · 23/12/2023 08:27

Alcyoneus · 23/12/2023 02:32

A lot of naivety on this thread.

Online shopping trend is here to stay. Who do you think is working in the warehouses throughout Boxing Day to process all the sales that have moved online. M&S, Aldi and Lidl are not doing it out of the goodness of the heart. M&S have a substantial online presence. Aldi and Lidl will have looked at the wage bill saving vs the sales they get on Boxing Day (since the online retailers take so much of it) and decided it’s not worth opening.

This ☝️. It’s nothing to do with benevolence although judging by some of the posts on here, it will get them great PR.

agree also with the posts about some people wanting to work on BD. Not every one has a living family they want to spend time with and for students etc., a great way to earn extra cash.

sleepyscientist · 23/12/2023 08:27

Willmafrockfit · 23/12/2023 08:15

young kids need some senior staff

I'm sure you can find one or two uni students from the pay role to be the seniors. Truthfully I find younger retail staff much better anyway

Kdtym10 · 23/12/2023 08:28

FriedasCarLoad · 23/12/2023 00:36

Couldn't agree more - only the most vital shops (petrol stations and some pharmacies) should open on Boxing Day.

This is a less popular view, but I'd love to return to that for Sundays, too.

I’d love to see most shops closed again on a Sunday too. Really pleased about so many shops closing on Boxing Day too.

wronginalltherightways · 23/12/2023 08:29

Ninkinpopodopolis · 23/12/2023 08:21

I worked Nightshift for M&S a few years ago. Due to their no work on boxing day we couldn't start our shift until a minute past midnight on the 27th. Meaning in reality we were still working boxing day night but technically didn't qualify for any extra pay. My boxing day was still spent waiting around to go to work 😡 I wonder how many over self righteous companies do this as people still expect the shelves to be filled and the sake stock ticketed when the stores reopen?

Yep. This is what people on here pontificating about 'people don't need to shop on Boxing Day', people 'want to be with their families' don't get.

These same people still magically expect all the work to get done ... on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day, on Boxing Day.

These same people would be cross and venting on social media and to store staff if the shelves weren't stocked and ready to go, discount labels applied, etc, when the stores re open on whatever day they reopen ... meaning workers were working on those days, whether customers were allowed in or not.

These same people don't understand that it suits many family budgets to work those days for the extra pay their families could really use.

WithACatLikeTread · 23/12/2023 08:30

I reckon they probably have to take a day out of their holidays to have that day off though.

Beryls · 23/12/2023 08:30

The morrisons local near me is open Chritmas day. Apparently they opened for a few hours last Christmas day and took £9k so they're open again this year. I thought that was a bit greedy.

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 23/12/2023 08:34

I worked a long time in retail, I hated working Boxing Day, and missing out on spending it with family or friends. It also spoiled Christmas Day if you knew you had a 6am shift.

I've always been in favour of BD closure, I don't get the 'people rely on the wages' argument unless, stores are paying double for BD (and lots don't). Retail workers still need days off, BD can be one of those, or take it as a holiday. The shops still need plenty of staff in the remainder of the week.

I'm in my 50s, it was 'the January sales' when I was growing up too. Loved getting some hard cash for Christmas and then having a day at the sales after the festive period was over.

Mongrelsrbeautiful · 23/12/2023 08:34

Imamumgetmeoutofhere · 23/12/2023 06:57

It's very good and as someone who used to work in retail it was appreciated that we could have the days off.

However, the supermarket I worked in made us book holiday for Christmas Day and Boxing Day otherwise we wouldn't get paid.

Disgusting really when the store isn't open and the staff can't work!

So I imagine others will be the same, they give with one hand but take away with the other.

But that's the same in most jobs isn't it? NHS clinics, most office jobs, hair and beauty, for example - it's part of your holiday allowance, not a freebie.

WelshMoth · 23/12/2023 08:35

Definitely 👍
I

dayswithaY · 23/12/2023 08:35

I’ve worked in retail, inc a supermarket. You get a bank holiday allowance of a few days extra paid leave which you can save up and use throughout the year for days like Boxing Day. Nobody has to go without a day’s pay if the store decides to shut that day.

I’ve never, ever worked with anyone who wanted to work Boxing Day or New Year’s Day. Christmas in retail is brutal.

WithACatLikeTread · 23/12/2023 08:36

Pinko1 · 23/12/2023 08:09

The Entertainer store closes on Sundays. I always found this mad as they lose business but now I think brilliant for looking after their staff

The owner is Christian so doesn't want trading on the Sabbath.

Ninkinpopodopolis · 23/12/2023 08:37

You're exactly right. And people are getting sucked into the marketing ploy that these companies actually care for their staff. The year I worked it also affected my husband's day as he had to drive me in. There was obviously no public transport and no offer of taxi in and I had to make up my hours for starting late tagging them onto the end of the shift.

Boomer55 · 23/12/2023 08:38

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 23/12/2023 01:31

Believe it or not, my child, this happened within living memory (speaking as a 47 year old who remembers sales starting on Jan 1st)

Show quote history

I’m 68, and the large shops used to start their sales on Boxing Day in central London.

Oxford St and Regent St used to be like madhouses 😳

Coastalcreeksider · 23/12/2023 08:39

I think Lidl and Aldi have not opened Boxing Day for a good few years now, I think they may have been the first supermarkets to do this.

When I first started work in 1972, it was half day Wednesday and pretty much all the shops closed where I lived. Weekday evenings, the only place you could buy a limited range of sweets was the local off licence.

Saturday, shops closed around 5pm at the latest and on Sunday, the newsagent opened until 12 noon so people could buy their papers.

Happy days ... 😃

Mumof2NDers · 23/12/2023 08:39

PyongyangKipperbang · 23/12/2023 02:13

Shame that again, all the major supermarkets give Boxing day as a day off except Co-Op.

The did do it the other year but only after being shamed on Twitter. This year....nothing.

Tesco are open Boxing Day. DS’s girlfriend is working that day.

Sorrynotsore · 23/12/2023 08:41

Snowyballs · 23/12/2023 01:19

Only the very privileged could assume that not working on the 26th is what retail workers want

Edited

This just isn't universally true though. I worked in a supermarket in London while studying. Loads of the staff were the same. Or people with families.

It actually didn't open on boxing day I'm not sure Waitrose ever have. But the staff were really happy to be able to be off especially those travelling for Christmas.

the80sweregreat · 23/12/2023 08:41

Tesco are money grabbing ;(
They should all shut for one extra day
Well done to those that are

BobnLen · 23/12/2023 08:41

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 23/12/2023 01:31

Believe it or not, my child, this happened within living memory (speaking as a 47 year old who remembers sales starting on Jan 1st)

Show quote history

I'm 65 and Boxing Day sales have been around for years, only independent shops were Jan 1st, my child. You would have had to have been around in the 60s which you clearly weren't

ememem84 · 23/12/2023 08:42

Will the staff actually be off though? I’ve worked in retail over Christmas before and if the store was closed to the public we were still in prepping for the sale the next day.

Zonder · 23/12/2023 08:42

I am in my 50s and remember the January sales. Shops were definitely closed on boxing day when I was younger. This article shows shops starting their sales on 27th or 28th in mid 80s.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/gallery/remembering-boxing-dayjanuary-sales-years-22556966

But I also found another article which said that
Of course, the tradition of shops opening on Boxing Day hasn't always been the case. It all started in the mid 1990s when the John Major government made far-reaching changes to the Sunday trading laws. This shake-up of when it is morally ‘right’ to shop opened up the possibility of trading on festival days.

Remembering the Boxing Day/January Sales from years gone by

Going to the Boxing Day/January sales is a tradition in itself - so let's go back and see what use to look like years ago

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/gallery/remembering-boxing-dayjanuary-sales-years-22556966

moonlitwalks · 23/12/2023 08:42

This ☝️. It’s nothing to do with benevolence although judging by some of the posts on here, it will get them great PR

agree also with the posts about some people wanting to work on BD. Not every one has a living family they want to spend time with and for students etc., a great way to earn extra cash

I agree. I also don't believe any of these people saying how benevolent it is have never shopped on BD or a similar holiday their entire lives. I'm quite sure at one point or another in past years they have popped in and expected them to be open. Also, if you've ever ordered anything online on BD then you are still expecting people to effectively work on that day in a warehouse somewhere. But sure, carry on if it makes you feel self righteous 😂

Willmafrockfit · 23/12/2023 08:42

i think Waitrose has always closed on boxing day and days over easter and other bank holidays

Psychoticbreak · 23/12/2023 08:43

No time to read 7 pages but I am in Ireland and all our local shops are open on xmas day itself let alone the 26th. I am not sure if it is legal to buy alcohol on 25th mind you but you can certainly walk to your local mace/centra/spar and get milk or bread etc

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