To think Sunday trading hours is silly

[iguano88]

Everyone waiting at the self service and normal checkouts from 10:45, with full baskets and trolleys (shop was open for browsing but Sunday hours 11-5). Staff then opened all the tills at exactly 11 but not a minute before.

Why do we still only open large shops for 6 hours on a Sunday? 11 seems really late to open. There’s a blend of religions in society and more people need hours at work, Sunday evenings would suit students or parents who need to work opposing hours to their other half for childcare reasons. The more I think about it the sillier it is. I also think it adds to the ‘Sunday scaries’ people experience.

AIBU to think it should just be abolished and business as usual?

Yanbu
England should follow Scotland’s lead and have Sunday as a normal day.

Here in Australia shops open on Sundays 11-5 too, they don’t open earlier for browsing.

Saturdays is 8-5.

Sunday hours doesn’t mean that staff go home early. They still have jobs to do like unload the day’s deliveries etc

It’s nice to have DD home on a Sunday - shopping isnt a leisure activity!! Find something else to do and leave them alone.

It does for an awful lot of staff.
When i worked in retail staff worked an hour after the shop closed to tidy up, regardless of the day. So on Sundays they were home way earlier than any other day because the shop shut earlier.

So you would be the first to put your name down for a Sunday shift OP?
Where l work it is not as simple as a matter of choice, most staff are contracted both the Sat and Sunday and staff are still expected to start early. I started at 6.00 am this morning on dot.com. There are still staff filling shelves, cleaners going round, we don't have the chance of a lie in like you do. Plus come four o'clock the store is still heaving and staff can't just shoot out of the door, there are endless jobs that need doing .
Most of us are parents, as half the time the students let us down, no show after a heavy night.I
Yours is a typical selfish attitude from people who have never worked in retail and have no idea how it operates. Eventually it will all be done online, how will you manage then?

Should definitely be abolished.

Doesn't exist in Scotland and many other countries. So why here?

I'm old enough to remember no Sunday trading, half day closing one day of the week. No cinemas open on Sundays, we all survived surprisingly.

I'm sure you could skip the gym one night to go to the supermarket, or order a delivery. Nobody is that busy

Same. In fact, I still live somewhere that does half-day closing on Wednesdays and nowhere except Tesco and Spar are open on Sundays

Agree totally. When I was a student I worked Saturdays, Sunday trading wasn't a thing so the shop was closed on Sundays. I would have loved to have worked a Sunday for a extra pay.

I remember during the Olympics they temporarily abolished Sunday trading! It was heaven being able to shop on a Sunday evening and very quiet, but I don't think most people realised.

We should follow other areas of the UK and abolish Sunday trading hours. Also we have no tuition fees, free prescriptions, free hospital parking.... etc etc like Scotland. Follow the lead of other countries.

"Life isnt 9-5 anymore"

And yet GP surgeries have yet to realise this.

Me too! Plus shops were only open until five thirty in the evening, apart from small corner shops, and online deliveries just didn’t exist.

(Even now, I don’t really like shopping on a Sunday, and it kinda feels wrong.).

I really don't see it as an issue. I refuse to believe that the only possible time in the week that someone can go shopping is after 5pm on a Sunday. And I'm a lone parent with a full time job so I don't exactly have bags of free time.

I hate the short hours as a shopper, especially as I like to shop early in the morning and I hated working the short hours as a worker as you get a really short break and again I like to start work early. It should be normal hours or nothing.

Fun fact. SNP MPs vetoed loosening Sunday trading law in restrictions in England and Wales back in 2015 in case it harmed the premium payments Scottish workers got for working Sundays.

As others have commented it's different here in Scotland with longer opening hours on a Sunday compared to England

I can also remember (way back in the mists of time) when shops here closed every Wednesday afternoon and I seem to remember it was called the Country holiday.
So then no shopping on Wednesday afternoon and all shops closed on Sundays.
Pros and cons for both really.

Might've been 2016

In the 60s most towns had an “early closing day” when shops closed at noon. It was either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, depending on town. This was because the same workers were expected to work Saturday morning. It changed when opening hours got longer and shift work came in.

We’re an un-mumsnetty family who like to get together to celebrate events like birthdays. But with one member working in a supermarket, and getting his rota only a couple of days in advance, it’s extremely difficult to arrange anything. At least we all know early Sunday evening is clear.

Not relevant to the thread, but can you remind me of the title of the track? I’ve been looking for it and can’t find it!

Even if the shops were open 10 hours, there would be someone moaning that it’s not open long enough.

Shops never used to be open 24 hours a day or on Sundays and still don’t in many countries.
People have always coped and covid proved how much we don’t need to be shopping constantly.

Being open later is unfair on the workers, all of which are on zero hour contracts and don’t have much say on what days and hours they work.

I hate it too! It seems so old fashioned.

I do think workers rights should be protected though so can't think of a solution

It is a religious day for Christians. Of course shops should be closed for Easter Day, just like they are on Christmas Day ( and I was pleased that some supermarkets were even closed on Boxing Day last year )

Exactly . Agree with all of this.