To think it's time to abolish Sunday trading rules in England

[CurdinHenry]

And just have a more normal week

Yes, this is the issue. There's no evidence we actually have a reserve of people ready and willing to cover earlier and later hours on Sundays. Sectors that open more fully such as hospitality and care have recruitment problems, so we know that people who particularly want to work those hours already have options to do so.

Public transport is also most limited on Sundays, which would be a problem for some workers, and with the shortage of bus drivers that's not an easy fix.

Personally I think we should go back to shops being closed on a Sunday/bank holidays.

In Fact it’s bloody insulting to call them bank holidays when none of the bank call centres etc are actually shut.

This whole need to essentially need to do things constantly is ridiculous, and takes no account of the people who are expected to work long hours 7 days a week and for no extra pay just so that someone can buy milk whenever they feel the need instead of having to actually be organised.

how much shopping do we need to do?!
This. Just get more organised.

It seems really archaic to have shops forced to open reduced hours on Sundays. People on these threads always cite retail workers needing a more relaxed day, but I don’t see the same attitude to those in other non essential roles and calling for the hospitality industry to close on Sundays. A walk around my local National Trust site and stopping for breakfast in the cafe is a lovely way to spend a Sunday, but if I wanted to buy some croissants from M&S on the way to have a picnic breakfast, suddenly it’s rampant consumerism and the poor retail workers should be with their families/ at church.

I'm in a big city in the south east of England and the supermarkets are t open at 6 am, it's either 7 or 7.30am. It is better on Sunday here IMO as many shops choose to open at 11am - 5 rather than 10-4.

Anyone wanting Sunday full opening should have to do it in retail or hospitality for a year..bet they change their mind..😉

So close on a weekday / have shorter hours in the week instead.

There must be more demand for opening at 9am or 6pm on a Sunday than there is at 10am on a Thursday.

Most of the supermarkets close at 4.30 on a sunday having only opened at 10am. It’s way too early to close and it’s often the time that I realise I urgently need to get something in for the start of the new week!

I’ve worked in retail and hospitality for longer than a year and support full opening on Sundays

I hardly think having to shop on only six days in a week, rather than all seven, constitutes panic buying.

I want to take it further and have the world running 24/7. I have a sleep phase disorder and basically live at night time if I don't have sleeping pills. This would open up flexible work for everyone

So it’s not inconvenient to you. Why are you bothered about what we’re doing here then?

I rather doubt there's the same demand to work jobs in supermarkets at 9am on Sundays than 10am on Thursdays though. They do actually have to be staffed by someone, and I've yet to see anyone who wants extended Sunday hours think about who.

Totlly agree. Needs to go. The argument that it gives retail staff a break can equally be argued it limits their income. Especially women who often work retial jobs as part time, extras at weekends when their partner may be more around for childcare.

Stupid, outdated rules.

The law around whether a shop can legally open shouldn’t be based on whether lots of people are willing to do the work and current bus driver shortages. If a shop can’t be staffed then obviously it can’t open, but that’s nothing to do with the government.

If we did abolish it supermarket workers would get an even worse deal. At least this way they have some of Sunday off

can't you just buy ice cream with your regular shopping?

My freezer has magnums and choc ices in it for ds, most of the summer. It's really not difficult.

For all those saying retail workers would get shorter days during the week or whatever. It doesn’t work like that. Each time the goalposts get moved the retail workers are pushed further into the corners. And told if you don’t like it get another job. That isn’t so easy, particularly nowadays.

Even though I no longer work in retail I think it was far better when shops were closed on Sundays.

Would happily see them abolished. Don’t see why retail needs this protected status when people are happy for restaurants to be open all day and late on a Sunday.

if I go to my local town people are literally queuing at 10am to get in the supermarket. It’s just daft.

If no one wants to work Sunday hours, then the shop won’t be able to open or the shop will have to pay more won’t they. Seems to work fine in Scotland as well.

Sure, people can argue for a law change if they want. I'm not going to stand in their way. My point is that advocates pretty much never think about the practicalities, and that they might want to be careful what they wish for. My own guess is that if we did change it, what would probably happen is the existing workforce numbers being stretched more thinly because the support infrastructure isn't there and Sunday shopping become an even grimmer experience.

I have lived in NI, England and Scotland. Live in Scotland now. Honestly, every time I go somewhere else this really annoys me. It is so inconvenient!

Great, so you're happy to give up one of the two days a week you get with your children, to staff them then? No? Neither is anyone else. There aren't millions of people happy to work until 6 on a Sunday. We're slaves to the needs of the business as it is. I'm sure you can have a coffee on one of the other 6 days a week. Or, you know, try out that funky gadget in your kitchen that makes it for you.

Yes. English Sunday trading laws are pathetic. For some reason some people in England seem to think that despite the UK being secular now plenty of other industries having to work a normal day retail should somehow be a special case. Much better up here. Not long back from Sainsbury’s myself.

It’s happened in Scotland without society collapsing so I’ll take my chances.

Yes I’d prefer that too!