Sunday trading laws may be suspended

[Kazzyhoward]

news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-plan-to-lift-sunday-trading-rules-to-boost-economy-12001529

Common sense at last. Allow stores to open longer on Sundays to help avoid queues and congestion in shops. Should have been done back in March.

[yearinyearout]

In most shops people will still work the same number of hours though. They might work a longer shift on a Sunday and have Saturday off or whatever. Will probably create more jobs.

[RufustheLanglovingreindeer]

Everybody who goes on about the poor retail staff has never worked in retail

Rubbish

People just have different experiences...sometimes of the same chain

[Juanmorebeer]

Everybody who goes on about the poor retail staff has never worked in retail.

Having longer hours to cover doesn't mean that existing staff will have to work longer. It means more shifts to cover therefore more people to employ or staff who want more hours can get them.

Retail rotas are different everywhere but one of the only sectors I have ever worked in with the ability to flex shifts by swapping with colleagues etc. You don't get that in many other jobs.

I think it is a good thing overall.

[covetingthepreciousthings]

*The problem is retail these days is you generally have to be available to work at any time of the trading hours, any day, random times, no continuity, no knowing what days you will be working or not.
*
Completely agree with the entirety of this post.. this has always been my experience in retail & my husbands (who works for a supermarket currently).

I have been in a very fortunate position previously of having family to help with childcare, because I have no idea how any in retail would have nursery's or childminders with the way shifts change. It's a complete nightmare.

[covetingthepreciousthings]

I've worked in retail many years, and I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to be scrapped... however what I will say is that Sundays (in my experience not in supermarket retail) have always been a day that floor moves have been done, paperwork, payroll, stock takes etc as it's a day where you would have 1.5-2 hours with no customers to get these done out of 'shop hours'. So my concern would be when would all that stuff be done if you are then opening 'normal times' on a Sunday- in the stores that do this.

[Sicktaethebackyeeth]

Good. Hopefully it stays. The staff won’t be expected to work longer hours unless they want to. If you don’t believe that then you’ve never worked retail.

[SockYarn]

England's sunday trading laws are nuts. Always does my head in when we go on holiday somewhere south of the border and you're scrabbling around for milk on the Sunday because of restricted opening.

We've always had normal Sunday opening hours in Scotland (well as long as I can remember) and society doesn't fall apart. Some of the big stores here are open 24/7.

[Another888]

I expect many workplaces will have to spread everyone's shifts out much more.
I hope so it would be a leveller if office workers had to start working Sundays and night shifts.

[JustVisiting9]

I worked in a supermarket as a student, and I used to love working on Sundays because we got paid a premium which meant we received just less than double the usual hourly rate. We were never short of volunteers for Sunday overtime or shift swaps.

I suspect Sunday premiums have gone the way of the dodo though.

I don't have a strong view on Sunday opening, but I think if there are changes, they should make sure Christmas Day and Easter Sunday stay 'special'.

[DdraigGoch]

I feel for the staff that will be expected to work longer hours on the one day they are used to having shorter hours. No need for it.
I'm sure that those who've lost income while shops were shut will be only too glad of the overtime.

[BBCONEANDTWO]

I think this is a great idea.

[middleager]

Thank fuck for that.

[Trevsadick]

Most employers have a clause that they can call you into work weekends though.

Its rare it happens though.

I used to work for asda HR. Sundays, were always snapped up by people wanting to do the shifts. Rather than people forced. Well the majority of the time.

[MrsTannyFickler]

"People who want to “keep Sunday special” still can. No one will be forcing them to shop."

Unless they are forced yo work by employers.

Sadly lots of retail jobs won't even consider your application unless you say you are willing to work weekends too. Even if you're applying for a position that's Mondays and Thursdays, the employer wants your contract to say they can call you into work any day of the week.

[Patch23042]

Great news, if it happens.

People who want to “keep Sunday special” still can. No one will be forcing them to shop.

[Trevsadick]

This is good news. Sick of seeing people moaning supermarkets are busy at weekends. Usually the moaners are the ones that could have shopped during the week.

When do they expect those that work Monday to Friday to shop?

[bookmum08]

If retailers went back to having proper shifts and staff who could basically be either weekday or weekend staff then I don't see the problem with longer hours on Sundays. The problem is retail these days is you generally have to be available to work at any time of the trading hours, any day, random times, no continuity, no knowing what days you will be working or not. Essentially zero hour contacts but you have a contract of something dumb like '4 guaranteed hours a week but you may be required for up to 30'. People cannot live like that.
Proper shift patterns with set days and times for retail workers should be compulsory.

[wowfudge]

There's no way England will get rid of Sunday trading - I think it's the most lucrative day of the week for retailers. If not it's hot on the heels of Saturday. I vaguely remember from uni that the UK had to agree to shops opening on Sundays for EU law reasons, but we were allowed to add restrictions. Ironically practically every EU country I've been to has minimal Sunday trading unless it's a holiday resort where the season is defined, e.g. in Spain El Corte Ingles is open, but few other supermarkets, depending on where you are.

[blankethog]

@mrsfussypants. No I absolutely understand and I feel so sorry for those who work in a company were they aren't valued or supported by their superiors, I'm by no means denying that it happens. I was just trying to show the other side of it

[JustTryingToGetThroughThis]

The poor staff. Having worked in retail for a large employer we used to get double pay on a Sunday. I left anyway.
But I'd definitely opt out of Sundays if they permanently changed as I can see that coming.

[Smellbellina]

I’d love to see Sunday trading restrictions abolished for good.

[puffinkoala]

many retail staff aren't in a union nothing at all to stop them joining a union. Maybe they should.

[puffinkoala]

I hope they do suspend the Sunday trading laws. The only reason we still have them at all is because the SNP refused to support change in David Cameron's time (even though the laws are, surprisingly given the Presbyterian tradition, looser in Scotland).

I also hope that shops will do away with zero hours contracts and do what they did in my day - "adults" working in the week and students/sixth formers working at weekends with some "adult" supervision.

It will also mean more hours in which to shop, so fewer queues. And if people don't have to queue they might actually go to a shop. At the moment they can open all they like on 15th, people aren't going to go (or maybe they are given the massive queues to get into IKEA).

On the IKEA question - are they being fined as they shouldn't have opened until 15th? Or does the fact they sell meatballs mean they are a food shop

[cushioncovers]

I don't understand the worry about staff working Sundays. The fact that shops are open Sundays isn't the problem imo it's the fact that some employers don't give staff the flexibility to choose not to work a Sunday.

[user1972548274]

I must say I prefer a proper, quiet day off of the world which everyone gets.

Carers, police, hospital staff, sewage and water treatment workers, national grid, transport network staff, ambulance staff, call handlers, emergency plumbers/electricians/gas engineers, cleaners, restaurant staff, crisis teams, care home staff, residential schools, prison staff...