Should all shops be closed on Boxing Day?

jackieblack

maman wrote: »

Since the 80s shopping has become a hobby for so many people we won't turn the clock back now.

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

I am not a religious person myself but shopping does seem to have become the new religion for some.

Any relation between this and the fact that credit card debt is at a record high? :think:

duchy

This thread has some very unintentionally funny posts from people who clearly have no idea that getting annual leave in December in retail is simply not possible (not just difficult but a complete embargo).

I have to wonder if these people who think a Boxing Day shopping ban would be an attack on their 'uman rights would be quite so keen on the seven day week if their Monday to Friday office job contract was changed to seven days opening and THEY were expected to work the same number of hours but between 5am and midnight and any days of the week their employer dreamed best including bank holidays with no premium shift payments , just the same rate as nine to five.

Actually this will come eventually as people push the seven days a week 24 hours a day culture further and further and the expectation of other sectors offering the same availability spreads further. Government departments were never available outside of office hours but now you can ring tax credits evenings and weekends and even the tax office. These changes go beyond retail and are slowly but surely spreading.

SunnyCyprus

I did work for Next for 2 years, and I had no choice but to work the Christmas sale. "Needs of the business" in the contract....
so after a hectic Christmas Eve working until 8pm to prep the store for Boxing Day, (the store closed at 5pm) I did our family xmas day, cooked, cleaned, entertained etc.. and was back in work at 3.45am to start at 4am. I worked in the warehouse so this was our last hour to prepare the shop floor. Customers and been parked outside since 2am though..

it really saddened me and just made the whole xmas feel like a non-event. Retail is non essential, there is absolutely no need for shops to open the day after xmas.

Now my other half is in retail, and dreading the 'xmas day off'. At the very least I would wish to see reduced opening hours allowed on Boxing Day.

catkins

duchy wrote: »

This thread has some very unintentionally funny posts from people who clearly have no idea that getting annual leave in December in retail is simply not possible (not just difficult but a complete embargo).

I have to wonder if these people who think a Boxing Day shopping ban would be an attack on their 'uman rights would be quite so keen on the seven day week if their Monday to Friday office job contract was changed to seven days opening and THEY were expected to work the same number of hours but between 5am and midnight and any days of the week their employer dreamed best including bank holidays with no premium shift payments , just the same rate as nine to five.

Actually this will come eventually as people push the seven days a week 24 hours a day culture further and further and the expectation of other sectors offering the same availability spreads further. Government departments were never available outside of office hours but now you can ring tax credits evenings and weekends and even the tax office. These changes go beyond retail and are slowly but surely spreading.

So many people just don't have a clue or probably don't care just as long as they can have the time off to go shopping.

As you say, it's not just Christmas but the whole of December that is virtually impossible to take any time off. Someone I worked with got married in December and was told they should not have booked it for that month! Eventually they were told they could have the Saturday off to get married but no time off for honeymoon! Needless to say the person left.

Also a lot of people seem to think you can refuse to work and still keep your job - yeah right! Also that you get paid extra. If that were true it might making having to work slightly better although given a choice I would not have done it for 5 times a day's salary.

SunnyCyprus wrote: »

I did work for Next for 2 years, and I had no choice but to work the Christmas sale. "Needs of the business" in the contract....
so after a hectic Christmas Eve working until 8pm to prep the store for Boxing Day, (the store closed at 5pm) I did our family xmas day, cooked, cleaned, entertained etc.. and was back in work at 3.45am to start at 4am. I worked in the warehouse so this was our last hour to prepare the shop floor. Customers and been parked outside since 2am though..

it really saddened me and just made the whole xmas feel like a non-event. Retail is non essential, there is absolutely no need for shops to open the day after xmas.

Now my other half is in retail, and dreading the 'xmas day off'. At the very least I would wish to see reduced opening hours allowed on Boxing Day.

Exactly. I love Christmas and it is a very special time in my family. The years I worked in retail were the worst Christmases I have had.

Admittedly I did not have to do the early start that you did but I did have to stay late Christmas Eve when all I wanted to do was go home and start preparing the veg for the meal I cook for 16. Instead I got home tired and usually in a bad mood.

So Christmas Day would be so hectic with all the food preparation, then the cooking, then the clearing away. I would still have a great time with my family but, as I said, I would have to leave about 11pm at the absolute latest knowing everyone else was going to be chatting, playing games etc until at least 2am.

Being at work with the few sad customers who feel it necessary to shop I would just keep thinking of the fun all the rest of my family were having.

Christmas is 2 days not 1 and is special for a lot of people. It's hard for it to be special when you have to work one of the days and it is completely unnecessary

Dird

catkins wrote: »

No they should not be free to open when they want. I know I never wanted to work Sundays or bank holidays and neither did probably 95% of the people I worked with.

So they will add a premium to the pay on days 95% don't want to work making the 5% happier

Christmas is a family time
Boxing Day isn't Christmas. Boxing Day is when the Boxing Day Sales happen. I say let them open as long as they want, if not enough customer throughput they will naturally adjust closing times. I had a mini-emergency Sunday night then remembered Asda is forced to close.

POPPYOSCAR

jackieblack wrote: »

Any relation between this and the fact that credit card debt is at a record high? :think:

I would say so.

A friend of my daughter recently gave her two bags full of clothes with the tags still on.

She continually buys things but never wears them. Does not even try them on and never takes anything back.

POPPYOSCAR

catkins wrote: »

I makes no difference that it is a public holiday, you are forced to work. The same applies to all the bank holidays.

Why do you love going shopping on Boxing Day? Surely you could wait until the following day? Personally I find it sad that anyone would want to go shopping when there are so many other things they could be doing.

As I and others have said lots of people are NOT willing to work it but are made to

Yes it is laughable to suggest that some people have a choice.

In this day and age if you value your job and want to keep it you have to go along with what is required of you or suffer the consequences somewhere along the line.

Kim_kim

duchy wrote: »

This thread has some very unintentionally funny posts from people who clearly have no idea that getting annual leave in December in retail is simply not possible (not just difficult but a complete embargo).

I have to wonder if these people who think a Boxing Day shopping ban would be an attack on their 'uman rights would be quite so keen on the seven day week if their Monday to Friday office job contract was changed to seven days opening and THEY were expected to work the same number of hours but between 5am and midnight and any days of the week their employer dreamed best including bank holidays with no premium shift payments , just the same rate as nine to five.

Actually this will come eventually as people push the seven days a week 24 hours a day culture further and further and the expectation of other sectors offering the same availability spreads further. Government departments were never available outside of office hours but now you can ring tax credits evenings and weekends and even the tax office. These changes go beyond retail and are slowly but surely spreading.

I've never worked in retail.

I'm one of those lucky people who work mon to fri. I get 28 days leave, plus bank holidays. I can work flexibly & accrue toil (in practice I do the hours but never record it, but if I want a half day I know I have it in the bank a million times over, it's my choice), I can work from home & if I had a doctors appointment I could work from home & then nip out for the doctors apoointment.

I really feel for retail staff in the run up to xmas & think Boxing Day should be no shopping as retail staff don't get a choice in the matter!!

Kim_kim

Dird wrote: »

So they will add a premium to the pay on days 95% don't want to work making the 5% happier

Christmas is a family time
Boxing Day isn't Christmas. Boxing Day is when the Boxing Day Sales happen. I say let them open as long as they want, if not enough customer throughput they will naturally adjust closing times. I had a mini-emergency Sunday night then remembered Asda is forced to close.

I'm pretty sure they used to be called January sales & started in January.

Scrimps

Some interesting posts in this thread. My view is that a lot of the posters are confusing promotion workers rights and mitigating peoples 'sad' urge to shop with closing the shops.

I have worked in retail previously.
I do not like to shop as a hobby.
I do not like the consumerist aspects of our society.
I dont even do secret santa because the gifts people buy are usually for the sake of buying them only and are just useless tat - though I have seen some good gifts. I give the money to Shelter instead.
I certainly dont want people to be forced to work over Christmas.

The above reason is not enough for me to want to close the shops on Boxing day.
If your are worried about people being forced to work on Christmas day, work on the issues forcing them - workers rights.
If you're worried about the over consumption in our society - If the argument is that people can wait for one day before shopping, the argument doesnt follow that preventing people from shopping for one day will have any impact. Sure, make people wait until January as suggested if you like but the same stuff will still be sold and bought so whats the outcome youre looking for?

Feel free to judge people to be 'sad' enough to traipse around the shops over boxing day but that doesnt mean you should take it away.

I usually chose to work over christmas. Once, I couldnt get work over Christmas. I came home from work on Christmas eve to an empty house, proceeded to eat cheese and crackers and drink for the evening watching TV. Christmas day, I essentially did the same - on my own. Yes I went to the shops on Boxing day, despite the heticness, it was nice to get out into the hustle and bustle. Christmas should be a time for family (according to you), but if you dont have any, it can be awfully lonely, so you can go to the shops where there is some hustle and bustle to break the loneliness, that may be 'sad' - feel free to judge again.

I should state, I was on my own because I chose to stay and give the cats their meds whilst my husband visited family out of county. ETA, yes I am aware that this was all my choice and I could have volunteered or something more useful. I didnt make that choice, my point was about judging people who choose to visit the shops.

Also, I do shop online over Christmas for things I need. It usually sorts me out for work clothes for the rest of the year more cheaply. Its not important enough for me to get worked up over it though.

No, you should not close shops by dictate. I will not sign the petition.