Should Shops Be Shut Boxing Day?

trixie73

I work as a domestic in a nursing home. I'm working 24th,25th,26th,27th and 28th and then I'm off to lanzarote for a week. Fine by me. These places don't shut so someone has to work.

Pennywise

Shops have opened on Sundays, bank holidays and Boxing Day for a couple of decades or more. Most of the staff know that when they accept job offers, certainly all those middle aged and under, and probably a large proportion of those older who have accepted job offers in the last 20 years. It's no surprise that retail workers may be required to work on these days.

Murphybear

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Ordinarily I would be on the side of family life, but given it's actually become quite common for certain shops to be open on Boxing Day and that the country can now not afford to stop trading for a second, I say throw those doors wide open.

The arguments re: other religions are specious. Christmas is the national holiday and the only two days when most trading ceases in England are Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.

Shops close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday because they have no choice. I suspect a lot of the shops would open if they could. It wasn't that long ago that shops opened on Boxing Day, remember the Boxing Day sales?

Pennywise

Murphybear wrote: »

Shops close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday because they have no choice. I suspect a lot of the shops would open if they could. It wasn't that long ago that shops opened on Boxing Day, remember the Boxing Day sales?

It's at least 21 years. We've been married 21 years and I know for a fact that we've always gone shopping in the sales every Boxing Day since we got married. (I know because the first year we were married, we took my father in law and he died 20 years ago!)

As for Christmas Day, our village Spar shop opens 10-3. It's entirely optional for the staff who get double pay and time off in lieu. The owners are very clear that if there are no staff volunteers it won't open. But every year, the younger staff in particular volunteer and usually split it between two shifts - 10-12.30 and then 12.30-3 to spread it. I know a couple of the staff and they're very clear that there's no coercion or pushiness involved - purely voluntary and apparently there's always a brilliant atmosphere so the staff actually enjoy it.

humptydumptybits

I grew up in a very multi cultural area so I know that in the 1960s maybe the 1950s we had local shops open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Tammykitty

ScarletMarble wrote: »

There are the two extremes. The one I mentioned earlier - buying for the night's meal and an item or two. Then the above,

I don't understand why people buy stupid amounts of bread or milk. I have been at someone's for Christmas Day and Boxing Day - there were 14 of us (2 kids) and we only consumed about 3 pints over the 2 days for hot drinks and a bit of custard for the 2-3 that have to have custard on their Christmas pudding.

We could easily go through 6L of Milk in 2 days in my family, especially around Christmas.


Cereal/Museli for breakfast for 5 people, tea/coffee for 5 people about 4 times a day, a glass of milk with dinner
And then on top of that, used for making cream and coffee.
A pint of milk lasts about 1 day for 1 person in my world.

Cetshwayo

Murphybear wrote: »

remember the Boxing Day sales?

They will be on this year as usual in my neck of the woods.

System

Easter Sunday, the supermarkets and large shops are closed, but the smaller shops - those under 3000sq in England and Wales, are open. I drove past a Sainsburys Local and people were queuing to get into the 20 space car park.

Sad people that can't plan

Tallaght

I can remember when things such as football matches were banned on a sunday.

System

Pennywise wrote: »

It's at least 21 years. We've been married 21 years and I know for a fact that we've always gone shopping in the sales every Boxing Day since we got married. (I know because the first year we were married, we took my father in law and he died 20 years ago!)

As for Christmas Day, our village Spar shop opens 10-3. It's entirely optional for the staff who get double pay and time off in lieu. The owners are very clear that if there are no staff volunteers it won't open. But every year, the younger staff in particular volunteer and usually split it between two shifts - 10-12.30 and then 12.30-3 to spread it. I know a couple of the staff and they're very clear that there's no coercion or pushiness involved - purely voluntary and apparently there's always a brilliant atmosphere so the staff actually enjoy it.

I understand that some young shop workers would do this as rather work a couple of hours for more pay to get a day off later - probably use it in Jan when they got exams