Should shops be allowed to open on Boxing Day?

Should shops be allowed to open on Boxing Day?

  • Yes

    Votes: 23 34.8%

  • No

    Votes: 43 65.2%
  • Total voters
    66
cambsno said:
No, but the majority I would guess do have family and enjoy Christmas - whether that's from a religious perspective of just getting blind drunk!

Would shops being shut for 2 days really put people out that much?
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The vast majority don't work on boxing day either.
Not going to be able to please everyone.
 
mrgubby said:
My kids work(ed) in the kitchens at Wetherspoons & Greene King. Retail has it easy :)
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At least in retail it's a minority of customers who are either pished or doing their damnedest to get there!
 
Scrap the bank holidays and get everyone back to work . You can guarantee the the ones who'll complain about the shops been closed will be those office workers who work 9-5, and come into my work at five minutes to closing and then keep us there half hour after closing . Its not like we work enough hours in a day as it is 7.30-6.30 ,most days without a proper break !
 
Anyone working in retail has my respect TBH, I had a brief (6 months) foray as a manager for a very large pet pet superstore, when it first opened here.
6 months was plenty!

TBH I don't think anyone should be forced to work Bank holidays etc, after all "our" local Indian / Pakistani family run business are more than happy to take our money what ever day
of the year it is.

It never ceases to amaze me all the people you see, stocking up for a siege just because the shops are shut 1 day a year.
I hate to think what would happen, if, God forbid, shops should shut two days a year, let alone on Sundays as well!
 
BigJohn said:
Scrap the bank holidays and get everyone back to work . You can guarantee the the ones who'll complain about the shops been closed will be those office workers who work 9-5, and come into my work at five minutes to closing and then keep us there half hour after closing . Its not like we work enough hours in a day as it is 7.30-6.30 ,most days without a proper break !
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Employment law dictates break entitlements, retail or not.
 
mrgubby said:
My kids work(ed) in the kitchens at Wetherspoons & Greene King. Retail has it easy :)
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I used to do that when I was younger. Christmas Day and Boxing Day were fantastic days for tips in a restaurant. I easily got about £200 per night. Then in the Army I was the senior ranking officer for our Kazerne two years running, which was an interesting experience. Although technically I was able to decline I saw it as a life opportunity which I may not get again, and it did help me progress. Unfortunately/Fortunately these things are part of life, always good to make the most of it.
 
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Cobra said:
It never ceases to amaze me all the people you see, stocking up for a siege just because the shops are shut 1 day a year.
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Or could it be for a big family xmas get together?
 
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nilagin said:
Or could it be for a big family xmas get together?
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It's possible but by and large it looks like they could feed a family of 10 for a months....
just with the basics, gallons of milk dozens of loves, never saw any fish though, not even 1 pack of 2 ;)
 
viv1969 said:
Employment law dictates break entitlements, retail or not.
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Just because it's the law , it doesn't mean it's enforced . I work in a fairly busy branch running on two staff members a day . Due to the nature of the trade we can spend hours with a customer sometimes , so if someone is on their legally require rest period there will no doubt be other customers wanting to be served . The options are let the customers down so that they buy elsewhere thus loosing us money , or sacrifice your rest break so that customers are served and leave happy . Third option close for an hour at lunch , but again let the customers down as they no doubt have come out on their lunch break to purchase . I tend to have a working lunch at the counter , so at least I can eat something and break away if needed.
 
Cobra said:
It's possible but by and large it looks like they could feed a family of 10 for a months....
just with the basics, gallons of milk dozens of loves, never saw any fish though, not even 1 pack of 2 ;)
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You can never have too much love. You don't have to buy it though. ;)
 
BigJohn said:
Just because it's the law , it doesn't mean it's enforced . I work in a fairly busy branch running on two staff members a day . Due to the nature of the trade we can spend hours with a customer sometimes , so if someone is on their legally require rest period there will no doubt be other customers wanting to be served . The options are let the customers down so that they buy elsewhere thus loosing us money , or sacrifice your rest break so that customers are served and leave happy . Third option close for an hour at lunch , but again let the customers down as they no doubt have come out on their lunch break to purchase . I tend to have a working lunch at the counter , so at least I can eat something and break away if needed.
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Absolutely.
If someone is happy to forego their breaks voluntarily, that's fine...I do.
But for anyone forced to do so, they are covered by the law, and complaints must be upheld.
 
nilagin said:
You can never have too much love. You don't have to buy it though. ;)
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b****r!

I'm going to sacrifice this damned phone to Satan ....
Oh wait, no I already did that :D
 
BigJohn said:
Just because it's the law , it doesn't mean it's enforced . I work in a fairly busy branch running on two staff members a day . Due to the nature of the trade we can spend hours with a customer sometimes , so if someone is on their legally require rest period there will no doubt be other customers wanting to be served . The options are let the customers down so that they buy elsewhere thus loosing us money , or sacrifice your rest break so that customers are served and leave happy . Third option close for an hour at lunch , but again let the customers down as they no doubt have come out on their lunch break to purchase . I tend to have a working lunch at the counter , so at least I can eat something and break away if needed.
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Claim overtime, or don't work it. Unless it's your business or you have a stake in it you have no reason to give up your time for nothing.
 
dejongj said:
Then in the Army I was the senior ranking officer for our Kazerne two years running...
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Strangely enough my son in now in the army, he found basic training easy compared to working in a Kitchen :)
 
Dave70D said:
I think it should be close all shops, so family can spend a happy Christmas time together.
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Why only shops?

What makes them any better than staff at restaurants? fast food places? warehouses? airports? Train stations? hotels? Don't they also deserve to spend "happy Christmas time together"?

Surely if it's such a big deal then everything not declared as essential services should also be closed.

Why not start with staff who have to work on Xmas day? Like in pubs and restaurants...
 
I wouldn't mind this 24hr society so much ................ if teachers also :Dhad to cover school w/end opening
 
OldCarlos said:
I wouldn't mind this 24hr society so much ................ if teachers also :Dhad to cover school w/end opening
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They have enough holiday.
 
My opinion is

IF staff are given the OPTION and paid a PREMIUM for the day the why not
A lot of shops ( BIG NAMES ) force staff to work , I think this is wrong badly wrong :mad:
 
OldCarlos said:
I wouldn't mind this 24hr society so much ................ if teachers also :Dhad to cover school w/end opening
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Some do, all our school rugby matches were on Saturday mornings, plus there are a few schools around here where pupils attend on a Saturday as part of their normal week.
 
I have never shopped on Boxing Day so in that respect I don't mind if shops are open or not. However, if the shop workers are required/expected/coerced to work on Boxing Day then I'm against shops opening. No one is going to die if they don't shop on Boxing Day.

Dave
 
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Tringa said:
However, if the shop workers are required/expected/coerced to work on Boxing Day then I'm against shops opening. No one is doing to die if they don't shop on Boxing Day.

Dave
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That is the point , in this day and age due to only having to give four weeks holiday a year including bank holidays , businesses see this as a way of making bank holidays a working day unless booked as a holiday day . They then get around this by not authorising the holiday due to the needs of the business. All of this is totally legal , so they get away with it . We used to be paid a premium for bank holidays , but that stopped a while back . As did my wife , but again it has now been removed . The government take the stance of longer trading hours more staff thus more jobs , like they did with relaxing the Sunday trading laws . This is complete bull , and all that happens is staff are stretched more . The company I work for allow lone working for up to 2 hours every morning to control overtime, as a way of working to cover longer working hours . This however is a debate for another time .
 
StewartR said:
You mean like when Labour were elected in 1997 and repealed the 1994 Sunday Trading Act? ... Oh no, wait, i forgot, they didn't.

Or perhaps you were referring to Scotland, where trading hours are a matter for the Scottish Parliament. They're much more restrictive ... oh no, wait, sorry, I meant to say they have no restrictions on Sunday opening hours. Despite 17 years of devolved Labour / SNP government.
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I'm sure all that's right...except I wasn't talking about trading laws! I think shops should be open on Sundays, but staff shouldn't feel unable to negotiate with their employer for fear of getting the sack. My point was that some parties protect workers' rights and empower unions much more than others, and the Tories have a terrible record on both counts.
 
My son will be up at 6.00am on Christmas day to milk the cows, do a bit of sh!t shovelling and feeding etc.

and then he will be doing it again on boxing day


just saying
 
My point is there is a place between volunteering and coercion. In many jobs you need to be seen to be doing the right thing. People who turn up at 9 and leave on the dot of 5 get frowned upon by many managers compared to those that work through lunches, get in early etc... Nothing is said, but often those people will not be considered for awards/promotions etc... So, if I keep refusing to work on Sundays I may not get sacked or disciplined, but I may end up working rubbish shifts, being made to do other tasks and when it comes to losing headcount, probably one of the first to go. The business has done nothing 'legally wrong'.
 
FujiLove said:
I'm sure all that's right...except I wasn't talking about trading laws! I think shops should be open on Sundays, but staff shouldn't feel unable to negotiate with their employer for fear of getting the sack. My point was that some parties protect workers' rights and empower unions much more than others, and the Tories have a terrible record on both counts.
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You actually said "but don't vote Tory then moan about the shops being open!"

At the risk of being pedantic, that could imply that other parties wouldn't keep shops open whereas non of the parties would alter trading laws in any way so they are all the same as each other.

There is a balance between workers rights and business - look at the Southern train strike - a third of trains operate without guards as does the Underground, and the rail safety regulator says that its safe, yet the unions are wielding power in a political way. With the exception of zero hours contracts which I think should be stopped, I think we have a pretty decent balance (I cant sack anyone without good reasoning/evidence) and I don't think you can hardly say the Tories have a terrible record... unless I have missed the rebuilding of the workhouses.
 
sirch said:
My son will be up at 6.00am on Christmas day to milk the cows, do a bit of sh!t shovelling and feeding etc. and then he will be doing it again on boxing day just saying
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Any chance he could nip round here and sweep my chimney after? :D
Joking aside, I've worked in the "livestock" industry for a few years, in the past, so yes I know what it entails, but we just get on with it, don't we?


FujiLove said:
I hope your son's a farmer, otherwise he's going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble.

:whistle:
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:D
 
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