Sunday trading hours.

[Nibble]

A gut feeling tells me its not a good idea but as someone said, one is not forced to shop. The problem I have with it is the staff that will be pressured to work extra on a Sunday. Hardly any high st retailer pays their staff extra to work on a Sunday as it stands and I can't see they'll change that if they extend the hours. Some staff may appreciate the extra work but many on zero hour contracts will find themselves not getting any hours if they refuse work on a Sunday.

When I worked at Topman I used to see, on a daily basis, staff being coerced into staying on until the shop floor was tidy. this could often mean an extra half hours work on top of their scheduled hours. This half hour would be totally unpaid, it was built into the culture of "helping out". Okay. But half an hour a day adds up to 2,5 hours a week, 10 hours a month 120 hours a year. That's 15 days of free labour from each member of staff, every year. Basically, that's your two week annual leave the company effectively doesn't have to pay for.

Just one more reason I won't be sad to see the high st as we know it, disappear.

 

[GT49er]

if not on religious grounds, why not Friday or Tuesdays? why does a day have to be left alone?

Because it's part of the weekend, not part of the Monday to Friday standard working week. Ever heard of tradition? What about playing football matches on a Wednesday afternoon instead of Saturdays? - that would be a perfectly reasonable idea according to your logic.

 

[atfc village]

I have to say that when i worked nights in a supermarket the day staff on a Sunday were in between 7 and 8 and working before the store opened.Later day staff came in and were still there at 6 or 7 in the evening.Us nightstaff were given an option if it was avaliable of starting at 4 on a Sunday and working through till 8 Monday morning ,we lapped it up as 4 till 12 was double time.Staff will do the time to top up the minimum wage they earn,so stores may as well be open.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I have to say that when i worked nights in a supermarket the day staff on a Sunday were in between 7 and 8 and working before the store opened.Later day staff came in and were still there at 6 or 7 in the evening.Us nightstaff were given an option if it was avaliable of starting at 4 on a Sunday and working through till 8 Monday morning ,we lapped it up as 4 till 12 was double time.Staff will do the time to top up the minimum wage they earn,so stores may as well be open.

Things have changed in supermarkets , staff don't get paid a premium for working on a Sunday and those on nights get an extra £2 an hour more than the day rate. Sainsburys in particular are trialling replenishment during twilight shifts (10pm finish) and early shifts (5am starts) to eliminate costs with the conventional night shift reduced to skeleton staffing.

 

[atfc village]

Things have changed in supermarkets , staff don't get paid a premium for working on a Sunday and those on nights get an extra £2 an hour more than the day rate. Sainsburys in particular are trialling replenishment during twilight shifts (10pm finish) and early shifts (5am starts) to eliminate costs with the conventional night shift reduced to skeleton staffing.

That doesn't suprise me ,i got out when we were taken over by the company that insists everyone is a partner.They give everyone every other Weekend off ,which meant i would lose 26 Sundays which was roughly£ 2500 a year and i couldn't afford to do that.

 

[Frutos]

Wasn't Woolies one of the largest, if not the largest high street retailer in the country before it went bust.

You misunderstand - I was using 'big' in the sense of the physical size and layout of the place I work. Being open at any time with fewer than 4 staff is not possible.

 

[seagull_in_malaysia]

I see it as a sad indictment of modern life myself. An extra day to buy more shit we probably don't need and don't have time to buy during the week as we're commuting for over 2 hours a day.

2 hours a day? You're living the easy life!

 

[sully]

........plus paying someone to come in an hour before opening to get things switched on and sorted out, plus half an hour afterwards to shut everything down, plus the cleaning staff, plus the increased P&H costs

How does working longer on a day you're already open make any difference to these costs?

 

[Frutos]

How does working longer on a day you're already open make any difference to these costs?

Because you'll have a situation where either that person will be working a longer day and hence being paid more, or you have to employ another person to do some of the OOH stuff or you have to alter someone's shift to account for it, leaving a gap somewhere in the day to be covered.