Curly’s Corner Shop, the blog!

Retailers want to extend hours

It bothers me quite a lot that retailers are seeking an extension of four hours to the regulated six that are allowed on Sundays as they seek to squeeze the last few pounds out of us before Christmas. Despite this going against the grain of my libertarian views (for every rule their must be an exception), some might argue that there is nothing wrongwith allowing shops to be open 24/7 if they so wish. Shops – except for the very smallest – are allowed to open their tills for no more than six hours on a Sunday, a law which came into force in 1994 after a long struggle by the business community (led primarily by the B&Q driven Sunday Shopworkers Association and the British Retiling Consortium).

My own significant experience of retailing suggests that sales hit their peak on the final Saturday before Christmas and that any subsequent activity after then is confined to the food and drink sectors. Retailers seem to forget the reasons why Sunday trading is restricted to six hours, the law was amended with compromise in mind and to recognise the special circumstances of Sundays. Many shopworkers are Christian and some would wish to allow some time for religious observance and to be allowed to spend quality time with their families, even more so as they appraoch one of the Christian calendars most significant days. Larger retailers often forget too that their own staff need a little space and time to complete their own domestic arrangements to celebrate Christmas.

It is easy for the rest of us to think that working on a Sunday in a shop is just for another six hours, this is not the case, many staff start work long before the shop opens and don’t complete their shifts until after the stores close, stcock needs to be replenished and housework needs to be completed to ensure that the store is ready to trade the following day. A four hour extension would involve extra hours for many people.

I doubt that it would bring much help to retailers in South Shields either, the few Sundays before Christmas see some extra activity in King Street but you can hardly claim that every shop is open, any additional extension would be likely to drive our customers to Newcastle, Sunderland, or the Metro Centre.

Having succeeded in getting the law changed in 1994, (mainly on their terms) I think that the largest retailers should be happy to conform to the regulations as they stand, and more importantly give some relief to their staff rather than their shareholders!