Morrisons to close all stores on Boxing Day

[Jamesrob637]

As per the article:

Morrisons to give workers Boxing Day off

The supermarket chain has given all its 111,000 staff the day off as a reward for their work during the pandemic.

www.bbc.co.uk

Morrisons will close its almost 500 shops on Boxing Day giving more than 110,000 staff the day off.
The supermarket, the UK's fourth-largest, said it wanted to reward staff for working hard in the pandemic.
Last year, some supermarkets gave staff Boxing Day off as a thank you for their hard work keeping essential services running during the pandemic.
Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home and The Entertainer were all shut on 26 December 2020.

What a great move! Hope more will follow suit. However, did we really need a pandemic to make this happen?! Sad state of affairs if we did!

 

[scotrail158713]

If I recall correctly, have Aldi not done similar in previous years?

 

[Gloster]

A cynic might comment that they are making a business decision as they estimate that footfall in their stores on Boxing Day will be so low that it is not worth opening them. So, hey, presto, it is made to look like a benevolent act of generosity to and consideration for their employees.

 

[johnnychips]

I don’t know about supermarkets in particular, but at Meadowhall seems to have their busiest day of the year on Boxing Day. So no doubt Morrisons employees can now join the queue up and down the M1.

 

[eastdyke]

A cynic might comment that they are making a business decision as they estimate that footfall in their stores on Boxing Day will be so low that it is not worth opening them. So, hey, presto, it is made to look like a benevolent act of generosity to and consideration for their employees.

Bearing in mind that 'Boxing Day' this year will be a Sunday which will be followed by 2 Public Holidays I think that your cynical thought may well be on the money!

 

[Mag_seven]

Bearing in mind that 'Boxing Day' this year will be a Sunday which will be followed by 2 Public Holidays I think that your cynical thought may well be on the money!

The article doesn't actually name the date - it just states "Boxing Day". Technically "Boxing Day" is actually Monday 27th Dec this year as the 26th falls on a Sunday. ("Boxing Day" cannot fall on a Sunday).

 

[CrispyUK]

The article doesn't actually name the date - it just states "Boxing Day". Technically "Boxing Day" is actually Monday 27th Dec this year as the 26th falls on a Sunday. ("Boxing Day" cannot fall on a Sunday).

Boxing Day is Sunday 26th December this year.
The associated public holiday is on Tuesday 28th December. Monday 27th December is the public holiday date for Christmas Day (which falls on Saturday).

 

[birchesgreen]

Waitrose do not open on Boxing Day, i personally think no supermarket or big shop needs to.

 

[eastdyke]

The article doesn't actually name the date - it just states "Boxing Day". Technically "Boxing Day" is actually Monday 27th Dec this year as the 26th falls on a Sunday. ("Boxing Day" cannot fall on a Sunday).

I cannot find any credible source to back up your assertion! As @CrispyUK says it is the Public Holiday that moves not the named day itself.

 

[Hadders]

Boxing Day is generally one of the busiest days of the year for non-food retailers.

Supermarkets selling large ranges of non-food will generally want to take advantage of this. Sunday trading laws could impact that this year but the general principle still holds true.

 

[nlogax]

We need to be precise here. Boxing Day is always December 26th. This year the 26th falls over a weekend, the substitute public holiday will be on Tuesday, December 28th.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Food stores should never open on Sundays. I think they opened illegally on Sundays many years ago and the authorities did not bother enforcing the law.
..
When I saw the title of this, I wondered if the stores were closing permanently.

 

[Paul Jones 88]

Yes, how I miss those lovely peaceful Sundays where there was hardly any road traffic and the only sound was that of a distant church bell and children playing.

 

[yorksrob]

Those Sundays of old were boring, with school hanging over you.

Seriously, as a country we'd be better off moving to the 4 day week IMO.

 

[Gloster]

Yes, how I miss those lovely peaceful Sundays where there was hardly any road traffic and the only sound was that of a distant church bell and children playing.

...or people mowing the lawn, revving the engine while repairing the car or drilling holes when doing DIY. It often wasn’t so idyllic as those pictures to be seen on jigsaw puzzles, but it did allow people to be together (for good or bad). Nowadays we are expected to spend all our time acting as working drones or living the consumer society.

 

[Snow1964]

A cynic might comment that they are making a business decision as they estimate that footfall in their stores on Boxing Day will be so low that it is not worth opening them. So, hey, presto, it is made to look like a benevolent act of generosity to and consideration for their employees.

It’s a Sunday so would be restricted hours anyway.

I actually worked in a supermarket for 3 years, but it was before the open on bank holidays greediness (1981-84 at Safeway, which were taken over by Morrisons) we used to shut 4pm Christmas Eve, then store stayed shut for 4 days, reopening 29th December. (but was open on Saturday if 29th was a Sunday to avoid 5 day closure)

So two days off instead of the old 4 days off is not that charitable historically.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Food stores should never open on Sundays. I think they opened illegally on Sundays many years ago and the authorities did not bother enforcing the law.

Didn't things change back in 1994 in England pursuant to the Sunday Trading Act, allowing most bigger stores (ones over 280 sq. metres floor area, including food stores) to legitimately be open/trading but only for up to six hours between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm on Sundays (and never on a Christmas Day or Easter Sunday)?

Trading hours for retailers: the law

Trading hours for retailers, restrictions on Sunday opening and public holiday opening in England, Wales and Scotland.

www.gov.uk

 

[Hadders]

Food stores should never open on Sundays

What is a food store? My local newsagent sells a range of grocery, soft drinks and chilled foods. Should they be allowed to open?

Should non-food shops be allowed to open on Sundays? My local supermarket has over half its space devoted to non-food products, would you allow them to open?

I think they opened illegally on Sundays many years ago and the authorities did not bother enforcing the law.

The previous law (1950 I think) didn’t prohibit shops from opening on Sundays but what it did do is restrict which items could be sold.

It ended up with the ridiculous situation where it was illegal to sell a bible on a Sunday but not a pornographic magazine.

The 1994 Act is a reasonable compromise in my opinion and has worked well for over 25 years.

 

[Busaholic]

What is a food store? My local newsagent sells a range of grocery, soft drinks and chilled foods. Should they be allowed to open?

Should non-food shops be allowed to open on Sundays? My local supermarket has over half its space devoted to non-food products, would you allow them to open?


The previous law (1950 I think) didn’t prohibit shops from opening on Sundays but what it did do is restrict which items could be sold.

It ended up with the ridiculous situation where it was illegal to sell a bible on a Sunday but not a pornographic magazine.

The 1994 Act is a reasonable compromise in my opinion and has worked well for over 25 years.

It's the size of the trading area that governs whether a shop can open for more than six hours on a Sunday (within the bounds of 10 a.m. earliest to 6 p.m. latest.) Some stores attempt to get round these hurdles by opening for' browsing' half an hour before till sales are allowed, or a supermarket opening its cafe earlier. I often got asked why I didn't open my bookshop on Sundays on a regular basis, and my reply was that I already worked a six day week, plus evenings on admin and cleaning, and I needed a break just like the questioner (who, inevitably, was someone who'd never frequented the shop during the six full days it was always open, plus Summer evenings.)

 

[brad465]

Food stores should never open on Sundays. I think they opened illegally on Sundays many years ago and the authorities did not bother enforcing the law.
..
When I saw the title of this, I wondered if the stores were closing permanently.

Given they're about to be taken over by a private equity firm the way things are going, there may well be permanent store closures ahead, and at the same time this sort of Boxing Day closure will be short lived in future.

Of course such equity firm practice should be illegal, but that's another story.

 

[trainophile]

Goodness, Christmas Eve is going to be even more pandemonium than usual.

 

[Ianno87]

Goodness, Christmas Eve is going to be even more pandemonium than usual.

Supermarkets are usually busy (Saturday morning level) in the morning, dead as a doornails after lunch.

 

[trainophile]

Supermarkets are usually busy (Saturday morning level) in the morning, dead as a doornails after lunch.

With empty shelves?

 

[Hadders]

The 23rd December is normally the busiest trading day in a supermarket and Christmas Eve in convenience stores.

Opening early on a Sunday for browsing isn’t a loophole, it’s specifically allowed in the law as is ‘shopping up time’ after the store has closed.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Goodness, Christmas Eve is going to be even more pandemonium than usual.

Yes, because a small subset of the shopping population, who probably do a “big shop” once a week, are going to have to manage two days when they can’t go to Moggy’s.

I find it genuinely baffling how people “need” to be doing food shopping on Boxing Day morning

 

[Ianno87]

I find it genuinely baffling how people “need” to be doing food shopping on Boxing Day morning

Sadly, it's a "day out" to some.

 

[trainophile]

Yes, because a small subset of the shopping population, who probably do a “big shop” once a week, are going to have to manage two days when they can’t go to Moggy’s.

I find it genuinely baffling how people “need” to be doing food shopping on Boxing Day morning

It used to be the first day of the sales, before they became a year round event. Doesn't account for food I agree, but if you have a large family or lots of relatives staying there's things like milk and bread that can be needed. Even booze!

 

[Jamesrob637]

It used to be the first day of the sales, before they became a year round event. Doesn't account for food I agree, but if you have a large family or lots of relatives staying there's things like milk and bread that can be needed. Even booze!

Family-run stores are often open on Boxing Day especially if the owners don't really celebrate Christmas.

 

[DelayRepay]

I don’t know about supermarkets in particular, but at Meadowhall seems to have their busiest day of the year on Boxing Day. So no doubt Morrisons employees can now join the queue up and down the M1.

Many years ago, I worked at Meadowhall. When I started working there in the late 90s, the store I worked in was closed on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. But when we started opening, your observation is correct, they were both very busy days.

The store I worked in was the supermarket, which has long since closed. I was always amazed at how much food people would buy on Boxing Day, given my own family had enough left overs to last us for at least a week.

The job I did meant I started work at 5am. I was always amused to see people already queueing outside Meadowhall for the sales when I arrived at work (which would be about 4:30am!). They were mainly waiting for the Next sale, I think.

 

[wireforever]

Are they closing to give the staff more time off or to put in more self service tills to get rid of staff would not surprise me if this is the case