Should Sunday Trading Laws Be Scrapped?

[naomi24]

MPs call for Sunday trading laws to be scrapped to ease supermarket queues during coronavirus outbreak.

MPs describe the six-hour opening limit as “absurd” when the elderly and hard-working NHS staff are struggling to beat panic-buyers.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11279384/sunday-trading-laws-scrap-coronavirus/

A law that is outdated, restrictive, and especially right now distinctly unhelpful. Would you be happy to see shops given free rein to choose their own opening hours?

[Theland]

Seems to make sense.

[Deskdiary]

Yes.

I've always found the Sunday trading laws odd; my understanding is they were driven by the church, and I've never understood why the church should hold any sway on the Government that would stop me from going to Sainsbury's at 4.05pm to buy a loaf of bread or to Homebase to buy some screws.

What they hell has it got to do with the church?

If companies want to trade on a Sunday at hours they decide, then it should be entirely up to them; if it turns out it's unprofitable to do so, they would soon stop.

[fiction-factory]

On the other hand it might encourage more people just to nip out again and pick up some more toilet roll or eggs just in case.

I'd welcome it though.

The main supermarkets must be doing pretty well in all this. No need for all those "spend £50 get £7 off" vouchers, no 3 for 2 offers, beans sold individually rather than multipacks, extra beer /wine sales.

[MartinMillar]

Yes, however it will never happen in some ultra religious stronghold areas

[aelmpvw]

// beans sold individually//
we'll know things are serious when that happens

[Tilly2]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ZGKTvyuvq5-Q7SU6Y_M_ryvFSy3Rv4juTvxWk1T24i-gg8mgebm9KA291FfH5ig8QjzRzn9IMDXYlr5WPJHPg_SfR-_hID3O2o7R0Cj_quTosGCf

[fiction-factory]

Yes, "bean on crumbs" before long

[naomi24]

//it will never happen in some ultra religious stronghold areas //

I don't know of any ultra religious stronghold areas. Stamford Hill and surrounds perhaps, but the ultra religious there are Jewish. They won't care if shops open all day on Sundays.

[grumpy01]

They could be set aside for the duration of the Coronavirus lockdown but not permanently.As a supermarket worker you wouldn’t believe the number of people who postpone their shopping until 3.45 so as to look for reduced veg etc.Therefore if you were open until 10.00 p.m. people would be waiting until 9.45 to come to shop.

[Theland]

Should public transport also abolish Sunday service timetable?
Should there not be something special about the weekend?

[MartinMillar]

Northern Ireland Naomi

[naomi24]

Oh right.

[ToraToraTora]

Yes, they should have been scrapped years ago anyway.

[Old_Geezer]

As long as laws exist to protect workers' rights and no one is expected to be forced in, either directly or under pressure, then fine.

[douglas9401]

We don't have this nonsense any more.
We have different oppressive rules but not the opening hours stuff.

[emmie]

they should be allowed to open whenever, particularly on a sunday for the time this virus continues.

[fraser]

The shops shouldn't open on a Sunday give the staff a day off if people can't do there shopping over six days,tough!! By the way I work in retail and there's plenty of food if people shop normally!!!!!

[emmie]

i shop on line, have done so for some time for health reasons, but you can't get to speak to anyone at sainsburys at all, the phone lines just give you
an automated message then goes dead.

[retrocop]

We have a Cheam Food Centre near us and very handy it is to. It's got a bakery and butchery. It sells all manner of canned and dried foodstuffs as well as vegetables and fruit. It is open 7 days a week from 0800hrs to 2200hrs including Sunday.It is a Turkish owned concern! Poor old Sainsbury directly opposite has to dutifully close at 1600 on Sundays. Just not cricket.

https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1168/88140.php