Tuesday, April 18, 2006
icNewcastle - Easter's last stand
Easter's last stand
This may have been the last Easter Sunday that shopworkers could enjoy with their families, if High Street chains such as Tesco, Ikea, and B&Q have their way. The current Sunday Trading laws restrict the hours that stores over 3000 square feet may open to a maximum of six. They are also not allowed to open on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day, however the retail giants are pressing the Dept. of Trade and Industry to remove these restrictions.
As a manager of a group of very hardworking sales assistants I can understand the arguements, both for and against, on both sides of the fence. The retailer who is sure that there is extra trade and profit to be taken, and the shopworker who gets precious little time with the family and children. There is also an external view to take into consideration, that is the view of the Church. This country is still essentially Christian with Christian beliefs, traditions, and history, and we may need to concede to the view that Sundays are a special day, and rather different in character to the other days of the week. Easter Sunday, therefore, must be seen as even more special than other Sundays.
The major chains still employed full quotas of staff on Easter Sunday this year, just to replenish the shelves after Saturday, and to be ready for a busy Bank Holiday Monday. Some staff will have volunteered to work that day, others will have been rostered and offered no choice at all, and remember there is very little "Sunday Premium" payment these days, except for those who are working on an overtime basis in excess of the 39 hour week. Premium payments for choosing to work Sundays can amount to as little as 4% of the annual salary, and some retailers offer nothing at all for those who contract in to working on Sundays.
Our experience in South Shields on Easter Sunday was that plenty people were expecting the shops to be open (despite advertising the opening hours for a two week period) and a great number of cars turned up and turned around in the car park. They went to a similar retailer on the opposite side of the road, just to discover that they were closed also - it does make you wonder if they know or understand what the meaning of Easter Sunday is - had they been to church before running off to the shops? However, Bank Holiday Monday was exceptionally busy, those who arrived on Sunday probably returned the next day, and none of them appeared to be badly upset that the shops were closed on Sunday. Over the course of the seven day period, the retailer's takings for the week will be about right for the time of year, and the fact that a day's trade had been lost on Easter Sunday will not show itself in the figures. On the whole, people will shop when the shops are open! The fact that they might be open an extra day does not mean that shoppers will spend extra any additional money.
John Alexander, of pressure group Keep Sunday Special, said: "They are trying to change Easter Sunday in particular.
"It was the one little concession we won when the Sunday Trading Act was brought in. We were told that Easter Sunday would be kept clear of trading by the big stores. This review puts that under threat.
"It was only a few years ago that it was decided that Christmas Day should be protected no matter what day it fell on. Easter is the second biggest occasion each year in the Christian calendar and, as such, it should be protected. We are a mainly Christian country and it is important that Sundays and major Christian events be protected.
"Apart from the religious arguments, there are other reasons why Sundays should be kept special. Research has been conducted that shows one guaranteed day off a week, when the whole family can be together, is important. It gives families a time to be together and take part in activities together."
My staff who were with me on Sunday started work real early in the day, so we could make sure they were back home for 2.00 p.m. in order to enjoy the rest of Easter Sunday with their family, they will not be rostered to do the same again next year (the other half of the staff will do that.) We try to be flexible and meet the needs of the business as well as the needs of our staff, the same may not be able to be said of other retailers. It is for these reasons that I would prefer to see the staus quo preserved on the restricted Sunday Trading hours, I do not believe it is right or fair to ask our shopworkers to give up even more of their time on a Sunday, I do believe that we should try and keep Easter Sunday restrictions in place, the larger retailers will not lose anything in the long run.
Therefore I appeal to our Member of Parliament, David Miliband, to oppose any changes to the current legislation, and to lend his support to those campaigning against the new moves.
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