Yes, back in the late '90's my first job (small manufacturing business), we used to shut down the Friday before Christmas and come back the Monday after new year. With it being a 'forced' holiday they didn't take the days out of your entitlement either

We are losing our Christian faith. Christmas is now a capitalist festival and it won't be long before we wear burkas

What gets me is the people who hate their family, can't have a bath, eat junk food, watch a good movie, enjoy life or go for a walk. No, their pathetic lives amount to nothing but going to a shop. It can't even be an ethnic one either. So everyone has to bend over backwards for these self entitled t*ats. They probably have university degrees too.

Thank goodness. But who is this 'our' you refer to?

It's been that for a long, long time.

Competition for "most moronic thing ever posted on Digital Spy" is always fierce, but that's a strong contender.


Perhaps other people enjoy different things to you? Just a thought.

I agree with the petition. If you want your double pay you can earn it on New Years Day.

Edit: Lucky you getting double pay over Christmas. I won't be getting double pay when I am working this Christmas Day.

Wait, what? What the hell have I just read? Does having a university degree, to you, mean someone is self-entitled? What about your doctor, is (s)he self-entitled because (s)he has a degree?

Having never worked in retail, can someone answer me this question - are shop workers forced to work boxing day?

Talk about generalising......

A lot of shops now employ seasonal, i.e. students, to work seasonal days and weekends

Think it's classed as a normal working day...they will get the day back though as it is a bank holiday.

With New Years Day falling on a Sunday they could have opted out of Sunday working...they have left it too late for that now as 3 months notice has to be given.

Exactly. Agree 100% Having surgery and forgetting to buy a present for Aunt Vicki is not the same thing. People look foolish comparing them.

That would be illegal, unless there is the offer of time off in lieu within a reasonable period.

Of course it's illegal...welcome to the real world of minimum wage in retail and no decent trade union. I don't begrudge these staff the time off, I know people say other services work over the festive period, but probably with the exception of care workers they are not exploited the same way.

Close if only stop sale frenzied idiots rushing out to buy as if there's no tomorro.
I'd like them closed to feel a day of peace and prolong the Christmas day feeling, if also band sofa shop adverts!!

This..

On Boxing Day last year, my local bus company - Arriva - didn't operate on Boxing Day at all, so clearly companies all have different views when it comes to the day after Christmas.

Yes, because all of those run a 100% service just like every other day of the year.

Except not a single one of them does, err...a bit like only some shops being open...

But I'm sure you have a valid point somewhere.

If you go into nursing, your contract would probably state that you may be required to work over Christmas..

First picking up Nurses. Most Hospitals try to avoid pre planned appointments.
Although my Sister works in a Renal Unit. So although not working Christmas Day or Boxing Day, the bank,holiday in liru of Christmas judging previous years, is a working day. So even the front line NHS accommodates as much as possible time off.

I work for a major logistics company, contracted to a high street name. Said name this year was taken over by another high street name ( may give things away).
When the site opened Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day were and remain holidays. Recently we have started Sunday shifts, but good will gives us Easter Day (Sunday) off.

The trouble is with a decline in manufacturing many people now work in service industry, often on low pay. For them working unsocial hours through the year it is still seen that Christmas is family time. I am lucky although single to be close to parents. Other single and married folk, wanting family time face long drives and to be having to come home for work Boxing Day puts a strain on them.

The same though across the board. Being a small town (100,000) people Boxing Day has no buses or trains. So can see how some non essential workers question working.

Not usually allowed any annual leave over the Christmas/New Year period. Usually have to work one or the other. Don't get double pay for Christmas/New Year's day.

All public holidays are working days. Is part of the job.

I just cannot see why the big supermarkets and stores need to be open on Boxing Day.

Would it really do us any harm not to have the choice to go shopping on Boxing Day? I very much doubt it.

However, some would argue there has to be that choice. I would argue that is taking the concept of choice to the utterly ridiculous!

The thing is they like to pretend that this in the defence of the workers when it is not. It is about trying to dictate to others what they should be doing on a certain day. A shop could be forced to close but still have replenishing staff working on this day and they wouldn't care. These people will probably be protesting to force online retailers to close next?

That still generates the demand for replenishment, picking, packing and delivering on Boxing Day etc.

Yeah but there is no need for high street shops to be open and the orders can be fulfilled on the 27th. People need to learn to be a bit more patient or plan their shopping in advance.

Muslims = capitalists. That's a new one on me.


This ethnic shop you seem to think is preferable to one of these new-fangled 'traditional' shops, aren't you worried that someone working there might be dressed in a burqa rather than a hessian, ankle-length dress and crucifix? Bit of a quandary you present here - you want to keep 'our' Christian faith but also want folk to patronise non-Christian shops.


That chip on your shoulder you have for anyone more successful than you (and by that, i mean EVERYONE!!) is in danger of getting so big, people will begin to confuse it for your face.

"What gets me is the people who hate their family, can't have a bath, eat junk food, watch a good movie, enjoy life or go for a walk. No, their pathetic lives amount to nothing but going to a shop. It can't even be an ethnic one either."

That would include a lot of pensioners who live alone and go to the shops for a social visit, and company

When did the supermarkets start to open on boxing day? I worked at Morrisons from 2004 to 2006 and we closed on Christmas day, Boxing day and New years day, as far as I can remember it was just a small handful of high street shops that opened on Boxing day.

I have no strong feelings about Boxing Day sales (apart from avoiding them). I do have pretty strong feelings about Christmas Eve though.

It might be because my family have always had big Christmas Eve traditions, but surely loads of families do in the evenings too – getting their kids excited about Father Christmas etc? Why should some poor sod of a retail worker be prevented from getting home in good time to enjoy that because some lazy idiot doesn’t bother with their Christmas shopping until the last minute?

If you move the deadline for shopping til lunchtime Christmas Eve, they’ll still do it at the last minte, whatever the last minute happens to be.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but a large proportion of those working in supermarkets on Boxing Day seem to be students, students who seem happy to work for the money. It's likely to be their choice, so why should others dictate that they cannot work?