PM refuses calls for shops to shut on Boxing Day
Published: 12 December 2016 - Jenny Wonnacott
Prime Minister Theresa May has said that Government should not tell businesses how they should operate, and has refused calls to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day.
Almost 230,000 people, many of them retail workers, have signed the petition calling for a widespread ban on shops opening on Boxing Day
MPs will be debating the issue following a petition which currently holds almost 230,000 signatures urging parliament to allow retail workers to spend the holiday period with their families. The British Retail Consortium has said that Boxing Day has been a popular shopping day for years.
Labour MP Helen Jones agrees with the Boxing Day petitioners, saying that the current system of Boxing Day sales exploits lower paid workers. Ms Jones will lead today's debate. She said, "I went from feeling quite indifferent about Boxing Day openings to believing it does exploit very low paid workers, who often have to work late on Christmas Eve to get the shops ready and then have to go in very early on Boxing Day morning."
"What I've not seen is anything to convince me that Boxing Day generates extra trade, as opposed to just moving it from another day.
"No one died because a shop was shut, and I think we are exercising our freedom to shop whenever we want on the backs of some very low-paid workers, who are being exploited and being denied the freedom to expect to have the time with their families."
A spokesperson for the BRC said, "Individual retailers and employers in other sectors such as hospitality will make their own decisions on holiday staffing based on their customers' needs and preferences.
"Boxing Day has for years been a popular shopping day as customers take advantage of the Christmas sales, and retailers will respond accordingly to cater for customer demand.
"Most retailers offer flexible shift patterns to ensure time off is distributed fairly among those who don't wish to work throughout the holiday period."
A statement from central Government said, " "We do not believe it is for central Government to tell businesses how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers.
"Therefore we are not proposing to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day."