Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Last year we welcomed the many retailers who decided not to open on Boxing Day. Regrettably this was not the hoped for beginning of a permanent move away from Boxing Day trading, with too many stores now set to open this 26 December. This YouGov poll and Usdaw’s survey of shopworkers shows that retailers are not only out of touch with their staff, but also with nearly 80% of the public.

“Finishing late on Christmas Eve and then getting straight back to work on Boxing Day means that too many shopworkers spend too little time with their loved ones. Our members tell us of how they arrive home shattered and have to spend time on Christmas Day getting ready for work the next day, which is why 97% want shops to shut on Boxing Day.

“Shops can open for 150 hours a week in the run-up to Christmas and beyond, and many do, so we think a two day break for staff is not unreasonable. Retailers do not need to open on Boxing Day. Last year many retailers talked about rewarding staff for their efforts through the pandemic, clearly that is now forgotten. Retail staff are stressed and exhausted through the long run up to Christmas every year, not just in a pandemic, the very least they could hope for is a decent break over the festive season.

“So we urge retailers to listen to the overwhelming majority of shoppers and shopworkers and keep their doors closed on Boxing Day every year. For those retailers who are opening, we strongly urge them to only staff stores with genuine volunteers. We also say to customers, if you must shop on Boxing Day, please treat the staff with respect and understand they would most likely rather be enjoying a festive day off.”

Christmas messages from shopworkers - some of the comments Usdaw members wrote when completing the union’s Boxing Day survey:

• “My child is always upset when I have to work late on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.”
• “I don’t spend any time with family in the weeks running up to Christmas and only get Christmas Day off and Boxing Day if I’m lucky.”
• “As a manager I am put under pressure to work. Staff have the option to work on Boxing Day, but managers are told we must pick up the slack if there are not enough volunteers.”
• “Last year I only had Christmas Day off during the festive period and couldn’t enjoy it because of the stress of working so many days in the run-up.”
• “I can remember Christmas being a holiday, rather than a retail fest”.

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.

YouGov poll: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,736 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th - 6th December 2022.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

• To what extent would you support or oppose your local supermarket closing all its stores (e.g. its superstores, high street stores etc.) on Boxing Day?
  • TOTAL SUPPORT: 79%: strongly support 52% - tend to support: 27%
  • TOTAL OPPOSE 12%: strongly oppose 4% - tend to oppose: 8%
  • DON'T KNOW: 9%

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/meyb86ad8w/USDAW_Supermarkets_221206_UK_W.pdf
An Usdaw survey of over 12,000 shopworkers found that:

• 77% say Boxing Day working affects their ability to enjoy Christmas.
• 76% feel they spend too little time with their loved ones at Christmas.
• 97% want stores to be closed on Boxing Day.

For further information please contact Usdaw’s Media Officer, David Williams on: 0161 249 2469, 07798 696 603 or by e-mail to [email protected]

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion