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Widespread shop closures on Boxing Day welcomed by Usdaw to give staff a well-earned two day break over Christmas

Date: 23 December 2021 Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw has welcomed that many retail companies are keeping their doors closed on Boxing Day this year. The union’s ‘Christmas is not working’ campaign had called for the longest possible break for staff over Christmas to give them a well-deserved breather.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “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.

“So Usdaw welcomes the many retailers who this year have decided not to open on Sunday 26 December, we hope this is the beginning of a permanent move away from Boxing Day trading and we urge others to follow suit. 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.

“Key workers have done so much throughout the pandemic, they deserve some quality time with their families. It’s been a time like no other, they’ve faced higher levels of abuse, covered staff shortages and worked in fear of catching the virus. The least they could hope for is a decent break at Christmas.”

“For those retailers who have decided to open, we strongly urge them to only staff the store with genuine volunteers. We also say to customers, if you must shop on Boxing Day, please treat the staff with respect and understand they most likely would rather be spending time with their loved ones.”

Christmas messages from shopworkers: These are some of the comments Usdaw members wrote when completing Usdaw’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 over 380,000 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.

An Usdaw survey of over 12,000 shopworkers found that: