Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, said: “After discussions with Sainsbury’s we very much welcome the company closing all their stores on Boxing Day this year, to give their staff a proper break over Christmas. The pandemic showed just how important shopworkers are to our society and communities, as they stepped up and kept essential services running throughout.

“Key workers have done so much this year and we don’t think it is too much to ask to give them the longest possible break over the festive season. We now hope that other retailers will follow Sainsbury’s lead, by closing their stores on 26 December to help workers enjoy their Christmas, give them a well-deserved breather and make Boxing Day special again.” 

Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive, said: “Christmas is a really special time for so many, but because of lockdown restrictions last year, lots of us weren’t able to celebrate in the way we wanted. In recognition of this and to say a massive thank you to all our colleagues for everything they have done during the last challenging year, we will be closing all of our supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol filling stations, as well as Argos and Habitat stores, this Boxing Day. I want to thank our customers in advance for their understanding, which will mean as many of our team as possible can have a well-deserved break to spend time with loved ones.”

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