Boxing day shopping could be banned as MPs urge to protect low paid workers

MPs will hold a debate on a petition with more than 200,000 signatures calling for a ban on all retail premises opening the day after Christmas

Consumers are now looking to be able to change clothes every couple of days – or even every day (Corbis)

Shopping on Boxing Day could be banned as Parliament prepares to debate a petition calling for all shops to close the day after Christmas.

The petition, which was set up in October and has since gained more than 200,000 signtature, calls for people to respect Christmas Day as a religious holiday and for retail workers to be “given some decent family time” on Boxing Day.

Theresa May has previously made it clear that Goverment will not change the current trading laws.

However, Labour MP Helen Jones, who chairs the Petition Committee and will lead the debate on Monday, said the current system of Boxing Day sales exploits lower paid workers by depriving them of time with their families over the holidays.

She added that evidence submitted to her committee’s online forum convinced her that the Government should take action.

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."

She added workers faced serious transports and childcare issues around Christmas, while additional pay for working these unseasonal hours had all but disappeared across the sector.

"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."

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said Boxing Day has been popular with shoppers and most retailers offer flexible shift around the festive period.

A spokeswoman 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 are distributed fairly among those who don't wish to work throughout the holiday period."

In 2015, UK shoppers spent £3.74bn in the Boxing Day sales, a 6 per cent increase on 2014, according to research from VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Centre for Retail research.