Marks & Spencer and Asda have become the latest retailers to confirm they will shut stores next Monday for the Queen’s funeral.
It comes after a raft of supermarkets and high street chains already confirmed closure plans for the day.
M&S said it will also halt deliveries to customers on 19 September, which will be a bank holiday as the Queen’s state funeral takes place.
Stuart Machin, chief executive at M&S, said: “It is right that we make changes to our operational arrangements on the day of the funeral to ensure our colleagues across our stores and distribution network can participate, whilst supporting customers as they show their respects too.”
He added there will be “limited exceptions in London and Windsor”, where M&S will serve customers paying their respects to the Queen. These stores will be shut during the funeral itself, the retailer highlighted.
Franchise stores at travel locations and in public service sites, such as hospitals, are expected to remain open on Monday.
Asda said it will shut all its stores until 5pm on the day to allow employees to watch the funeral.
An Asda spokesman also explained that it will not be offering online deliveries on Monday. “All our stores will close by midnight on Sunday September 18 and reopen at 5pm on Monday - those colleagues contracted to work while the stores are closed will receive their normal pay.
“Any colleagues who work when the stores reopen will be paid double time for the rest of the day.”
It comes a day after Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi all confirmed they would shut their supermarket stores for the day of the funeral, with fashion retailers such as Primark also confirming closure plans.
Retailers are not required to shut their doors on the day of the funeral, and others may choose to open for reduced hours, as many regularly do on other bank holidays.
The UK Government guidance states: “Some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral, however, this is at the discretion of individual businesses.”
Liam Entwistle, employment law specialist at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, explained: “Whether the bank holiday is given to staff is entirely up to individual employers to decide; there is no automatic legal right for workers to take the day off.
“If a workplace is opening as normal and an employee wants to take the day off, they have the right to request a holiday and use their own annual leave entitlement, as long as they are complying with their workplace agreement, but there is no obligation on employers to observe the holiday.
“If an employer decides to observe the bank holiday and allow some of their employees to take the day off but not others, for example if administrative staff are given the day off but operational staff are asked to work as normal, they should ensure that no discrimination issues could arise, and consider things carefully.
“There are other options employers could consider as a compromise, such as flexible hours or extended breaks to allow staff members to watch parts of the ceremony, but this is entirely at an employer’s discretion.”
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