Home Bargains to close all stores on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day so staff can have a break

Home Bargains has announced that it will be closing all its stores on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day as a thank you to their hard-working staff members.

The discount retailer also confirmed that they will be operating shorter hours at the earlier time of 5pm on Christmas Eve, instead of their usual closing time of 8pm.

The company said the decision is a way of giving its workers more time to spend with family and friends over the festive season this year.

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A spokesperson told The Mirror: “We recognise how incredibly hard all of our colleagues have worked over the last year, to continue to serve the local communities that rely on them so much.

“In light of this, we felt it was only right to reward store teams by taking the decision to close all of our stores on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and also close stores early at 5pm on Christmas Eve.

“As a family-run business we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever, and this is our way of saying thank you to all of our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”

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This comes after Morrisons made a similar announcement regarding their opening hours over the festive period, with a spokesperson for the supermarket telling the BBC: “Everyone at Morrisons has worked incredibly hard over the last eighteen months as we’ve responded to the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, serving our customers and local communities.

“So this year, we’re taking the exceptional step of closing all our supermarkets on Boxing Day, so as many colleagues as possible can enjoy a two day weekend break with family and friends.”

Marks & Spencer quickly followed suit, with them also announcing that their workforce will be treated to an extra day off to spend time with family over Christmas.