Why are Harrods staff striking over Christmas – and will it affect Boxing Day shopping?

The spectacular sparkling facade of Harrods at Christmas time is considered a must-see for those visiting London in December. Inside, its Christmas shop has everything you could possibly need for the festive period. But behind-the-scenes, staff say that the world-famous department store has been giving more Scrooge than Santa. 

Ninety-five percent of Harrods staff who are members of the United Voice of the World (UVW) have voted in favour of taking strike action for three days over the festive period, including on one of the busiest days in the shopping calendar.

So, if you’re planning to take a trip to Harrods over the holidays, here’s what you should know. 

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When are Harrods staff going on strike?

Cleaners, shop floor workers and restaurant staff at Harrods who are members of UVW will take industrial action on December 21, 22 and 26 (Boxing Day). 

Why are Harrods staff going on strike? 

The industrial action is in response to poor working conditions and pay. 

UVW said: ‘The potential strikes come in response to rising grievances, particularly over staff shortages and overwork, guarantees on fair pay rises in line with RPI inflation, scrapping the cover charge in restaurants and the need for transparency over the distribution of service charge.’

Alice Howick, a waiter at the store, added: ‘Harrods should be setting the standard for retail and hospitality workers. Instead, we are earning the living wage and denied basic benefits such as a food allowance and Christmas bonus – something which should be commonplace in a company accumulating millions of pounds in profit year on year.

‘Striking is a last resort for us and will only happen if Harrods continues to be unreasonable in responding to our demands.’

Will Harrods still be open on Boxing Day? 

The department store says that its regular opening times will be unaffected by the industrial action.

It said: ‘Those that have voted to strike, which amounts to 176 employees (approximately 10 percent of colleagues collectively in these specific affected areas), are a fractional minority of our workforce and we have contingency plans in place over the Christmas period to ensure our services are not disrupted by this planned action.’

When will Harrods be open over Christmas? 

Harrods’ holiday opening hours remain unchanged in spite of the strikes. They are as follows. 

Christmas Eve: 10am-5pm

Christmas Day: Closed 

Boxing Day: 10am-9pm

New Years Eve: 10am-7pm

New Years Day: 12pm-9pm

This London high street is officially one of the UK’s best for independent shopping this Christmas

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