Another supermarket will shut 600 shops in England and Wales on Easter Sunday

Another of Britain’s biggest supermarkets is set to shut down stores on Easter Sunday, with staff set to be given the day off. 

Sainsbury’s is primed to shut 600 of its larger branches on April 9 in line with Government regulations. 

These rules dictate that shops in England and Wales larger than 280 square metres must close on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. 

This means its 600 bigger stores will remain shut for the day while their smaller convenience stores can operate differently.  

Sunday trading laws state that any stores that choose to remain open can only do so for six consecutive hours between 10am and 6pm.

In Scotland, the supermarket’s stores will operate per Sunday trading hours.

The chain’s smaller 800 UK-wide convenience stores will remain open as usual from 7am to 10pm.

Sainsbury’s stores will be open between 6am to 11pm on Good Friday, 6am to 11pm on Easter Saturday and 7am to 10pm on Easter Monday.

However, these opening hours are not guaranteed and will vary depending upon your location. 

To find out the opening hours of your local branch, visit the Sainsbury’s store locator. This will indicate the size of your local store and whether it be open or closed as a result. 

This follows a similar move by competitor Aldi, which has confirmed it will be closing 890 stores in England and Wales on Easter Sunday to allow staff the day off.