Sunday Express

Shop staff can attend armistice

- By Nick Lester

SHOP staff wanting to pay their respects to the fallen of the First World War on the centenary of the ending of the conflict will be able to do so without the threat of dismissal or disciplina­ry action.

The Government has reassured retail workers they can legally opt out of working on Remembranc­e Sunday and so take part in the commemorat­ion of the 1918 armistice this November.

It will be the culminatio­n of a series of events to mark the end of the war that claimed the lives of more than 700,000 British troops, more than any other conflict.

Following the remembranc­e service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and traditiona­l veterans’ parade on November 11, there will be a civilian procession of 10,000 members of the public who want to honour the wartime generation.

There are also plans for bells to ring out in a “national peal”, just as they did in 1918 to mark the end of the war.

Labour MP Helen Jones asked Business Minister Andrew Griffiths “whether he has made representa­tions to the retail sector to allow Sunday shop workers to take part in the commemorat­ion of the centenary of the 1918 armistice?”

He said shop workers, except those employed to work solely on a Sunday, had the right to opt out of working that day even if they were contracted to do so.

He added: “They are legally protected against dismissal or detriment for exercising this right.” More details of commemorat­ion events have also been released by the Government.

Culture Minister Michael Ellis said: “The National Service of Remembranc­e at the Cenotaph will follow traditiona­l lines to respect its wider purpose in rememberin­g the fallen of all conflicts.

“The traditiona­l veterans’ parade will then be followed by a civilian procession made up of 10,000 members of the public who wish to show their thanks to a generation who gave so much for the freedoms we enjoy today.”

Further details about the public ballot for tickets to take part in the procession will be made available next month.

Mr Ellis added: “During the day, church and other bells will ring out as they did in 1918 to mark the end of the war.

“The Government is supporting the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers to recruit 1,400 bell ringers – the number that were lost during the war – to create a national peal that will echo the impromptu outpouring of relief and joy that took place 100 years ago.”

The commemorat­ions will end in the evening with a national service of thanksgivi­ng at Westminste­r Abbey, with similar services in Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.

‘Their jobs will be protected’

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