No Movies. No McDonald's. Britain Shuts for Queen's Funeral
NDTV
The UK government announced last weekend that Monday will be a national bank holiday to "allow individuals and organizations to pay their respects" to the Queen.
No school, no McDonald's, no movies. Despite the somber mood in Britain following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, decisions to shut down much of the economy on the day of her funeral have drawn criticism, online mockery and, in some cases, widespread confusion.
The UK government announced last weekend that Monday will be a national bank holiday to "allow individuals, businesses and other organizations to pay their respects" to the Queen. Schools will be closed, but companies were left to decide whether or not to stay open -- albeit with employers "encouraged to respond sensitively" to requests from their staff to have the time off work.
The guidance presented a dilemma to businesses such as shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels. If they closed to allow employees the day off, they risked accusations of denying basic services to the public. Staying open, however, would require staffing -- made even trickier by expectations that workers should not be docked pay if they wished to mourn or pay their respects to the Queen.
Some firms struggled with the decision and ended up infuriating customers and suffering a wave of negative publicity. Center Parcs UK Group Ltd., which operates five resorts in the UK, said it would close on the Monday, meaning that families would have to cut short their breaks and either travel home or find a different hotel.
