No school, no McDonald’s, no movies. Despite the sombre mood in Britain since 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, confusion.
The UK government announced last weekend that Monday would be a national bank holiday to “allow individuals, businesses and other organisations to pay their respects” to the queen. Schools will be closed, but companies were left to decide whether they would stay open — albeit with employers “encouraged to respond sensitively” to requests from staff to have time off work.
The guidance presented a dilemma to shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels. If they closed, 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 pay their respects to the queen.
Some firms struggled with the decision and ended up infuriating customers and suffering negative publicity. Centre Parcs UK Group, 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 travel home or find a different hotel.
After a public backlash, centre Parcs decided to allow visitors to stay but said they would have to remain in their rooms or lodges — prompting another outcry, until it clarified that customers would be able to walk around the parks and holiday villages. Its facilities will be closed.
“You’ve got to balance staff needs, customer needs and public perception,” says Simon Neville, a media strategy director at communications firm SEC Newgate. After the queen’s death, Neville says, companies were advised to think things through. “And it seems that centre Parcs didn’t think this through.”
Indeed, some companies took a much slower approach.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon waited until Thursday morning, nearly a week after the queen’s death, to reveal its decision to keep pubs open in central London and at transport hubs, but for other branches to stay closed until the end of the funeral, expected to be around 1pm.
Its rival, Greene King, had already said pubs with televisions would open so people could watch the funeral, while those without screens would open only after the funeral. “Our pubs are a place for communities to come together,” it said.
Most shops have decided to shut — except for branches in central London, where vast crowds are expected. A lot of people gathering in the capital will travel from other parts of Britain, raising doubts about whether the transport infrastructure will be able to cope. London’s authorities have advised businesses to stay open, particularly restaurants and bars.
The extent of the shutdown across the country is considerable, with economists expecting a sharper hit to gross domestic product than usual.
“Extra bank holidays in the past have tended to reduce GDP growth in that month by half to one percentage point,” said Paul Dales at Capital Economics. “As this is an unusual one with perhaps more events and activity being cancelled or postponed, it might be towards the top of that range.”
The Bank of England had already predicted a UK recession, starting in the final quarter of the year.
McDonald’s will close all its branches until at least 5pm, while cinema chain Vue said its screens on Monday would show the funeral but no movies. Local doctors’ offices will be closed and many hospital appointments have been postponed, leading to complaints from patients.
British Cycling advised people not to ride their bikes during the hours of the funeral, before changing tack after the guidance was mocked on social media.
The British public seems unimpressed by the way companies and public sector organisations have handled the situation. More than half think it is wrong to postpone non-essential medical procedures, according to a survey by pollster YouGov, while fewer than a third agree with the decision. Only 13% say it’s right for people to be made to leave their pre-booked accommodation, as originally proposed by centre Parcs.
Moreover, 58% of respondents agree with the view that companies’ statements of condolence after the Queen’s death were purely for the sake of maintaining a positive corporate image, with only 28% seeing them as sincere.
“What matters is that you respond in a way that’s appropriate to your brand values, your business and your sector,” says George Pascoe-Watson, chair of PR consultancy Portland. “Whatever the decision — there’s going to be people who disagree.” Bloomberg
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