Britain's Sainsbury's to keep stores shut on Boxing Day

(Clarifies that figure in last paragraph refers to 170,000 store workers)

LONDON - Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest supermarket group, will keep all its stores shut on Boxing Day this year, saying it wants to reward staff after a year battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The decision to keep all stores shut has been made in recognition of the extraordinary efforts of colleagues throughout a challenging 18 months, since the start of the pandemic," it said on Monday.

Sainsbury's, which employs 170,000 store workers, is one of Britain's biggest private sector employers.