Posted on: Sep 01, 2016
The Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 is being amended to enable territorial authorities to decide whether retailers in their districts can open on Easter Sunday.
Key changes to the law
- Territorial authorities will have the ability to create local policies to allow shop trading across their entire district or in limited areas on Easter Sunday
- All shop employees have the ability to refuse to work on Easter Sunday without providing a reason to their employer.
Territorial authorities have the ability to allow shop trading
Under the amended law, territorial authorities will be able to introduce local policies for shop trading in their entire district or in limited areas on Easter Sunday.
Territorial authorities must consult their communities using the special consultative procedure on any local policy to allow shop trading on Easter Sunday.
Local policies cannot control or override shop trading provisions in other legislation, such as defining specific opening hours, liquor licensing provisions or determining what types of shops may open.
Shop employees’ right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday continues to be a day of significance across New Zealand and some people would rather not work on this day.
Because of this, all shop employees will be able to refuse to work on Easter Sunday without any repercussions for their employment relationship.
There are requirements associated with this right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday for both employers and employees. These details will be on the employment.govt.nz website once the Bill becomes law.
Where to go for more information
Further information for employers and employees, including details of the local policies of individual councils, will be available on the employment.govt.nz website once the Bill becomes law.
The public should contact their territorial authority directly for more information about proposed local policies for Easter Sunday shop trading.
Source: MBIE
Disclaimer
This article, and any information contained on our website is necessarily brief and general in nature, and should not be substituted for professional advice. You should always seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters addressed.
