Shop Opening Hours
The legal position
In 1990 the law regulating shop trading hours in New Zealand changed. Since then retailers have had greater freedom about when they can open their shops and the public have had a greater choice about when to shop. Shop trading hours are regulated by the Shop Trading Hours Repeal Act 1990, recently amended by the Shop Trading Hours Repeal Amendment Act 2001.
When can shops open?
Retailers can choose their own opening hours - without restriction - for every day of the year, other than on 3½ restricted days.
On which days of the year can't shops open?
Shops must close on:
- Christmas Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Sunday; and
- until 1.00 pm on Anzac Day
There are few exceptions.
Can any shops open on restricted days?
Yes, but only certain types of shop, as follows:
- Shops, such as dairies and service stations, selling:
- food
- drink
- household items
- personal items
- automotive fuel, lubricant, parts, or accessories.
If a shop normally sells any of the above items, this still does not automatically allow it to open on any of the restricted days. This is because the law also specifies:
- most of the goods for sale in a shop must be of a kind that people may reasonably need to be able to buy at any time; and
- the quantity of goods for sale must be no greater than that sufficient to meet the demands of the people who are living, staying or travelling through the area.
- Shops selling mainly:
- souvenirs
- duty-free goods
- food ready to be eaten
- Bookstalls at public passenger transport terminals
- Pharmacies
- Shops at genuine exhibitions and shows
- Garden Centres may open on Easter Sunday only. (Garden Centres are defined a shops whose sole or principal business is the sale of plants or garden supplies or both).
This is an amendment of the Shop Trading Hours Repeal Amendment Act 2001.
Area exemptions
Some shops trade in areas covered by area exemptions issued by the former Shop Trading Hours Commission under the previous law. Generally, these exemptions apply to tourist resorts such as Queenstown and Taupo.
These shops may still open on all or any of the restricted days, but only if their exemption order allows them to open.
There are no longer procedures available for:
- shops covered by such special exemptions to change them. The terms of these exemption orders remain fixed as at the time they were granted.
- other shops outside these areas to obtain special exemptions to trade on all or any of these 3½ days.
Offences & penalties
If a shop does not clearly fit into one of the exempted categories listed here, it is an offence to open and trade during any time the law restricts trading. The occupier of a shop may be liable for a fine of up to $1,000. This includes the owner, proprietor or any agent, manager, supervisor, or person acting in the management or control of a shop. In the event of a prosecution, the occupier of the shop has to prove that the shop comes within one of the exemptions and is therefore able to open. Any interested person or group can prosecute.
7. Consequential protection for certain workers- Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act 1990
(1) In this section, and (both as part of this Act and when deemed by this section to have been inserted into any industrial document) in the provisions set out in the Schedule to this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
''At night'' means at any time between 9 pm on any day and 7 am the next day
''Existing document'' means an industrial document applying to shop workers that, on the 1st day of August 1990, was current or in force under the Labour Relations Act 1987
''Industrial document'' means an award or agreement within the meaning of the Labour Relations Act 1987
''Protected day'' means a day that is a Sunday, New Year's Day, the day after New Year's Day, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the Sovereign's birthday, Labour Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, or the day observed as anniversary day in the locality concerned:
''Protected worker'' , in relation to an employer on any day, means a worker who has or had been employed by the employer (or persons whose successor the employer is) for the continuous period including all or part of that day and beginning before the 1st day of August 1990 (whether or not the location or designation of the worker has or had changed during that period):
''Protective provisions'' means the provisions set out in the Schedule to this Act:
''Shop worker'' means a person who is employed to work in or from any shop or shops, or whose employment at any time is dependent on any shop's being open at that time
''Subsequent document'' , in relation to an existing document or a subsequent document, means an industrial document that is (in terms of sections 2(2) and 2(3) of the Labour Relations Act 1987) subsequent to that existing or subsequent document.
(2) In any provision deemed by this section to have been inserted in any industrial document, the term ''shop'', unless the context otherwise requires, has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of this Act
(3) After the commencement of this Act, the protective provisions shall be deemed to have been inserted into every existing document (but in such a way as to apply only to the shop workers to whom the document applies).
(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6) of this section, where any of the protective provisions has been deemed by this section to have been inserted into an industrial document, that provision shall be deemed to have been inserted into any subsequent document negotiated under the Labour Relations Act 1987 (but in such a way as to apply only to the shop workers to whom the subsequent document applies).
(5) Where any of the protective provisions has been deemed by this section to have been inserted into an industrial document, that provision may-
(a) By agreement between the parties; or
(b) As a consequence of arbitration agreed by the parties,-
in any subsequent document negotiated under the Labour Relations Act 1987 be declared to have been omitted from the subsequent document; and in that case the provision shall not thereafter be deemed by subsection (4) of this section to have been inserted into the subsequent document or any further subsequent document.
7A. Further consequential protection for certain workers-
(1) An employment agreement entered into or made before, on, or after the commencement of the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Amendment Act 2001 must not be interpreted as requiring a person who is a shop worker in a shop to which section 4A applies to work on Easter Sunday unless the parties to the employment agreement so agree.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an employment agreement relating to a person who is a shop worker employed to work in, or from, or in relation to, any shop that, before the commencement of the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Amendment Act 2001, was entitled to be open on Easter Sunday under section 4.
(3) In this section,-
''employment agreement'' has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Employment Relations Act 2000
''shop worker'' has the same meaning as in section 7(1).
PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS
1. No worker shall be required to work on a protected day or at night. No undue influence shall be applied to any worker in an attempt to induce that worker to agree to work on a protected day or at night. No action shall be taken to discriminate against or disadvantage any worker not wishing to work on a protected day or at night. This clause overrides clause 3 of these provisions.
2. A worker who agrees to work on Sundays or at night shall give the employer at least 2 weeks notice of wanting to cease working on Sundays or at night. If a worker stops working on Sundays or at night, the employer does not have to offer the worker other working hours in substitution. This clause overrides clause 3 of these provisions
3. Workers shall continue to be employed on the basis of the conditions (in relation to working hours) that applied to them immediately before the commencement of this Act except where by mutual agreement between the employer and a worker the hours are altered
4. Where an employer intends to open a shop on Sundays, at night, or on a protected day that is not a Sunday, the employer shall offer the work to protected workers who are suitably qualified and capable of carrying out the work before offering it to any other person.
5. Where no workers, or not enough workers, accept work on Sundays, at night, or on a protected day that is not a Sunday, the employer retains the right to recruit extra workers.
6. Where an employer decides to close a shop on a day that is not a protected day, or on part of such a day, the employer shall consult all workers affected, and the union, to minimise disruptions to work patterns.
7. The employer shall give all workers and the union at least 4 weeks written notice (including a description of the rights of workers under these provisions) of the employer's intention to employ workers on any protected day that is not a Sunday, or to begin or resume employing workers on Sundays or at night:
Provided that a shorter period of notice may be given by agreement with the union to meet the exigencies of a changed trading environment. The union shall not withhold its agreement unreasonably.
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8. During the period referred to in clause 7 of these provisions, the employer shall give the union a reasonable opportunity to discuss with workers arrangements for work on Sundays or on any protected day that is not a Sunday or at night. |
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9. The employer shall consult with the union about alterations to patterns of working hours, or to job responsibilities, arising from a decision to open a shop on Sundays or at night. |
10. The employer shall either provide or pay for transport between a worker's home and place of employment if the worker-
(a) Works during a protected day or at night; and
(b) In order to do so, must leave home or work (as the case may be) when suitable public transport (by train, bus, ferry, boat, cablecar, or a combination of 2 or more of those means of transport) is not available.
11. The employer shall ensure that the personal security of every worker who works alone at night is reasonably protected (for example by ensuring reasonable access to the presence and support of another worker or some other person).
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