What are the legal consequences of permanently relaxing Sunday trading rules?

Temporary changes to the law during the Olympic and Paralympic Games have enabled some stores to extend their Sunday opening hours.

If there is a permanent change in the law, some retailers may need to address its effect on existing arrangements – for example, lease agreements on business premises, according to Emma Dickinson, solicitor at Simpson Millar.

However, the biggest change to the law during the Games concerns staff opting out of working on Sundays, adds Dickinson. Employees can usually opt out of working on Sundays provided they give their employer three months’ written notice. This was reduced to a minimum of two months for Sundays during the Games. To be valid an opt-out notice must be signed, dated and state that the employee objects to working on Sundays. Because the change in law for the Games is temporary, at present employees will not have to provide another written statement to opt back in to working on Sundays after September 9.

“Retailers must provide employees who have the right to opt out of working on Sundays with a written statement explaining their rights and obligations,” says Dickinson.

If Sunday opening hours were extended permanently, retailers should carefully review their business needs and employees’ contracts. If it is necessary to change opening hours retailers should consider what hours staff need to work and offer work on alternative days to staff that opt out of working on Sundays.