Ban backed by Scottish parliament
Scottish retailers have reacted with horror to a bill that would ban shops from opening on New Year's Day.

A Justice 2 Committee, consisting of members of the Scottish Parliament put together to scrutinise the bill, has published a report backing the Christmas Day and New Year's Day Trading Bill - claiming it will protect workers' rights.

According to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), Christmas day is not an issue, because big retailers will not want to open anyway, but New Year's Day trading is different.

A ban would prevent retailers responding to future consumer demand and put them at a disadvantage compared with businesses, such as pubs and restaurants, according to the SRC.

SRC director Fiona Moriarty said: 'Larger Scottish retailers haven't traditionally opened on January 1, but trading is always driven by customer demand and they shouldn't be prevented from reacting as that changes in the future.

'We recognise the importance of workers' rights, but there is no evidence that staff are being pushed to work when they don't want to. In fact, many welcome the opportunity to earn premium rates.'

The proposed bill would also only affect workers of larger retailers, those working at smaller stores under 3,000 sq foot (280 sq m) would not be protected.

Moriarty added: 'A heavy-handed ban on shop opening could seriously harm the contribution retail makes to Scotland's economy.'