Sunday working 



The Sunday working laws will change once relevant parts of the Enterprise Act 2016 (Part 7 and Schedule 5) are in force. Regulations are required to achieve this. The changes, once in force, will allow additional flexibility for some shopworkers over Sunday working. A government attempt to devolve decisions about Sunday trading to local authorities was defeated in parliament in March 2016. 



The current position is that under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, all shop and betting shopworkers can opt out of Sunday working unless Sunday is their only working day. They can opt out at any time, even if they agreed to work on Sundays in their contract, by giving at least three months’ notice. Once in force, the new provisions in the EA 16 will reduce this notice to one month, but only for workers in large shops (those with a floor area exceeding 280 square metres).


At the end of the notice period, a shopworker can no longer be required to work on Sundays.


Employers must give their staff written notice of their opt-out rights within two months of starting work. Otherwise staff are free to opt out by giving only give one month’s notice. 



Any shopworker who was already employed by their employer before the law was originally changed to allow Sunday trading (24 August 1994, or 4 December 1997 in Northern Ireland) has the right not to work on Sundays unless it was their only working day. These workers do not need to give three months’ notice if they want to opt out of Sunday working. 



Any shopworker can opt back into Sunday working if they want to. They must not be treated unfavourably for opting not to work on Sundays. 



In other sectors apart from retail or betting, whether or not a worker can be required to work on a Sunday depends on their contract of employment. However, there may be issues of religious discrimination where working hours and practices clash with the faith needs of some workers for religious observance. See page 262 of Chapter 7: Discrimination.



There is no right to extra pay for Sunday working unless the contract says so. In a unionised workplace, enhanced rates for Sunday working may have been negotiated collectively.