Starting a new job is an exciting and challenging time. All about pay, hours at work, record keeping and what breaks employees are entitled to. Employees become entitled to annual holidays, public holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave, parental leave and other types of leave as long as they meet certain conditions. Clear workplace policies and procedures support employment agreements and mean everyone knows how things are meant to be done. This section provides help in some key areas. The best way to prevent employment relationship problems between an Employer and Employee.

There are several ways in which employment relationships may be ended, such as resignation, retirement, dismissal or redundancy. There are three and a half days each year when almost all shops are required to be closed.

Exceptions are shops which can open with conditions, have area exemptions or Easter Sunday local policies. There are three and a half days when almost all shops must be closed under the Shop Trading Hours Act It includes an auction mart, barrow, stall or other parts of a market.

Shop owners are responsible for determining if they meet the criteria. If your shop is listed in the following table then you can open, provided your shop meets the required conditions.

You only sell prepared or cooked food ready to be eaten immediately in the form in which it is sold. A shop providing services, rather than selling goods, such as a video rental store or hairdresser. A shop in a premises where an exhibition or show is taking place. This includes markets, craft shows and stalls at these exhibitions and shows.

The exhibition or show must be devoted entirely or primarily to agriculture, art, industry, and science, or any of these. For example, arts and crafts at an art and craft show, or farming supplies at an agriculture show, rather than general goods. The criteria for whether or not an item is considered a souvenir is that it is connected to a New Zealand place or New Zealand culture.

Easter Sunday shop trading laws to change | The Register

A limited number of geographical areas, generally tourist resorts such as Taupo and Queenstown, are covered by exemptions to the shop trading restrictions. Some shops in these areas can open on restricted days, but only if the exemption order allows. Download [PDF, 2 MB] copies of the existing Shop Trading Exemption Orders. From August , territorial authorities city and district councils may put in place local policies that will allow shops within their area, or parts of it, to trade on Easter Sunday.

Once a local council has created a local policy, they must notify the Ministry of Business, Innovaton and Employment at contract.

All shop employees have the right to refuse work on Easter Sunday without giving a reason to their employer. There are special responsibilities that employers and employees have to follow if an employer wants a shop employee to work on Easter Sunday. This is not limited to employees in shops open for trading, but includes a situation where the shop is not going to be open for trading, but the employer wants an employee to work eg doing a stocktake.

A shop opening for business on Easter Sunday in an area where there is no local policy in place and no exemption from shop trading restrictions or ability to open with conditions will be in breach of shop trading restrictions even if they have followed the correct process for notifying employees that they have the right to refuse to work.

Visit the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website external link for background information about the August changes to Easter Sunday shop trading. This applies to all shop employees, eg:. From August , territorial authorities city and district councils can put in place local policies that allow shops within their area, or parts of it, to trade on Easter Sunday.

Once a local council has created a local policy, they must notify the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment at contract. Find out which territorial authorities have local policies in place.

If an employer wants employees to work on Easter Sunday, they must follow a specific process to let their employees know in writing that they have a right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday. This is because the law change gives all shop employees the right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday.

Employers can use our template letter [PDF, 84 KB] as a guide when informing employees of their right to refuse work on Easter Sunday. Shop employees who are given notice of their right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday and want to refuse to work, must give notice of this to their employer.

Employees intending to refuse to work on Easter Sunday can use our template letter as a guide [PDF, 53 KB]. A provision in an employment agreement which requires a shop employee to work on Easter Sunday is unenforceable. Treating an employee adversely has the same meaning as under the Employment Relations Act This covers a range of negative impacts, including not offering an employee the same working conditions compared with another employee in similar circumstances, or dismissing or retiring an employee.

If an employee thinks that they have been compelled to work or treated adversely because they refused to work on Easter Sunday they can raise a personal grievance.

The occupier of a shop includes:. Restricted shop trading for ANZAC Day only occurs on 25 April. Restricted shop trading for Christmas Day only occurs on 25 December. The Mondayisation of a public holiday for an employee has no effect on shop trading restrictions.

In the event that ANZAC Day or Christmas Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday:. Note that shop trading provisions allowing a bar, cafe or restaurant to open on restricted trading days to sell goods such as food, have no effect on the conditions for the sale and supply of alcohol on these days including Easter Sunday.

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act continues to apply and premises selling and supplying alcohol such as bars, some cafes and restaurants must comply with it. This means they are not permitted to sell alcohol on restricted trading days unless this is with a meal. For more information about the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act , visit Alcohol.

Joyce owns a shop a supermarket and employs a large number of staff. Because she wants them to work on Easter Sunday, Joyce must notify the employees of their right to refuse to work at least four weeks and no earlier than eight weeks before Easter Sunday.

If they want to refuse to work, the employees need to notify Joyce no later than 14 days after they get their notices from her. A Queenstown cafe will be open for business because of a historic exemption and wants one of its employees to help out on Easter Sunday.

Historic exemptions that were made under the Shop Trading Hours Act remain valid; therefore a shop covered by an exemption, can still open on Easter Sunday even in a district without a local policy. Shop employees now have the right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday and therefore the employer must notify the employee of this right at least four weeks and no earlier than eight weeks before Easter Sunday.

If they do want to refuse, the employee has to notify the employer no later than 14 days after they get the notice from the employer. Geri works in a service station and her employer Greg asks her to work on Easter Sunday. Six weeks before Easter Sunday, Greg gives Geri notice that she can refuse to work. Two days later, Geri gives a notice to Greg saying that she is refusing to work on Easter Sunday.

Greg is treating Geri adversely because of her refusal to work on Easter Sunday and Geri successfully brings a personal grievance claim against Greg. Five weeks before Easter Sunday Hilary was emailed by her employer at the dairy where she works, asking her to work on Easter Sunday.

This email also notified Hilary of her right to refuse work on Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is not a public holiday so Hilary will be paid her usual pay for working on a Sunday unless Hilary and her employer agree to a greater rate of pay for this day. Hilary will not get an alternative holiday, because Easter Sunday is not a public holiday. Linda work in a plastics factory assembling goods.

Lyn and Tony work for Keith who runs the local dairy. They both have set days and hours. Lyn works Monday to Friday and Tony works Saturday and Sunday from 8am-4pm each day. ANZAC Day falls on a Sunday. The local supermarket will be closed in the morning due to restricted shop trading, and Keith thinks it will be a busy day so he asks Lyn if she can help out Tony and come into work. Because of this, if Lyn works on the Sunday, she will receive her normal pay for working a Sunday and will not get an alternative holiday.

She still gets Monday off on full pay because her ANZAC Day is Mondayised or if she works on Monday, she will be paid time and a half for the hours worked and will get an alternative holiday. Tony normally works on a Sunday so ANZAC Day is not Mondayised and he receives his eight hours pay at time and a half for working Sunday and also receives an alternative holiday. If Keith decided not to open on ANZAC Day, Tony would receive a day off on his usual pay. The restricted shop trading days have no effect on Mondayisation.

Hana also works for Fiona, but only on Saturday and Sunday. This year Christmas Day falls on a Saturday. Fiona can open the shop on Monday 27th December. This means that Isobel has Monday the 27th December as her Christmas Day public holiday and she will have a paid day off work on Monday.

If Isobel works on the Monday, she will be paid time and a half and will be entitled to an alternative holiday because Christmas Day is Mondayised for her. Employers can use our template letter as a guide when informing employees of their right to refuse work on Easter Sunday.

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Restricted shop trading days There are three and a half days each year when almost all shops are required to be closed. Christmas Day a public holiday Good Friday a public holiday ANZAC Day, until 1. Shops that can open on restricted trading days There are three types of shops which can open on restricted trading days: Shops that can open with conditions and provided they meet certain conditions Shops that can open because of an area exemption Shops that can open on Easter Sunday because the local territorial authority has adopted a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy.

Shops that can open with conditions Shop owners are responsible for determining if they meet the criteria. Determining which shops can open with conditions on restricted trading days Is your shop one of the following?

Then yes, you can open so long as: Dairy The only goods you sell are: Service Station The only goods you sell are: A shop primarily selling only souvenirs The criteria for whether or not an item is considered a souvenir is that it is connected to a New Zealand place or New Zealand culture.

Shops that can open with conditions. Take away bar, restaurant, cafe You only sell prepared or cooked food ready to be eaten immediately in the form in which it is sold. Shops that can open because they have an area exemption.

Shops which can open on Easter Sunday under a local council Easter Sunday shop trading policy. This applies to all shop employees, eg: Notify the employees in writing that they have a right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday.

Deliver the notice to the employee. This could be in the form of a letter or memo delivered in person, or by email or via group email or in a way that is specified in the employment agreement.

This must be done at least four weeks before the relevant Easter Sunday, but no earlier than eight weeks before the Easter Sunday. If an employee is going to refuse work on Easter Sunday they must: This could be in the form of a letter or memo delivered in person, or by email or in a way that is specified in the employment agreement.

Employee starts work within 14 days before Easter Sunday. If a shop employee: Compelling an employee to work includes: The employer making working on an Easter Sunday a condition of the continuing employment of an employee. The employer using unfair influence on the shop employee to try to convince them to work on an Easter Sunday. The employer requiring an employee to work on Easter Sunday without giving them the correct notice of the right to refuse.

NZ Public Holidays

The occupier of a shop includes: Any agent, manager, supervisor, person acting or apparently acting in control of the shop; Any hawker or person who carries on business by selling goods, or offering goods for sale by retail, or delivering goods to a customer; otherwise than in a shop. The effect of Mondayisation on shop trading restrictions Restricted shop trading for ANZAC Day only occurs on 25 April. In the event that ANZAC Day or Christmas Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday: Shops must close on the 25 April or 25 December because of restricted trading unless they can open with conditions or have an area exemption Shops can open with no restrictions on the following Monday even if the holiday is Mondayised for some or all of the employees.

Opening on a restricted trading day has no effect on ability to sell alcohol Note that shop trading provisions allowing a bar, cafe or restaurant to open on restricted trading days to sell goods such as food, have no effect on the conditions for the sale and supply of alcohol on these days including Easter Sunday.

Cafe with historic exemption opening on Easter Sunday. Employee who refuses to work on Easter Sunday and is treated adversely. Employee agrees to work on Easter Sunday. Factory open on ANZAC Day. Mondayisation of ANZAC Day. Mondayisation of Christmas Day. Tools and Resources Easter Sunday trading template letter for employees Employees intending to refuse to work on Easter Sunday can use our template letter as a guide.

Easter Sunday trading template letter for employers Employers can use our template letter as a guide when informing employees of their right to refuse work on Easter Sunday. Leave and holidays guide Our updated guide will be available soon.

Other links you might find useful Mondayisation Alternative holidays Restricted shop trading tool. Still haven't found what you're looking for?

Employment New Zealand Starting employment Hours and wages Leave and holidays Workplace policies Resolving problems Ending employment. Quick links Tools and resources Request mediation Submit a record of settlement Employment law database. About us About Employment New Zealand Contact us Glossary News and updates Subscribe to our updates. Privacy policy Disclaimer Copyright. Please note that this content will change over time and may be out of date. The only goods you sell are: Food Drink Household items Personal items.

Food Drink Household items Personal items Petrol, oil, car parts and accessories. No conditions, real estate does not fit within the definition of goods as defined by the Act.