The Whakatāne District Council will seek community feedback on a Draft Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy, which could potentially allow any retailer in the District to trade on Easter Sunday, if they choose to do so.
The Council’s Policy Committee today approved a recommendation that a draft policy be developed and that a ‘Statement of Proposal – Whakatāne District Council Draft Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy’ be made available for formal consultation between 9 October and 10 November. The statement of proposal puts forward three options:
- Maintaining the status quo
- Allowing Easter Sunday trading anywhere in the District (the preferred option)
- Allowing trading only in some parts of the District
In 2016, the government amended the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 to allow territorial authorities to decide whether shops should be allowed to open on Easter Sunday. At present, all shops in the Whakatāne District must be closed on Easter Sunday, with the exception of dairies, service stations, takeaway bars, restaurants and cafes, garden centres or other specified shops. Any other retailers who open on Easter Sunday risk being fined if they do so.
Policy Committee Chairperson, Deputy Mayor Judy Turner, says the Council undertook extensive pre-consultation on Easter Sunday trading, via the annual Communitrak survey, social media coverage and surveys of the retail sector. The feedback received indicated widespread support for the introduction of an Easter Sunday trading policy.
“Under this proposal, shops owners could choose to open if they want to, but the new law says employees can choose not to work on Easter Sunday, without penalty. Any employee who refuses to work on Easter Sunday does not have to provide a reason for doing so,” she says. “Employers must give their employees written notice, either by a letter or an email, four to eight weeks before Easter Sunday if they do want them to work, and employees who do not wish to work must respond in writing within 14 days of that notice.
“Anyone can make a submission about the proposed policy, and we encourage everyone who has a view to tell us what they think.”
Copies of the Statement of Proposal, which includes a submission form, will be available on the Council’s website. Hard copies will also be available from Council offices and District libraries.
Submissions close at 5 pm Thursday, 9 November 2017 and can be made:
- On this website
- By email (submissions@whakatane.govt.nz)
- Posted to Draft Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy, Private Bag 1002, Whakatāne 3158
- Hand-delivered to Whakatāne District Council, 14 Commerce Street, Whakatāne
Informal submissions can also be made by commenting on the Council’s Facebook page.
Any submissions will be heard on 7 December. Following the hearing, the Council will deliberate on the submissions received and decide whether or not to adopt an Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy.