Shop Trading Hours Amendment Act 2016

15 New Part 2 inserted

After section 5, insert:

Part 2 Trading on Easter Sunday

Subpart 1—Local Easter Sunday shop trading policies

5A Territorial authority may have local Easter Sunday shop trading policy

(1)

A territorial authority may have a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy to permit shops to open on Easter Sunday in an area comprising—

(a)

the whole of its district; or

(b)

any part or parts of its district.

(2)

A local Easter Sunday shop trading policy under subsection (1) may not—

(a)

permit shops to open only for some purposes; or

(b)

permit only some types of shops in the area to open; or

(c)

specify times at which shops may or may not open; or

(d)

include any other conditions as to the circumstances in which shops in the area may open.

(3)

Nothing in subsection (2) is intended to limit the territorial authority’s power to control any of the matters in subsection (2)(a) to (d) under any other enactment.

(4)

A local Easter Sunday shop trading policy under subsection (1)(b) must include either or both of the following:

(a)

a map of the area:

(b)

a clear description of the boundaries of the area so that they are easily identifiable in practice.

(5)

However, where a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy includes both a map and a description of the area and there is an inconsistency between the map and the description, the description prevails.

5B Adoption, amendment, and revocation of local Easter Sunday shop trading policy

(1)

A territorial authority must use the special consultative procedure when deciding whether to—

(a)

adopt a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy; or

(b)

amend a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy; or

(c)

revoke a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy.

(2)

Despite subsection (1)(b), a territorial authority may, by resolution made publicly available, make minor changes to, or correct errors in, a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, but only if the changes or corrections do not affect an existing right of a person to whom the policy applies.

(3)

A territorial authority must,—

(a)

as soon as practicable after adopting or amending a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, make the policy publicly available; and

(b)

as soon as practicable after deciding to revoke a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, make publicly available the date on which the revocation is effective.

5C Review of local Easter Sunday shop trading policy

(1)

This section applies if a territorial authority has adopted a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy under section 5B.

(2)

The territorial authority must review the first local Easter Sunday shop trading policy adopted by the territorial authority no later than 5 years after adopting the policy.

(3)

Subsection (2) does not affect the ability of the territorial authority to review the policy, or any subsequent local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, at any other time.

(4)

A territorial authority that is reviewing a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy must use the special consultative procedure to decide whether to—

(a)

amend the policy; or

(b)

revoke the policy; or

(c)

replace the policy; or

(d)

continue the policy without amendment.

(5)

A local Easter Sunday shop trading policy that is not reviewed as required by subsection (2) is, if not earlier revoked by the territorial authority concerned, revoked on the day that is 2 years after the date by which the policy is required to be reviewed under that subsection.

5D Delegation of power in relation to local Easter Sunday shop trading policies

(1)

A territorial authority may not delegate to a committee or other subordinate decision-making body, community board, or member or officer of the local authority the power to make a final decision whether to adopt, amend, revoke, or replace a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, or to continue a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy without amendment following a review.

(2)

Nothing in this section restricts the power of a territorial authority to delegate to a committee or other subordinate decision-making body, community board, or member or officer of the territorial authority the power to do anything before the exercise by the territorial authority (after consultation with the committee or body or person) of the power to adopt, amend, revoke, or replace a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy, or to continue a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy without amendment following a review.

5E Chief executive to be notified of local Easter Sunday shop trading policy

A territorial authority must, within 10 working days after the date on which the territorial authority adopts, amends, or revokes a local Easter Sunday shop trading policy,—

(a)

notify the chief executive of the decision to adopt, amend, or revoke the policy; and

(b)

provide to the chief executive—

(i)

a copy of the resolution to adopt, amend, or revoke the policy; and

(ii)

in the case of an adoption or amendment of a policy, a copy of, or an electronic link to, the policy.

Subpart 2—Shop employee rights

5F Interpretation

In this subpart, unless the context otherwise requires,—

employer has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Employment Relations Act 2000

employment agreement has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Employment Relations Act 2000

shop employee means an employee within the meaning of section 6 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 who works in or from a shop.

5G Provision requiring shop employee to work, or be available to work, on Easter Sunday unenforceable

A provision in a shop employee’s employment agreement (including an availability provision as defined in section 67D of the Employment Relations Act 2000) that requires the shop employee to work, or to be available to accept any work that the employer makes available, on Easter Sunday is unenforceable against the shop employee.

5H Shop employee’s right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday

A shop employee—

(a)

may refuse to work on Easter Sunday; and

(b)

is not required to provide the employer with a reason for refusing to work on Easter Sunday.

5I Employer’s obligation to notify shop employee of right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday

(1)

An employer who wants a shop employee to work on an Easter Sunday must give notice to the shop employee of his or her right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday.

(2)

A notice under subsection (1) must—

(a)

be in writing; and

(b)

be given,—

(i)

in the case of a shop employee whose employment with the employer started more than 4 weeks before the relevant Easter Sunday, no earlier than 8 weeks and no later than 4 weeks before the relevant Easter Sunday; and

(ii)

in the case of a shop employee whose employment with the employer started 4 weeks or less before the relevant Easter Sunday, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the shop employee’s employment with the employer starts; and

(c)

be—

(i)

delivered in person to the shop employee; or

(ii)

sent by email to the shop employee; or

(iii)

if a manner of giving notices is specified in the shop employee’s employment agreement, given in the manner specified.

5J Shop employee’s obligation to notify employer of intention to refuse to work on Easter Sunday

(1)

A shop employee who intends to refuse to work on Easter Sunday must give notice to his or her employer of that intention.

(2)

A notice under subsection (1) must—

(a)

be in writing; and

(b)

be given,—

(i)

in the case of a shop employee whose employment with the employer started more than 14 days before the relevant Easter Sunday, no later than 14 days after the date on which the shop employee receives a notice under section 5I; and

(ii)

in the case of a shop employee whose employment with the employer started 14 days or less before the relevant Easter Sunday, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the shop employee receives a notice under section 5I; and

(c)

be—

(i)

delivered in person to the shop employee’s employer; or

(ii)

sent by email to the shop employee’s employer; or

(iii)

if a manner of giving notices is specified in the shop employee’s employment agreement, given in the manner specified.

5K Employer’s obligation not to take certain actions

(1)

A shop employee’s employer, or a representative of that employer, must not—

(a)

compel the shop employee to work on an Easter Sunday; or

(b)

treat the shop employee adversely because the shop employee refuses to work on an Easter Sunday.

(2)

For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), an employer or a representative of an employer compels a shop employee to work on an Easter Sunday if the employer or a representative of the employer—

(a)

makes working on an Easter Sunday a condition of the employer continuing to employ the shop employee; or

(b)

exerts undue influence on the shop employee with a view to inducing the shop employee to work on an Easter Sunday; or

(c)

requires the shop employee to work on Easter Sunday without giving the shop employee notice under section 5I of the shop employee’s right to refuse under section 5H.

(3)

For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), treat the shop employee adversely has the same meaning as treats an employee adversely in section 67F of the Employment Relations Act 2000 as if references to an employee in that section were references to the shop employee.

5L Personal grievance

(1)

A claim by a shop employee that the shop employee’s employer, former employer, or a representative of the employer has contravened section 5K—

(a)

is a grievance that the shop employee may have against the employer or the former employer; and

(b)

is a personal grievance as if the claim were a claim listed in section 103(1) of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

(2)

The Employment Relations Act 2000 applies accordingly.