Sunday trading hours??

JPS

OK,

Wasn't really sure where this should belong so I thought here would be a good place to start. I work for a major UK retailer, and we (and all the stores) open 10-5 on a Sunday. Having done a little research on the net, I see that practically all stores only open 11-5 or 10-4 etc on a Sunday, due to the Sunday trading hours law which seems to say a large shop can only open for 6 hours on a Sunday, so I am very confused as to how my company can get away with being open for 7?

Is there something I am missing here? Just seems like we are the only ones that open for 7 hours! Just wondering if anyone knows any more on sunday trading hours?

Thanks

Josh

markchap

Hi,
A lot of major retailers (especially Supermarkets @ xmas) open for Browsing 1hr (sometimes 30mins) before their "official" opening time. During this time, the staff are not allowed to serve the customers.
This way customers can fill their trolleys / baskets during the browsing time. And on the dot of opening, the store start's taking money.

pavlovs_dog

it goes on the store's square footage

Large shops - retail businesses with a floor area of more than 280 square metres (3,000 square feet) may face restrictions on their Sunday opening hours under the Sunday Trading Act 1994. The Act only applies to businesses in England and Wales.
Many large shops can only open on a Sunday for a continuous period of six hours between 10.00 and 18.00.

see HERE for more info

JPS

Thanks for the info guys - markchap - we are always open and take money from 10-5 every Sunday but thanks to pavlovs I think I now know why - shops that wholly or mainly sell motor or bicycle supplies and accessories are exempt from the rules.....typical....

Colliefrog

Think yourself lucky... we used to open 9 - 6 on sundays until they finally realised that 1 customer between 9 & 10 really wasn't worth opening for! We now open 10 - 6.