79 01 May 2017

Policy and Regulatory

30 March 2017

File: (17/575)

Report no: PRC2017/2/118

Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy

Purpose of Report

1. To report back the results of the pre-consultation phase on the proposed Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy and seek Council’s direction whether it wishes to proceed with the development of such a policy, or not.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the Committee recommends that Council:

(i) notes the report on Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy that includes results of a pre-consultation phase; and

(ii) either:

a) agrees to develop an Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy by consulting on the Summary of Information, Statement of Proposal, and draft Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy (subject to any changes requested by the Committee) attached as Appendix 1 to the report, by means of the special consultative procedure; OR

b) agrees to not take any further action and therefore not develop an Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy at this time; and

(iii) if needed in connection with (ii) above appoint a subcommittee to hear submissions and make recommendations to Council on the direction and content of an Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy.

Background

2. There are currently three and a half restricted trading days in New Zealand – Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day until 1.00pm. There has been national debate for a number of years now around whether Easter Sunday trading should be permitted.

3. In 2016 the government amended the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 to give territorial authorities the discretion as to whether or not to adopt a policy to permit shops to open on Easter Sundays. Such a policy can be developed which:

(a) Determines whether to allow shop trading on Easter Sunday.

(b) Determines whether to allow shop trading on Easter Sunday across the entire district or in certain areas.

4. Such a policy cannot:

(a) Permit shops to open only for some purposes; or

(b) Permit only some types of shop to open; or

(d) Include any other conditions as to the circumstances in which shops in the area may open.

5. Currently most shops in Hutt City cannot open on Easter Sunday, with the exception of dairies, service stations, fast food outlets, bars, restaurants and cafes.

6. The Shop Trading Hours Act 2016 requires employers to provide their employees with written notice of their right to refuse to work on Easter Sunday. The notice can be provided in the period between eight weeks and four weeks before Easter Sunday. Employees also have this notice period to notify their employers of their refusal to work on Easter Sunday. The Act also allows workers to refuse to work on Easter Sunday without a reason; and to bring a personal grievance against an employer who compels them to work or who treats them adversely because of their refusal to work.

7. Council would not be responsible for enforcement of the Policy. Enforcement of breaches of the Shop Trading Hours Act 2016 remains with the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment.

8. A Policy must be reviewed no later than every five years from the date of adoption.

Discussion

9. A pre-consultation phase has been undertaken. This has involved surveying some key stakeholders to obtain their feedback on Easter Sunday trading. Appendix 1 to the report contains a summary of the survey results.

10. This survey was sent to retail and hospitality members of the Chamber of Commerce, Queensgate, Progressive Enterprises and Food stuffs, Jackson Street Programme, Ministers Association, churches, Newslist Subscribers, Te Atiawa and Ngati Toa.

11. People were asked:

(a) whether they supported Easter Sunday trading

(b) if they owned a shop, whether they would want to trade in Easter Sunday

(c) if an Easter trading policy were to be established for Lower Hutt, should shops be permitted to trade within all areas or only some areas of the city?

12. One hundred and thirteen (113) made submissions. The majority of submitters did not support Easter Sunday trading. Those that did support it generally felt it should be no different to other weekends; those that did not support felt that it was important to keep this time as family time and that it wasn’t financially viable to open for one day.

13. A majority of the respondents who own a business (61%) didn’t want to trade on Easter Sunday for a variety of reasons. Respondents felt that if there was to be an Easter Sunday Trading policy then it should apply to all areas of the city.

14. Attached as Appendix 1 to the report is the Statement of Proposal which contains a summary of the survey results.

Options

15. There are two options:

a) To agree to proceed with the development of a policy and allow shops to open in the whole of the district as outlined in the attached draft Statement of Proposal or in specific areas within the district;

b) To not adopt a policy (in which case most shops must remain closed on Easter Sunday).

Consultation

16. A pre-consultation phase has been undertaken to help inform Council of community views concerning the development of such a policy. Refer to paragraphs 9 - 11 above.

17. If Council wishes to proceed with the development of this policy the Special Consultative Procedure will need to be undertaken.

Legal Considerations

18. Section 5A (1) Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 provides the Council with the discretion to determine if it wishes to establish an Easter Shop Trading Policy or not. In developing such a policy Council needs to determine if such a policy applies to the whole of the district or any part or parts of the district.

Financial Considerations

19. There are no financial considerations.

Other Considerations

20. In making this recommendation, officers have given careful consideration to the purpose of local government in section 10 of the Local Government Act 2002. Officers believe that this recommendation falls within the purpose of the local government in that it meets the current and future needs of the community.

21. At the time this report was being prepared nationally, some councils consulted and adopted a policy in time for April 2017. Some councils held informal surveys to decide on a formal consultation for 2018 onwards. Some councils are still undecided. In the Wellington region, the three Wairarapa councils adopted policies to open. Porirua City Council has decided to not adopt a policy which means no Easter Sunday trading; Upper Hutt City Council will review this matter following Easter 2017; Kapiti are not pursuing this at this stage but will watch developments elsewhere.

Appendices

No.	Title	Page
1View	Summary and Statement of Proposal: Draft Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy as at 1 May 2017 and Summary of Feedback Received.	80

Author: Graham Sewell

Principal Policy Advisor

Reviewed By: Wendy Moore

Divisional Manager, Strategy and Planning

Approved By: Kim Kelly

General Manager, Strategic Services