March 2025
Hurunui District Council
PO Box 13,
Amberley 7441,
North Canterbury
Introduction
The Restaurant Association of New Zealand (the Restaurant Association) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on the Hurunui District Council Review of Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy.
Since 1972, the Restaurant Association has worked to off er advice, help and assistance in every facet of the vibrant and diverse hospitality industry, covering the length and breadth of the country. We’re passionate about our vibrant industry, which is full of interesting, talented and entrepreneurial people.
The Restaurant Association’s priorities for Easter Sunday Shop Trading policies are in strong support of enabling shops to open during Easter Sunday. This is for the following reasons:
- that the choice to open a business for trade should rest with the business owner, not local or central government.
- employees have the ability to refuse work on Easter Sunday without any repercussions to the employment relationship.
- there should be a consistent approach to Easter Sunday Shop Trading policies, enabling national operations to open across the country.
Hurunui District Council proposal
The Restaurant Association supports the Council’s proposal to retain the existing Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy that retailers may open if they wish. In particular, the Restaurant Association supports the Council’s current policy providing:
- retailers within the whole of the Hurunui District boundary with the choice to open on Easter Sunday if they wish.
- the Workers Choice Provision which gives employees and employers the ability to negotiate freely and gives employees the ability to refuse work on Easter Sunday without any repercussions to the employment relationship.
Employer and employee rights
The choice to open during Easter should ultimately rest with the business owner, especially when acknowledging the impact of ongoing economic challenges. Employee protections are maintained under the Shop Trading Act 1990, ensuring staff who do not wish to work on Easter Sunday are protected. The Act allows businesses to create consistent schedules which provide more certainty to employees.
Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, and the primary reason for restricted trading is based on religious ideology. Removing these restrictions aligns with the principles of economic freedom and choice. Given the challenges posed by the global pandemic, the focus should be on supporting businesses and not retaining outdated restrictions that hinder economic growth.
Consistent approaches to Easter Sunday Trading
There should be a consistent approach to Easter Sunday Shop Trading policies, enabling shops to open during Easter Sunday nationally. It is the Restaurant Association’s view that all territorial authorities should adopt a local Easter Sunday Trading policy that allows shops to open during Easter Sunday. It is important to send a clear message to both visitors and residents that our towns and cities are open for business. This would also allow ‘brick and mortar’ shops to have greater alignment with online shops trading.
Conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on your review of the Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy. We would be happy to discuss any part of this submission in more detail, and to provide any assistance that you may require.