Want to open on Sunday? Better make sure the boss is in...

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Sundays won’t be a day of rest for shop owners who want to open seven-days-a-week, if one Deputy gets his way.

Some of the Island’s larger shops and supermarkets will be allowed to trade on Sundays when an 18-month trial starts this summer if the States approve it at the end of this month. Deputy Andrew Green wants to add on a rule that if bosses want their staff to work on Sundays, then they should have to be there too.

Shops with permits will be able to open for up to six hours on a Sunday between 10 am and 6 pm. The idea has always been a controversial one - on the one hand, people expect to be able to go shopping on a Sunday like you can in the UK, on the other, it might mean that retail workers with families have to go to work on a Sunday instead of spending time with their nearest and dearest.

Deputy Green - the States' Housing Minister - says that if that's fair for workers, it's fair for their bosses too, because they're the only ones who can really see what effect the extra hours are having, both on the staff giving up time with their families and in terms of what the neighbours think of all the extra activity and noise.

If the States approve Deputy Green’s amendment, an owner, director or partner of any firm that wants to open on a Sunday will have to be present on the shop floor.

The trial has been set up to try and get more Islanders shopping on the High Street, which has taken a battering from internet retailers. The latest figures show that Jersey households are spending £7,000 a year shopping online.

Deputy Green said that he wanted a system that was fair for everyone.

He said: "In the event that it does get through, I want it to be a proper trial, looking at the impact on the community. The majority of the people I’ve spoken to look forward to Sundays when there are no lorries reversing. The trial needs to measure the environmental impact, the financial impacts and the effect on family life.

“I think people will be surprised by the extra costs – they are in excess of 20% more for that extra day. It’s not just the cost, you need more staff, and that could mean more licenses when they can’t find people who are locally qualified.

“I am in the keep Sunday special brigade.”