View report page

SHOPS ACTS
Shop Opening Hours:
The Shops Acts 1950—1965 deal with closing hours, Sunday
Trading restrictions, working hours for young persons; meal
intervals and weekly half-holidays, holidays and Sunday employment,
have developed over many years.
Due to a change in social behaviour and attitudes with full
employment, it is now argued that the Shops Acts no longer need
to protect workers by restricting the hours of opening and closing
The Consumer Council favours the removal of all restrictions on
Sunday trading subject to a statutory limitation of the staffs'
total hours work. The Prices and Incomes Board also recommend
the abolition of the statutory restrictions on shop opening
hours. However, The Union of Shop Distributive and Allied
Workers are strongly opposed to abolition of restriction and on
this issue are well supported by shopkeepers' organisations.
A Bill to amend the Sunday Trading provisions of the Shops
Act, 1950, based on the recommendations of the Crathorne
Committee of Enquiry on Sunday Trading and Employment failed
to reach the statute book. A third attempt to rationalise the
Sunday Act is currently under consideration.
The Home Office recommendation is that there is need for a
limitation on the hours worked in shops by young persons to
prevent exploitation, to enable regular attendance at educational
courses and to give an adequate amount of leisure at suitable
times of the day. Two cases confirm the need for control:—
(a) A youth of 17 years was employed every day of the week with
no half-day, or time off in lieu of Sunday employment. There
were no specific arrangements for meal times and his working
week was grossly in excess of 48 hours.
(b) Another seventeen year old was employed on a shift system;
on one day he worked from 2.00 p.m. until midnight and the
next day 6.00 a.m. until 2.00 p.m. The boy was seen to be
very tired and obviously feeling the strain of working
without a proper rest period.
Inspection visits to shop premises have to be made on
129