around about what year did shops stopped getting fined for opening on Sundays please
I can remember Tescos Bidston getting fined but can't think when

The Sunday Trading Laws were brought in Aug 1994, shops can still get fined for exceeding their opening quota.

CLICKY

My Grandma had a grocery shop in Ashville Rd,Seacombe.
I remember family recalling that there were certain things that you couldn't sell on a Sunday,like greeting cards and stockings.
Does anyone know why?

I worked for Halfords back in the 80's (oh do I feel old now) and we opened on Sundays but were only allowed to sell certain things. We could sell car and cycle parts but not the bikes themselves (we had a way round it of course like most places).

I seem to recall some oddities in the laws because of the way they were written, for example you could sell alcohol but not baby milk, you could sell "top shelf" magazines but not the Bible.

Slightly of track. I remember when pubs had to close at 3pm til 5pm. Before the new slipway to the Fort Perch Rock was built the original was covered when the tide came in,cutting it off from the mainland. So if the tide was right you could drink right through. There's no fun anymore!

just clicked on DDs clicky

The Sunday Trading Bill had met with considerable opposition from the Lord's Day Observance Society and other groups such as the Christian Keep Sunday Special and the shopworkers' trade union USDAW. However USDAW finally agreed to support 6 hour Sunday trading in return for a promise that Sunday working would be strictly voluntary and premium pay would be offered. This decision played an important role in encouraging many Labour MPs to back the bill in a free vote.


not having worked in a shop/supermarket I'm interested in knowing
if workers on a Saturday or in particular Sunday do get premium pay
I can remember these were once classed as overtime and you got
double your hourly rate for Sundays

Think they just got school kids to work instead of proper workers (no offence schoolies) to get around this. You only have to see who is manning the tills in various big stores.

I used to hate Sunday's as a kid because they were totally boring. Nothing open, shops that you had to buy under the counter stuff because they were breaking the law by selling certain items. How daft does that all seem now.

Tower fairground wasn't allowed to play music from the rides until after 12 mid day I think it was. The gallopers without the organ going just wasn't the same. Billy Cotton bloody bandshow, Forces (later family) favourites and Sing Something Simple in the evening. School to look forward to next day NOT! It was another era thankfully and the religious lot have a lot to answer for.

I think most shops don't pay premium rates, which they don't have to if they are part of the employees conditioned hours.

ie if you work 40 hours or less then Sunday's are flat rate. If you exceed 40 hours because you work Sunday then you get premium pay. (the 40 hours being an example figure of conditioned hours).

As the majority of shopworkers are not members of unions, they don't really have a mechanism to negotiate for overtime rates anyway.