Easter Trading Laws: Your Rights And Responsibilities

As Easter approaches, the Labour Inspectorate is reminding employers and employees to understand their rights and obligations concerning Easter trading laws.

Simon Humphries, Head of the Labour Inspectorate, emphasises the importance of understanding these regulations:

"On three and a half days each year, almost all shops must close under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990. These are Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and until 1pm on ANZAC Day."

“Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025, is a restricted trading day under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990, meaning most shops must remain closed. However, certain shops may open if they meet specific conditions.”

Those businesses permitted to trade include places such as a dairy, petrol station, pharmacy, restaurant or cafe, hairdressers, and barbers. Farmers and crafts markets are also included in this category. These places have certain conditions they need to meet, but they can be open.”

“Employees have the right to refuse work on Easter Sunday without providing a reason. This right applies to all shop employees, including those in exempted shops like dairies and petrol stations, as well as staff performing non-trading work such as shelf-stacking or stocktaking.”

Employers must notify employees of this right in writing between 4 and 8 weeks before Easter Sunday. Failure to provide proper notice means employees cannot be compelled to work on that day.

“We want both employers and employees to understand that they have responsibilities and a process to follow when either an employer wants an employee to work on Easter Sunday, and where employees don’t want to work that day.”

Simon understands there has been confusion over the years on exactly which types of shops can open on restricted trading days. Some shops can also open on restricted trading days because they have an area exemption. These are generally given in tourist areas such as Taupō or Queenstown.

Councils can put in place local policies that allow shops within their area, or parts of it, to trade on Easter Sunday. Councils create local policies, and then notify MBIE.

“Generally, what we see is that people know the rules and are doing things right, what we’re keen to see is this extended across the board,” says Simon.

If you suspect a business is breaching the Easter trading laws, please notify MBIE via our online reporting form: Labour Inspectorate complaints | Employment New Zealand

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