Source: Radio New Zealand
Some stores will be forced to close on certain days over Easter weekend. RNZ/Nick Monro
It’s that time of year again – but before you unwrap the chocolate bunnies, be sure you’re aware of what Easter weekend holiday closures and shop hours will be.
What will be open?
Good Friday is a public holiday, and so is Easter Monday.
However, the trading restrictions that mean many stories will close are only in effect on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The government requires retail stores to close for three-and-a-half days a year – Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day morning until 1pm.
Dairies, service stations and cafes are allowed to open under certain conditions.
However, to complicate things, local councils can also make some exceptions.
There are three types of exemption to the shop shutdowns:
- tourist resorts such as Taupō and Queenstown on Easter Sunday only
- places where the local council has said shops can open on Easter Sunday only
- certain kinds of shops (limited to “small grocery shops”, service stations, takeaways, bars, cafes, duty-free stores, “shops providing services” (and not selling things), real estate agencies, pharmacies, garden centres (only on Easter Sunday), public transport terminals, souvenir shops and exhibitions “devoted entirely or primarily to agriculture, art, industry and science”).
Everyone else has to keep the doors shut on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, including department stores and supermarkets.
Which means that if you’re going shopping on Thursday, you might face a horde of shoppers desperately stocking up for the prospect of a day or two without the shops open. Be prepared.
So the shops are open on Easter Monday?
Yes – although they can choose to close if they want, so check first. Supermarkets and such should generally be open though, if you need to stock up on your chocolate.
Wait, so why isn’t Easter Saturday a holiday? How come Monday is the public holiday and not Easter Sunday?
We don’t make the rules.
Will there be surcharges?
Shop owners typically cite increased wage costs for employees who work on public holidays.
Some places may add a surcharge over Easter weekend, but there are strict guidelines from the Commerce Commission about how much and when.
They’ve got to clearly disclose the surcharge in advance, not hidden behind the counter or on a note put back in the employee toilets.
Businesses can’t mislead about why they’re doing a surcharge – the Commerce Commission notes that “For example, a business must not claim it is applying a surcharge on Easter Sunday because it is a public holiday. This would be inaccurate because the only public holidays over the Easter weekend are Good Friday and Easter Monday.”
If a surcharge feels misleading, you can report it to the Commerce Commission.
What if you have to work?
You usually can only be required to work public holidays if it is stated in your employment agreement and the public holiday is on a day you will normally work.
If you’re working on a public hoilday, you generally must be paid time and a half and given a day in lieu.
Okay, so can I get a drink?
There have been restrictions about buying alcohol over Easter, but that is likely to change a little this year.
A member’s bill from Labour MP Kieran McAnulty that passed its third reading Wednesday would amend the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow premises that are already open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Anzac Day morning and Christmas Day to sell alcohol under normal licence conditions.
It is possible it may receive royal assent on Thursday, in time for Good Friday. However, the bill would not change rules around bottle shops or supermarket alcohol sales.
What else should I know?
While you’re at it, don’t forget that Daylight Saving time ends on Sunday, too. It’s all go this four-day weekend.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
