Sunday trading hours explained
Two shops side by side at a retail park can open at completely different times on a Sunday. The reason is a law from 1994, and it only applies in part of the UK.
If you have ever arrived at a retail park at 10am on a Sunday to find the furniture shop open, the supermarket still closed until 11am and the small coffee kiosk open since 7am, you have seen Sunday trading law at work. The rules are simple once you know them, but they differ across the four nations of the UK.
England and Wales: the Sunday Trading Act 1994
The Sunday Trading Act 1994 splits shops into two groups based on size.
- Large shops are those with a relevant floor area over 280 square metres (about 3,000 square feet). They can open for up to six continuous hours between 10am and 6pm on a Sunday.
- Smaller shops at or under that threshold can open whenever they like on a Sunday.
Most units at a retail park are well over 280 square metres, so the six-hour rule applies to almost every main shop. The shop decides which six hours to use. Some open 10am to 4pm to catch the morning, others 11am to 5pm or 12pm to 6pm. That is why neighbouring shops do not line up.
Large shops are allowed to have staff in before and after those hours for things like stocking shelves and preparing the shop. What they cannot do is serve customers outside the six hours.
Exemptions
The Act exempts certain kinds of large shop, which can open longer on Sundays. The exemptions include, in broad terms:
- Shops at airports and railway stations, and motorway service areas.
- Shops mainly selling motor fuel and motor supplies.
- Registered pharmacies selling only medicinal products and medical and surgical appliances.
- Farm shops selling mainly produce from the farm.
- Shops mainly selling alcohol.
- Shops at exhibition stands selling goods connected with the exhibition.
A supermarket at a retail park with a petrol station is a good example: the fuel shop can stay open longer, but the main store follows the six-hour rule.
Easter Sunday and Christmas Day
Large shops in England and Wales must close completely on Easter Sunday. They must also close on Christmas Day, whatever day of the week it falls on, under the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004. There is no equivalent restriction on Boxing Day or New Year's Day in England and Wales, although many shops choose to close or open late.
Scotland: no general limits
The Sunday Trading Act 1994 does not extend to Scotland, and there is no equivalent Scottish law restricting Sunday hours. Shops of any size can open whenever they choose on a Sunday, and many large stores open for much of the day. Large shops in Scotland must close on Christmas Day under the Christmas Day and New Year's Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007. If you are planning a trip near the border, it is worth checking each shop's hours, because the same chain may run very different Sunday hours on either side.
Northern Ireland: a different window
Northern Ireland has its own law. Large shops there can generally open on Sundays only between 1pm and 6pm, with exemptions for some types of shop, broadly similar to those in England and Wales. Some local councils have powers to designate holiday resort areas with different rules. For the current details, check nidirect or your local council.
Shop workers and Sunday working
Most shop workers in England and Wales have a statutory right to opt out of Sunday working, by giving their employer written notice, under the Employment Rights Act 1996. Scotland has separate protection under the Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003. These rights do not affect you as a customer, but they help explain why some stores run smaller teams on a Sunday, and why services such as deliveries, home measuring or appliance installation may not be available that day.
Bank holidays
Apart from Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, there are no special legal rules on bank holiday opening. Bank holiday Mondays are treated like any other weekday, so large shops can open whatever hours they choose. Shops often publish special holiday hours, particularly around Christmas and New Year.
What this means for planning a visit
- Check each shop's Sunday hours separately. A retail park does not have one set of opening hours.
- Arrive early for the morning openers, then move to the later ones. Our trip planning guide explains how to sequence a visit.
- Click and collect on a Sunday is only available while a large shop is open to customers, unless the retailer uses a separate locker. See our click and collect guide.
- Watch the car park time limit. Waiting in the car park for a shop to open still counts towards your maximum stay. More on that in our parking charges guide.
Sunday trading has been debated many times since 1994, and temporary relaxations have happened, for example during the London 2012 Olympics. If you see reports of changes, check the current legislation and official guidance rather than relying on older articles.
How the floor area is measured
The 280 square metre threshold in England and Wales refers to the shop's internal floor area, not the size of the plot or the car park. Some retailers with stores close to the threshold arrange their space so that they fall just under it, which is why a small format supermarket can open all day on a Sunday while a larger branch of the same chain cannot. A unit at a retail park that has been split into two smaller shops may also end up with each half falling under the threshold.
For shoppers, the practical point is simple: you cannot tell from the outside whether a shop counts as large. Its published Sunday hours are the only reliable guide, and most retailers list them per store online.