Sunday Working - rules and regulations | Guides

If you are asked to work on a Sunday, do you have to? Here is a run-down of your rights.

It will, of course depend on what your contract says! If your contract says you have to work on a Sunday then you will have to, when asked, unless you fall into one of the groups below. If your contract doesn’t mention working on a Sunday then you would need a change to your contract that is agreed by both parties, before you should work on a Sunday. If you do not agree to this change then this could be a breach of contract and you could make a claim to an Employment Tribunal.

In the following situations you may not have to work on a Sunday:

If you are an Employee who is a shop worker or a betting worker (i.e. works in a betting shop or as a bookmaker at a sports venue), in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you have the right to refuse to work on a Sunday by ‘opting out’ (you need to give 3 months notice to do this but you do not need to give a reason for doing so). If you do not want to work on a Sunday and ‘opt out’ you are also then protected against dismissal, selection for redundancy and other unfair treatment (e.g. refusal of promotion or training) that has occured because you opted-out and can take a case to an Employment Tribunal if any of these have occurred.

And if you are a shop worker or betting worker your Employer must give you the option to ‘opt out’ of Sunday working within 2 months of starting work. If they do not give you this option you will only need to give 1 months notice to ‘opt out’.

If you are a shop worker who has been with the same Employer since before 26th August 1994 you are protected from having to work on Sundays and do not need to (unless you want to). And if you are betting worker who has been with the same Employer since before 3rd January 1995 you are protected also. You can, of course, give up this protection and work on Sundays by giving your Employer a written ‘opt in’ notice and agreeing what Sunday’s you are willing to work. These rules do not apply in Scotland. If you ‘opt in’ you can change your mind at any time and ‘opt out’ (giving the notice that your Employer requires).

In any of these situations above, if you ‘opt out’ of Sunday working your Employer does not have to offer you extra work on other days instead.

There is no service length requirement to be eligible for these Sunday rules.

These rules obviously don’t apply if you are employed to work only on a Sunday.

If you are a practising Christian who has strong feelings about Sunday working you should explain this to your Employer, who should try to meet your requests (or they may be found to have discriminated against you for your religious beliefs).

Will you get more money for working on Sundays (or time off in lieu)?

This depends on what your Employer agrees – they do not have to pay you more legally.

What rest breaks should I get if I work on a Sunday?

If you work on a Sunday you are covered by normal Working Time Directive rules which are the need to have a 11 hour rest break between shifts, a 24 hour rest break in each 7 day period (of 48 hours in each 14 days) and a 20 minute rest break if your shift is longer than 6 hours.

However, your Employer is also advised (although these are not legal requirements) to:

Give you at least 1 weekend in 3 off, and
Give you reasonable notice if they change your shift patterns.

Sunday Trading rules in England and Wales:

Large shops with over 280 square metres or more of floor space have legal restrictions on their opening hours. Most can only open on a Sunday for a continuous period of 6 hours between 10am and 6pm. They are also not allowed to open on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day.

Some shops are exempt from these rules, including off-licences; airport, railway and service station outlets; farm shops; some pharmacies; exhibition stands.