Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force on 6th April 2004.


NOTES

The Sunday Working (Scotland) Bill received ROYAL ASSENT on 10th July 2003 as the Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 and came into force on 6th April 2004.


The Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 is headed "An Act to make provision as to the rights of shop workers and betting workers under the law of Scotland in relation to Sunday working; and for connected purposes". It came into force on 6th April 2004 (see the Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2004, SI 2004/958).

The main effect of the Act is to give Scottish workers the right to refuse Sunday shifts. This is achieved by amending Employment Rights Act 1996 s.36 (and by making other consequential amendments) so as to extend to Scotland the statutory provisions governing Sunday working by shop and betting workers.

Click to go to official explanatory notes on the Sunday Working (Scotland) Bill. The explanatory notes point out that "No modern Scottish statutory provisions specifically relating to Sunday working exist. Sunday opening had been so long permitted in Scotland, that a view seems to have been taken that workers in Scotland had no reasonable expectation of avoiding working on Sundays". Rather remarkably for recent times, this Bill became an Act even though it was introduced as a private member's bill (by David Cairns MP - Lab, Greenock and Inverclyde).

Passage of this Act into law was followed not long after by demands for another Act to prevent larger stores in Scotland from opening on Christmas Day and New Year's Day (see USDAW Press Release re Christmas and New Year holiday for Scottish shopworkers, 21st Jan 2004 and for notes on the position generally see Holidays/public and bank holidays ).

For relevant general notes go to Sunday Trading .

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updated April2004.




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