During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the normal restrictions on Sunday trading have been relaxed so that all shops are now able to stay open for more than six hours.

In 1994, the prohibition against Sunday trading was lifted.  Since then, shops with a floor space of less than 280m² have been permitted to stay open on Sundays without restriction, whereas shops with a larger floor area have been permitted to stay open for a maximum of six hours, and only between the hours of 10am and 6pm.

From Sunday 22nd July 2012 to Sunday 9th September 2012 (inclusive), the restrictions imposed on large shops’ opening hours have been temporarily lifted and all shops are able to remain open for longer on Sundays.

Shop workers, who are or may be required to work on Sundays but are not employed to work only on those days, are permitted to opt-out of Sunday working.  In order to do so, those retail workers who object to Sunday working must give their employer three months’ notice of their objection.  That period had been shortened ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to two months, but even so it is now too late for shop workers to serve notice of their objection ahead of the Games.

So for anyone suffering from Olympic Games overload, try retail therapy at your nearest department store. On second thoughts…