Written question asked by Gwyneth Dunwoody (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 1 February 2002. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Friday, 1 February 2002 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what premium pay rates shopworkers received for Sunday working in (a) 1991 and (b) 2000. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what premium pay rates shopworkers received for Sunday working in (a) 1991 and (b) 2000. [30941] Miss Melanie Johnson: No known data sources exist which give premium rates of pay on an annual basis for Sunday shopworkers. However in 1996, a one off independent survey was conducted on behalf of my Department to study the impact of the 1994 Sunday Trading Act. Based on a sample of about 300 shops, the following findings were given in relation to the payment of premium rates for shopworkers: 92 per cent. of shops which opened on Sundays before the 1994 Act, paid employees a premium rate. There was no evidence that any shops had stopped paying premium rates after the introduction of the act. At the time of the survey in 1996, 50 per cent. of shops paid the premium rate at `double' time or `time and three quarters,' 41 per cent. at `time and a half' or `time and a quarter' and 7 per cent. received an extra `flat rate'. Larger shops tended to pay the higher premium rates. Following the introduction of the 1994 Sunday Trading Act, 18 per cent. of all shops increased the premium rate, 57 per cent. left the rate unchanged and 25 per cent. reduced the rate.

Secondary information