Retailers and their employees are facing confusion and some difficulties as some of them prepare for Easter Sunday trading for the first time.
The Shop Trading Amendment Act 2016 allows individual councils to decide whether shops, which also includes restaurants, bars and cafes, are able to open on Easter Sunday.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls told the Otago Daily Times the Act was creating confusion and inconsistency across Otago and Southland.
Some councils were allowing shops to open and others were not yet making a decision.
''We are not supportive of this approach as it is creating a piecemeal approach across our region.''
However, the association did support the legislation allowing all areas to open during Easter weekend, she said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website showed yesterday Central Otago, Queenstown-Lakes, Clutha and Southland district councils had passed the legislation and shops in those areas were able to open.
The Dunedin City Council and the Waitaki District Council had not made their decisions and shops would remain closed. The closure would also be observed by the Meridian Mall, although that could change in the future, a spokeswoman said.
Mrs Nicholls said Easter was a significant holiday and tourists might also find the situation confusing, making it difficult for businesses operating throughout the country.
Even if the councils allowed local shops to open, the Act was creating further difficulties for those businesses.
The new legislation created some issues for employers on Easter Sunday as it was not a public holiday.
Some employers, particularly in the tourism industry, were reporting they were finding it difficult to get staff to work on Easter Sunday, she said.
Under the changes to the Act, employers needed to have asked employees four weeks in advance if they wanted to work on Easter Sunday and they had the right to decline.
''We are concerned with the confusion this has created and we will be advocating for change.''
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan was concerned the piecemeal approach to shops opening on Sunday could mean adverse consequences for retailers.
''If only one shop in five is open, that will be an unsatisfactory retail experience. Walking down the street past five or six closed shops to find one open will not be positive.
''The new law will change how people shop. Retailers don't want to give shoppers the opportunity to go elsewhere to get their purchases.
''Retailers want to create a habit, not break a habit.''
The chamber had started a survey of Dunedin retailers, asking what they would prefer to be the outcome of discussions with the Dunedin City Council, he said.
Retailers already had very few days off and trading on Easter Sunday would further erode those days, creating more pressure and stress.
The chamber was being told staff wanted to work on the Sunday but Mr McGowan said that was the result from the first of what would be a series of surveys.
First Union retail secretary Maxine Gay said the law was a ''dog's breakfast'' and could be a way of employers in small towns not paying their staff.
If Sunday was a normal rostered day of work and the employer did not offer work on Easter Sunday, the worker was entitled to a paid holiday.
However, if the employer offered work and the worker declined, the employer did not have to pay that person because work was offered and declined, she said.
''Unless it is negotiated in your collective you'll either be paid or not. But in small towns, it is most unlikely retail workers will be part of a collective work site. This is really a way for people not to be paid.
''Seriously, this is just a farce in those small towns.''
Ms Gay believed it was likely to cost retailers in places like Balclutha and Alexandra more than they would make in sales.
It made sense to open in tourist areas, like Queenstown and Wanaka, but tourists visiting small towns were unlikely to want to shop in large hardware chains.
The union would try to get feedback after the weekend but the Department of Labour was already stretched thinly in resources, she said.
Small Business Minister and Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean lobbied Parliament for the changes, particularly because the previous law allowed Queenstown retailers to open but deprived Wanaka retailers of the same opportunity.
She was pleased many Otago-Southland retailers would be able to open their doors and trade legally on Easter Sunday for the first time.
''This is such an important step forward for retailers opening their doors for the first time after many years of frustration, particularly in tourist towns like Wanaka.''
Many business owners had told her they are looking forward to be able to open legally on Easter Sunday and were enthusiastic about the opportunity, Mrs Dean said.
About a third of councils around the country, including eight in the South Island, had introduced policies allowing retailers to open if they chose.
''It's an exciting new trend, and one I believe is long overdue.
''As tourism booms and visitors numbers to tourist towns around the region increase at Easter, it is only fair business owners are given the opportunity to take advantage of that extra business.''
The legislation also allowed workers who did not want to work on Sunday the opportunity to have the time off with their families, a win for all concerned, she said.
