Anyone offering a service-based business will be allowed to trade on Sundays.
The news could affect businesses such as doctors, dentists, accountants and lawyers, all of whom could be free to practise seven days a week.The ruling came after the Constable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft, asked for clarification from the Attorney General, William Bailhache, on whether Tropical Tanning in Don Street should be able to open on Sundays.
Mr Bailhache wrote back saying that the law was not clear and that he would not prosecute anyone who opened premises which provided only services – not goods.From 2000 onwards, Tropical Tanning proprietor John Connor was allowed to open on Sundays.
However, he was told this year that the Town Hall had granted him permission in error.Mr Crowcroft sought clarification on the issue from the Attorney General, who said that shops selling a service rather than retailing goods should be allowed to trade seven days per week.’I am so glad that sense has prevailed,’ said Mr Connor.
‘In the end, it was sorted out very quickly and I would like to thank Mr Crowcroft for his help.’If staff are willing to work, then why not let shops open? We require every opportunity we can get to meet increasing rents and overheads.’Mr Crowcroft, who is chairing a Constables’ Committee working party to sort out the Island’s Sunday trading laws, also welcomed the news.
He said: ‘The current law is full of anomalies.
The restrictions are placed on the items themselves, which appears to be nonsensical.
The main thrust of our proposals is that we want the Sunday trading law to minimise nuisance.’But he said that the Constables were keen to keep Sundays special.
Mr Crowcroft said that Islanders regarded Sunday as a special day, whether for religious reasons or because it gave them time to spend with their families, and that the committee were determined to make sure that it stayed that way.John Storey, the owner of Shylocks Hair Studio in Colomberie, said that Sunday could be a good trading day for some businesses.
He said: ‘I have just been to Paris and the city is mobbed every day, and Sundays is another trading day.
I think it is the individual’s right – it should not be dictated by religious thoughts and beliefs.
I would consider opening on a Sunday – you don’t know until you give it a go.’Scott Ingham, a partner at Sand Street Barbers, said that they would not take advantage of an extra day’s trading.
He said: ‘I think some shops should be allowed to open, but we definitely would not.
It would not be worth it for us, to be honest, but the decision should be ours to make, not someone else’s.’
