Don't fall for a surcharge this Easter Sunday

Thursday, 6 April 2023

Oh no! You’ve forgotten butter for your hot cross buns this Easter – will shops be open over the weekend for you to grab some?

Although it’s the day the Easter Bunny visits, Easter Sunday isn’t actually a public holiday.

This means if you’re going out for a Sunday brunch, because yes, most places can be open on Sunday, you are within your rights to ask questions if you’re charged a surcharge.

Hospitality businesses in particular often apply a 15% surcharge on a public holiday.

Surcharges are usually used to recover additional costs such as staff wages, because employees get a higher pay rate when working a public holiday under the Holidays Act.

* Commerce Commission reminds businesses about overcharging on public holidays

* 2021 is the year of the long weekend, beware holiday surcharge confusion ahead

Kids try and rank 10 different types of Easter Eggs

There are no limits on how big a surcharge can be, and they can be applied on any day of the year.

But the rules require that if a surcharge is applied, public holiday or not, it has to be clearly disclosed, and the reasons for it cannot mislead customers. Businesses need to communicate to customers what the surcharge is covering.

The only public holidays during the Easter period are Good Friday and Easter Monday. Saturday and Sunday are not public holidays – so if a surcharge is applied to your purchase on Easter Sunday and the reason offered is because it’s a “public holiday” you have a right to complain.

To add a surcharge, shop owners need to inform the customers, verbally or by way of a clear, prominent sign, before the transaction starts.

If they don’t, it could breach the Fair Trading Act, which has a fine of up to $600,000 for a company and $200,000 for an individual per offence.

But will anything even be open on Easter Sunday?

The short answer is that it depends on where you live.

By law, all shops must close for three-and-a-half days a year – Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and until 1pm on Anzac Day. But, Easter Sunday isn’t actually a public holiday, it is instead replaced by Easter Monday.

In 2016 it was ruled that individual councils could decide whether retailers in their area could open on Easter Sunday. Forty-four councils around the country allow shops to open.

There are some stores that have an exception and can operate on public holidays, anyway.

These include dairies, service stations, takeaway bars, restaurants and cafes, duty-free stores, shops providing services, not selling goods (such as movie theatres or hairdressers), real estate agencies, pharmacies and garden centres.

Markets in a building location can also go ahead.

What can open on Good Friday?

Once again, that depends where you live and if business owners are up for paying their staff time and a half and a day in lieu.

Supermarkets are closed across the country on Good Friday – but dairies, petrol stations and some Four Squares are allowed to operate if you’re out of milk.

Only hospitality businesses serving food can open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, so bars and nightclubs have to close at midnight on Thursday and Saturday, but your local cafe might be open for a hot coffee.

All other big retailers will be closed, such as The Warehouse, Noel Leeming and Farmers.

What about Monday? Can I go shopping then?

Most stores will be open on Easter Monday despite it being a public holiday.

There is no obligation for stores to be closed, although they may be operating on reduced hours.

Supermarkets will be back open after being closed on both Friday and Sunday.

But a public holiday surcharge will likely apply at most cafes and restaurants.