Republic of Ireland,New Zealand,Spain,Switzerland,

Republic of Ireland
There has been no recent legislation regarding Sunday trading in the Republic of Ireland, which is regulated by the Shops (Hours of Trading) Act 1938.

This Act confers on the responsible minister the right to control trading, and also lays down certain types of business which are exempt, i.e. types of business can open on Sundays, but only for the sale of certain items. However, major chains (supermarkets, DIY, household goods, clothing etc.) open their branches throughout the Republic on Sundays usually from 10:00 to 19:00 in the larger cities and from 12:00 to 18:00 in the smaller centres. In Dublin, almost all shops are open on a Sunday.

Some supermarkets, such as Tesco, are open around the clock, every day. Many smaller shops, most petrol stations, some food service outlets, and other retailers such as pharmacies are also open permanently.


New Zealand
New Zealand, which banned trading on Saturday and Sunday completely between 1945 and 1980, liberalised shopping hours in 1990. Shops may open at any time, with the exception of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day. Certain types of shops, such as petrol stations and dairies, are specifically excluded from this restriction and are still allowed to trade on these days. However, outside the main cities, shops still close for the weekend on Saturday afternoons.


Spain
Commercial liberalisation during the eighties allowed Sunday shopping with no restrictions. However, due to pressure from the small individually - owned shops, certain restrictions were introduced in the nineties. In the current situation, each autonomous community may establish its own Sunday opening calendar. the general trend is allowing Sunday opening once a month (usually the first Sunday) and every Sunday during special shopping seasons (Christmas, Sales). Certain sectors (bars, restaurants, bakeries, bookshops...) are granted an exception and may open every Sunday, with no restrictions.

Religious concerns have been notably absent from the debate. The main bone of contention lies in the competition between big department stores, supermarkets and shopping centers, who push for complete liberalisation, and small family run shops, who cannot afford extra staff to open on Sundays.


Switzerland
Federal labour law in Switzerland generally prohibits the employment of staff on Sundays. The law provides for exceptions for very small shops, shops in certain tourist areas as well as shops in major train stations and airports. The latter provision was adopted in a 2005 popular referendum in which it was opposed by labor unions and conservative Christian groups. Moreover, the cantons may allow shops to open on up to four sundays a year.

Pursuant to an ordinance of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, the following train stations and airports are allowed to include shops that are open on Sundays: Aarau, Baden, Basel SBB, Bellinzona, Berne, Biel, Brig, Chur, Frauenfeld, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Olten, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, St. Gall, Thun, Uster, Visp, Wil, Winterthur, Zug, Zürich Enge, Zürich Hauptbahnhof, Zürich Oerlikon, Zürich Stadelhofen; Berne Airport, Geneva Cointrin International Airport, Lugano Airport, Sion Airfield, St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport, Zürich Airport.