View source for Blue law

==== England and Wales ====
=====  Before 1994 =====
Prior to 1994, trading laws forbade sale of certain products on a Sunday; the distinction between those that could and could not be sold was increasingly seen as arbitrary, and the laws were inadequately enforced and widely flouted. For example, some supermarkets would treat the relatively modest fines arising as a business cost and open nonetheless.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ReadingEagle |date=2020-04-08 |title=Remnants of 'blue laws' linger throughout U.S. |url=https://www.readingeagle.com/2020/04/08/remnants-of-blue-laws-linger-throughout-us/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Reading Eagle |language=en-US}}</ref>

===== Since 1994 =====
The [[Sunday Trading Act 1994]] relaxed restrictions on Sunday trading. This produced vocal opposition from bodies such as the [[Keep Sunday Special]] campaign, and the [[Lord's Day Observance Society]]: on religious grounds, on the grounds that it would increase consumerism, and that it would reduce shop assistants' weekend leisure time.

The legislation permits large shops (those with a relevant floor area in excess of 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.) to open for up to six hours on Sunday. Small shops, those with an area of below 280 square metres (3000 sq. ft.), are free to set their own Sunday trading times. Some large shops, such as [[off-licence]]s, service stations and garages, are exempt from the restrictions.

Some very large shops (e.g. department stores) open for longer than six hours on a Sunday by allowing customers in to browse 30 minutes prior to allowing them to make a purchase, since the six-hour restriction only applies to time during which the shop may make sales.

Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are non-trading days. This applies even to garden centres, which earlier had been trading over Easter, but not to small shops (those with an area of below 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/trading-hours-for-retailers-the-law|title=Trading hours for retailers: the law|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>