WORKING AND TRADING HOURS: The changing pattern in EEC countries

The pattern of flexible trading hours, with one or two late‐night openings, is now generally accepted in the UK, as it has been in most EEC countries. But now there is clear evidence from most of these countries of a growing separation between working and trading hours — trading hours are increasing but working hours are diminishing. We also need to look more closely at the effect of extended trading hours; evidence is emerging that Saturday afternoon is losing ground as a crucial sales period, and is being replaced by late‐nights. This article examines the trends in working and trading hours in EEC countries, and the effect on turnover. It has been written by an Italian research worker currently based in Oxford, who has spent the last nine months talking to retail managements and to trade unions on working conditions in large‐scale retailing in EEC countries. He has visited several countries in the course of his research and the project has been funded by the Italian retail group, La Rinascente. A future article will deal with bargaining structures, and wages and earnings.