Retailers continue to describe the Easter trading laws as confusing after another holiday weekend when several dozen businesses face prosecution for illegally trading.

All retailers are allowed to open today but as a public holiday they have to pay higher wages rates, which results in some food and beverage businesses imposing sucharges.

While this also occurred on Good Friday, no surcharges should have applied yesterday as Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, though it has heavy restrictions on what outlets can open.

Easter Sunday is not an official public holiday, so café owners are paying their staff a regular wage.

The Department of Labour says it is considering further action against 16 retailers who opened on Easter Sunday in apparent contravention of Easter shop trading legislation.

Seven of the retailers are in Auckland (four home improvement/hardware stores, one music store, one bookshop and one superette), one in Hamilton, one in Tauranga, two in Hawke’s Bay (all hardware/home improvement stores), three in Wellington (a bookstore, a music store and a hardware/home improvement store) and two in Christchurch (a music store and a book store).