The bill was rejected in Parliament in 1986, and only got passed in 1996.., a lot later. The upper management had told the bosses to tell us minions in anticipation of the original bill passing.
We Brits value our Sundays, church worship and all that crap. How I loved the church.., just for a bit and for the wrong reasons.
The 8pm openings, now you are bringing back memories. As well as dinner, there was a 30 minute 'Tea' break around 6pm, so I must have been roped into the late nights.