All retailers in NSW will now be able to open on Boxing Day after the Retailers Trading Act was changed this week to "better reflect community expectations in our modern society".

Despite Minister for Finance and Services Greg Pearce saying the extra day of trade will benefit retailers and boost the state's economy, owner and manager of Miltons Gear, Wayne Inglis, said after a busy lead up to Christmas he won't be forcing his staff back to work any earlier than usual.

"Everyone needs a little break," he said.

One female employee who has been in the retail industry for 30 years, both as an employee and employer, said she thinks the new legislation "is a blow for families".

“Christmas Day is so busy, Boxing Day is when you get to sit back and relax and enjoy it with your immediate family.”

But she said she can understand how business owners will feel pressured to compete with the larger multinational corporations.

“Boxing Day – it is the one day of the year people spend up big,” she said.

“If you don’t do it (open) you are missing out on your slice of the pie.”

While the legislation states that employees won’t be forced to work on Boxing Day – or any other public holiday – secretary of the NSW Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) Gerard Dwyer said 30 per cent of SDA members say they have been pressured to work on a public

holiday. Meeting with representatives from SDA’s 3000 Riverina members in Wagga yesterday, he said the distaste for the new laws was evident.

“The small businesses are almost without a voice,” he said.

President of the Wagga Business Chamber Julian McLaren said while he doesn’t disagree with the legislation – when combined with the carbon tax, flood levy and increased superannuation costs – it will have a significant impact on the region’s small businesses.

“The federal government doesn’t seem to look after us (small businesses) as much as what they should,” he said.