In 1998, the Labour Court recommended that Penneys and Mandate accept proposals for extended trading across 35 stores. The recommendation was signed on 20 April 1998. The Court recommended 50 full-time posts, rising to 100 as more stores joined extended trading, and a one-off payment of three weeks’ wages. It also recommended a minimum of 15 weekly hours for pro-rata contracts, except for Friday night and Saturday staff, and the company’s part-time sick-pay proposal with its qualifying threshold reduced from 18 to 15 hours.