Easter is only two weeks away. Traditionally, on the day before Christmas, all shops are open on Sunday, and trading on other Sundays has been banned for several years. What will the situation be like in 2024? How is it today, Sunday, March 17, 2024?
Today, fans of Ireland and green beer can freely celebrate St. Patrick's Day in pubs, bars and restaurants – including those in galleries and shopping malls. However, shopping is worse.
Sunday Trading Ban: Is Sunday, March 17, 2024 a trading Sunday?
Unfortunately, the law banning Sunday trading is still in effect and without any restrictions, stores can only be open seven days a day, 52 or 53, depending on what the calendar shows, per year.
This may change, but not in the near future, because there is no draft in the Sejm that the Polish Parliament could discuss on this issue and make changes to the rules of Sunday trading – preferably by simply repealing the entire law. This means that life will return to shopping centers and shopping centers, because on Sunday everyone will find something for themselves here – shopping, eating and using various outlets.
Now, shopping centers are open on Sunday, but there is no possibility of shopping in typical stores: so we cannot buy items for the home refrigerator or pantry, shoes or clothes – either in large stores or small boutiques.
The exception is stores operated by a single owner.
The essence of the Sunday trading ban is to exclude employees from work. The law did not, and still does, prevent the owner, who may be supported by family members, from running his business on any Sunday.
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This explains the fact that every Sunday we can shop in most stores of the “Shabaka” chain – private enterprises of natural persons, and on that day the merchants themselves stand behind the cash register and offer coffee or hot milk.
These large chain stores, which are open on Sundays subject to a trading ban, are usually companies run in the form of a civil partnership – then there are several co-owners and they can all, perhaps with the support of members of their immediate family, provide trading services to customers without restrictions.
Trading on Sundays and Sundays with 2024 trading ban [wykaz]
Referring to the legal provisions and assessing the current legal situation, we must conclude that for another year in a row there are seven Sundays in the calendar without a trade ban:
- January 28,
- 24 marks,
- April 28,
- June 30,
- August 25,
- December 15,
- December 22.
So there is no point in searching for Sunday, March 17 in this list.
Currently, even though we are already in the middle of the third month of the year, trade has only been allowed once – on January 28th.
We have to wait another week until next Sunday, until Sunday 24 March, before Easter. Although it is also a great holiday – Palm Sunday, trade will be allowed on this Sunday.
As you can see, the content of the regulations encourages many Poles to adhere to the tradition of doing everything at the last minute – including Christmas shopping before each subsequent holiday.
And then, very quickly, the legislature was kind to us, allowing us to properly prepare ourselves on Sunday to celebrate the first Labor Day of the year — so we'll be shopping on Sunday, April 28, without any official restrictions.
Sunday, March 17: Commercial or with no trading
Unfortunately, we still have to ask ourselves this question, because the law decides when we can shop on Sunday and when we cannot.
Is this normal in a democratic country? It can be said that in every country the law can be formulated in a way that protects the interests of all citizens – in accordance with the constitution – and in a special way for specific social groups.
Through its clear interference in the principles of economic activity through this law, the legislator severely limits the principle of freedom of entrepreneurs.
It can be said that he does this to protect the rights of those working in the trade, but does he not exceed his powers?
After all, labor law adequately protects these rights, as well as the rights of other people who work on Sundays without specific laws: health care workers, uniformed services, etc.
Sunday trading with 2024 trading ban
Governments have changed, and the balance of political power in the House of Representatives and the Senate has changed. Representatives of the nations must clearly state whether the current legal situation regarding Sunday trading rules does not significantly conflict with the rights and obligations of citizens.
As we know from the election campaign, the opinions of politicians from individual parties are quite diverse – from declaring the removal of the law from legal circulation and restoring complete freedom of commercial activity in the field of Sunday trading, to leaving the current situation unchanged.
Still, the same government representatives announced that there would be changes to trading rules on Sunday. But at the moment, there are no specific details behind this.
This is partly understandable, because in public opinion, the forces of supporters of trade and the ban on Sunday trading are actually equal, and it is the result of large social groups being weaned from the tradition of Sunday shopping.
However, in favor of shops open on all Sundays, i.e. against the ban on trading on Sunday, residents of large cities and more professionally active Poles, whose shops are closed on Sundays greatly limit their freedom to satisfy various life needs and household duties.
To at least show a gesture of good faith towards them before final decisions are made, it would be helpful to at least amend the law, for example by adding to the list of stores whose restrictions do not apply to those in shopping malls and shopping centres. Then, to solve the problem, there will be no need to go to the gas station on Sunday, not mainly to refuel the car, but to fill the refrigerator, and in the places that she eagerly visited on Sundays, not only restaurants, pastry shops and flower shops will be open, but Also places that allow people to do urgent shopping freely – in grocery stores or convenience stores – in different stores.
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