Shopping on Sundays in December. When will the stores be open?

The Parliamentary Committee on Economics and Development adopted the draft amendment to the Law on Restriction of Trade on Sundays and Holidays submitted by Poland 2050. This year, Christmas Eve, which falls on a Sunday, is supposed to be a day off from work, while the previous two Sundays, i.e. December 10 and 17, are from work. This year, they will not be covered by the trade ban.

While presenting the draft amendment, Poland 2050 MP Isabella Bodnar noted that Christmas Eve, according to Polish tradition, should be a day off for employees of stores and chains. But she stressed that “in order to enable Poles to prepare for the celebration of Christmas, the two preceding Sundays, i.e. December 10 and 17 this year, must be commercial during full working hours.” She added that such a solution lies, among other things, in the interest of the economy, as well as customers who currently have less time to do their shopping before Christmas. Earlier, the committee rejected the government project prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, which assumes that stores will not be open on Christmas Eve, but trade can instead take place on Sunday, December 10, until… 14.00.

The law imposing a gradual ban on Sunday trading entered into force on March 1, 2018. As of 2020, the trading ban does not apply on seven Sundays a year: the last Sundays of January, April, June and August, as well as the Sunday before Easter and on The following Sunday before Christmas. The Law Restricting Trade on Sundays provides a list of 32 exceptions. The trade ban does not include, among other things: postal activity if the revenues from this activity constitute at least 40%. Revenues from the sale of a specific facility. Furthermore, this does not apply to sweet shops, ice cream shops, liquid petrol stations, flower shops, newsagents or cafés. The penalty for breaking the trading ban on Sunday is PLN 1,000 to PLN 100,000. A fine of Polish zlotys, and in case of continued violation of the regulations – a penalty of restriction of freedom.

Read also: Changes to the trade ban. IKEA Reviews