Will stores be open on Sunday, December 22?

Luc Williams

On Sunday, December 22, stores will be open

This Sunday, December 22 this year. commercial establishments will be open. It will be last trading Sunday in 2024

Trading on Christmas Eve

Next Tuesday, i.e. Christmas Eve, trading will be allowed until 14. Pursuant to the Act on Restriction of Trade on Sundays and Holidays, Christmas Eve is a business day until 2 p.m.

In November The Sejm passed an amendment providing for the establishment of December 24 as a day off for all employees, including employees of commercial establishments, for whom, in accordance with the Act on the restriction of trade on Sundays and public holidays, Christmas Eve is a working day until 2 p.m. The amendment also provides that from 2025, three Sundays preceding Christmas Eve will be commercial. The Sejm also adopted the Senate’s amendment, which assumes that in December a trade employee will not be able to work more than two Sundays.

Now the act awaits the president’s signature. Last week, Andrzej Duda noted that he was in favor of this Christmas Eve was a day off from work. He added, however, that the final version of the act adopted by Parliament had significant modifications compared to the initial draft. He expressed regret that despite the introduction of a free Christmas Eve, the three Sundays preceding the holiday are to be working days for trade.

The president noted that after the parliament passed the act, the situation had changed significantly and his attitude towards the act “was somewhat suspended.”

Sunday trading ban – what do the regulations say?

The Act gradually introducing the Sunday trading ban entered into force on March 1, 2018. From 2020, the trading ban does not apply only on seven Sundays a year: the last Sundays of January, April, June and August, as well as on the Sunday before Easter and on the following two Sundays. Sundays before Christmas.

The act restricting trade on Sundays provides for a catalog of 32 exclusions. The ban does not include, among others: postal activity, if the revenues from this activity constitute at least 40 percent. revenues from the sale of a given facility. Moreover, it does not apply to confectioneries, ice cream parlors, liquid fuel stations, flower shops, newsagents or cafes.

The penalty for breaking the Sunday trading ban is PLN 1,000 to PLN 100,000. PLN fine, and in case of persistent violation of the regulations – penalty of restriction of liberty. (PAP)

About LUC WILLIAMS

Luc's expertise lies in assisting students from a myriad of disciplines to refine and enhance their thesis work with clarity and impact. His methodical approach and the knack for simplifying complex information make him an invaluable ally for any thesis writer.