Background information

Since 1 January 2020 trading on all Sundays (within few exceptions) is disallowed in Poland. The only statutory exceptions are explicitly named in the national legislation and include last Sunday in January, April, June, August and also two consecutive Sundays preceding Easter as well as the Sunday preceding Christmas. However, due to extraordinary, pandemics-related situation, which not only impacted on the supply-side but also on the demand-side, with customers' access to facilities severely limited, the government decided (with parliamentary endorsement) to make one-time exception and allow trading on all Sundays in December expect for the one directly following Christmas. So three Sunday in a row (6, 13, and 20 December) were eventually trading days.

Content of measure

In the Act on Restrictions on Trading on Sundays, Public Holidays and Some Other Days, the new article (no. 17a) was insterted, stating that "on 6 December 2020 the restrictions named by the article 5 do not apply".

The article 5 mentioned above states that: "On Sundays and holidays in commercial establishments:

1. Trade and performance of activities related to trade, shall be prohibited.
2. Entrusting an employee or worker to perform work in commerce and activities associated with commerce shall be prohibited".

The measure, as explicitly stated by the new regulation (art. 17a) is a specific instrument to be used only once.

Use of measure

6 December 2020, Sunday, was a full-length trading day.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Sector specific set of companies	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions Employers' organisations	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The one-time lifting of the ban was a result of persistent pressure and lobbying of employer organisations and business associations from the retail sector.

Views and reactions

Employers' side not only supported by also promoted the measure. Of trade unions, NSZZ "Solidarność" stood firmly against it, while other major confederations (OPZZ and FZZ) reportedly took neutral position.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 22 November 2020: Attempts to introduce one more trading Sunday in December (www.wiadomoscihandlowe.pl)
• 27 November 2020: The Act of November 27 2020 amending the Act on Special Measures regarding Prevention, Counteraction and Combating COVID-19 and Other Contagious Diseases and Crisis Situations Related and Some Other Acts of Law (Ustawa z dnia 27 listopada 2020 r. o zmianie ustawy o szczególnych rozwiązaniach związanych z zapobieganiem, przeciwdziałaniem i zwalczaniem COVID-19, innych chorób zakaźnych oraz wywołanych nimi sytuacji kryzysowych oraz niektórych innych ustaw), (isap.sejm.gov.pl)
• 02 December 2020: Appeal to President of Poland regarding Sunday, 6 December (Apel do Pana Prezydenta RP w sprawie niedzieli 6 grudnia) (www.solidarnosc.org.pl)