In 2018 shops could be closed to Kraków shoppers, as a result of holidays and a proposed Sunday trading ban, on as many as 39 days, if the ban on Sunday trading comes into effect on 1st January which the government are determined it will.
The draft law on the prohibition of Sunday trading, is currently being considered by the Polish parliament. If approved, in it’s amended form, the ban will restrict trading on the first, third and fifth Sunday of the month. In practice, this would mean for example that in May and December shops will be closed for up to 5 days. But only 2 days in February, June and October.
The draft bill was submitted by several groups, including the Solidarity trade union. The groups managed to gather the 100,000 signatures required for parliament to consider the proposal.
The bill plans to prevent shops opening on Sundays, though it allows multiple exceptions including petrol stations, bakeries, newsagents, some small shops and all shops at railway stations and airports, and certain dates, ie the Sunday before Christmas. You may be pleased to know that there would be no ban either on funeral parlours, florists. or online stores. Large wholesalers such as Makro and Selgros may be allowed to open on Sunday, to allow stores to restock, ready for the coming weeks trading.
The Government also rejected Solidarity’s proposal that those breaking the ban should be punished with up to 2 years imprisonment !!
PiS spokeswoman Beata Mazurek was adamant that:
“We are determined to restrain trade on Sunday from 1 January 2018,”
In most European Union countries, purchases can be made in principle without any restrictions. Trading on Sunday and holidays is almost totally banned in Germany and Austria, with partial restrictions applying to Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Outside the EU Switzerland and Norway also ban Sunday trading. Check the map at BIQdata.pl .
There is some doubt as to whether the law can be in place by the start of 2018, and it may well be challenged by some retailers who may protest or refer the law to the European Commission.
If the Sunday trading ban does go aead as planned, your shopping calendar for 2018 will look something like this:
| Shopping Holidays and Sunday Closing 2018 | ||
| English | Polish | |
| January |
1st- Monday – New Year |
1 stycznia, poniedziałek – święto 6 stycznia, sobota – Trzech Króli 7 stycznia, niedziela – zakaz handlu 21 stycznia, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| February |
4th – Sunday trade ban |
4 lutego, niedziela – zakaz handlu 18 lutego, niedziela, zakaz handlu |
| March |
4th – Sunday trade ban |
4 marca, niedziela, zakaz handlu 18 marca, niedziela, zakaz handlu 31 marca, Wielki Piątek – do godz. 14 |
| April | 1st – Easter 2nd – Easter 15th – Sunday trade ban 29th – Sunday trade ban |
1 kwietnia, Wielkanoc 2 kwietnia, Wielkanoc 15 kwietnia, niedziela, zakaz handlu 29 kwietnia, niedziela, zakaz handlu |
| May | 1st – Labour Day 3rd – Constitution Day 6th – Sunday trade ban 20th – Sunday trade ban 30th – Corpus Christi |
1 maja, Święto Pracy 3 maja, Święto Konstytucji 6 maja, niedziela – zakaz handlu 20 maja, niedziela, zakaz handlu 30 maja, Boże Ciało |
| June | 3rd – Sunday trade ban 17th- Sunday trade ban |
3 czerwca, niedziela – zakaz handlu 17 czerwca, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| July | 1st – Sunday trade ban 15th – Sunday trade ban 29th – Sunday trade ban |
1 lipca, niedziela – zakaz handlu 15 lipca, niedziela – zakaz handlu 29 lipca, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| August | 5th – Sunday trade ban 15th – Assumption 19th – Sunday trade ban |
5 sierpnia, niedziela – zakaz handlu 15 sierpnia Święto Wniebowzięcia 19 sierpnia, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| September | 2nd – Sunday trade ban 16th – Sunday trade ban 30th – Sunday trade ban |
2 września, niedziela – zakaz handlu 16 września, niedziela – zakaz handlu 30 września, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| October | 7th – Sunday trade ban 21st – Sunday trade ban |
7 października, niedziela – zakaz handlu 21 października, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| November | 1st – All Saints 4th – Sunday trade ban 11th – National Independence Day 18th – Sunday trade ban |
1 listopada, Wszystkich Świętych 4 listopada, niedziela – zakaz handlu 11 listopada Narodowe Niepodległości 18 listopada, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
| December | 2nd – Sunday trade ban 16th – Sunday trade ban 24th Christmas Eve/Wigilia to 2pm 25th Christmas Day 26th Boxing Day 30th – Sunday trade ban |
2 grudnia, niedziela – zakaz handlu 16 grudnia, niedziela – zakaz handlu 24 grudnia Wigilia – handlu do godz. 14 25 grudnia Boże Narodzenie 26 grudnia Boże Narodzenie 30 grudnia, niedziela – zakaz handlu |
SHOPPING HOLIDAYS CALENDAR 2018 – Download and Print PDF
What do you think? Does the ban on Sunday trading make sense?