When exemptions become the rule, do we need legislation? Yes, says the government. The economy minister (DP) will present bill 8472 on opening hours in the trade and craft sector to MPs on Thursday 16 January. While the Ministry of the Economy has granted dispensations on numerous occasions since 2018, and an average of 35 municipalities also apply for an exemption each year, the purpose of the draft bill is to overhaul the system and also to respond to the conclusions of a ruling by the Constitutional Court, which considered that the current system was discriminatory because of unequal treatment as regards the sale of certain products. A telling example is the sale of bread: until now, a baker and confectioner was not allowed to open to sell their flagship product, whereas a petrol station could (because it did not fall within the scope of the law).
Thus, in 2024, "the court's case law concerned a total of 332 points of interest, representing a retail surface area of 10,045 m2", as stated in the explanatory memorandum to the bill. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, 80.65% of retail shops were authorised to open on Sundays under special exemptions, representing 82.50% of the country's total retail surface area. This clearly illustrates the current situation, with a legal framework characterised by derogations.
According to the bill, if adopted without amendments, authorised shop opening hours would be as follows: from 5am to 10pm Monday to Friday; from 5am to 7pm on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and the eves of public holidays; and from 5am to 6pm on 22 June, 24 December and 31 December.
However, companies wishing to have longer opening hours will have to stipulate it in a collective agreement.
Currently, to benefit from an exemption, certain criteria must be met. First, "it must be a collective request from a professional organisation representing traders and/or craftsmen or from the municipal administration. The request must be sent one month before the date of the opening in question," a Ministry of the Economy representative stated in an interview.
A separate bill on Sunday working hours was presented to parliament by the labour minister, (CSV). The legislation would lift the maximum authorised working time on Sundays from four to eight hours in the retail sector.
Society has changed
When Mischo announced his decision on the subject at the end of 2024, the OGBL and the LCGB trade unions labelled the "liberalisation of Sunday working" as "an attack on social dialogue". At issue was the minister's lack of consultation with labour representatives, who felt "presented with a fait accompli". At the end of the year, in a press release, the OGBL said it feared a "weakening of collective agreements".
The Chamber of Employees also said it was "appalled by the unilateral decision to liberalise Sunday working in the retail sector, whose employees are already among the most vulnerable on the labour market". It also points to a potential threat to the work-life balance.
, particularly retailers, owner of the Ernster bookshop chain and chair of the Chamber of Commerce, , said that the key issue was flexibility. Flexibility "helps to juggle constraints. We need to be aware that businesses are subject to 24/7 digital competition. As well as making customers want to come in, we need to give them the opportunity to do so when they can. It's about time we asked ourselves what we can do to give physical shops the opportunity to cope."
Initially, the traditional absence of Sunday working in the country has both cultural and religious roots. A legacy of Christian values and the important role played by the Christian Socialists in the country's politics, who campaigned at the time for the idea that Sunday should remain a day of rest. But the transformation of society, and above all of consumer habits, is reshuffling the deck.
Updated 13 January 2025 at 4pm to clarify the contents and sponsors of both parliamentary bills
Read the original French-language version of this news report /