The Senate committees unanimously supported the bill establishing December 24 as a non-working day from 2025. Earlier, the committees rejected the amendments of Magdalena Biejat, who wanted a free Christmas Eve this year.
The joint committees for national economy and innovation, as well as for family, seniority and social policy agreed to adopt one amendment to the bill submitted by the legislative office.
Free Christmas Eve. Decision of the Senate committees
However, two amendments by the senator, Deputy Speaker of the Senate from the Left, Magdalena Biejat, were rejected – by a vote of 7 to 4.
She proposed that the act should enter into force the day after its publication in the Journal of Laws (and thus have a chance of covering this year's Christmas Eve with its regulations). In the current version of the act passed by the Sejm, February 1, 2025 is indicated as the date of entry into force of the act.
Biejat's second amendment assumed a departure from the solution adopted by the Sejm, which would allow three consecutive Sundays preceding Christmas Eve to be commercial in December, due to the non-working day of December 24 next year. The senator proposed that after the introduction of the next Christmas Eve holiday, there should still be two Sundays in December. She argued that the MPs' addition of a third shopping Sunday in December was a change that went beyond the intentions of the proposers of the regulations on a free Christmas Eve.
“Let's not do it like this”
According to Civic Coalition senator Adam Szejnfeld, introducing the regulations this year would be “irresponsible” because entrepreneurs already have planned activities and a sudden change would disrupt their logistics. Senator Tomasz Lenz (KO) spoke in a similar tone.
– Let's not do it in such a way as to turn the economic system prepared for this day upside down – he appealed.
They both emphasized that they were in favor of making Christmas Eve a day off from work.
Alfred Bujara, chairman of the Council of the National Secretariat of Trade, Banks and Insurance of NSZZ “Solidarność”, persuaded senators to withdraw the provisions on an additional working Sunday in December from the bill.
– Christmas Eve is a day expected as a day off by the entire society. But it cannot be introduced at the expense of trade employees – they will have to work off Christmas Eve – he said.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-BÄ…k, present at the meeting of the committee of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, suggested that senators seek a compromise regarding working Sundays in December. She presented an idea according to which, regardless of how many working Sundays there were in the last month of the year, a trade employee would be guaranteed every second Sunday off from work.
Maciej PtaszyÅ„ski spoke against the third commercial Sunday on behalf of the Polish Chamber of Commerce. He argued that this was an issue regulated by another act – the one on Sunday trading restrictions. At the same time, he emphasized that it is unacceptable from a trade point of view for the act to enter into force this year. “It's too late for that,” he said.
Amendment adopted by the Sejm
The amendment to the Act passed by the Parliament last week provides 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 Restriction of Trade on Sundays and Holidays, Christmas Eve is a working day until 2 p.m.
The project was submitted to the Sejm by the Left, which wanted the changes to come into force this year. On Tuesday, at the meeting of the Economy and Development and Social Policy and Family Committee, amendments from the Civic Coalition were introduced to the project so that the new regulations would come into force on February 1, 2025, and that three Sundays before Christmas Eve would be commercial.
Currently, in accordance with the Act on Restriction of Trade on Sundays and Holidays, Christmas Eve is a business day until 2 p.m.
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