Free Christmas Eve. President: There is some time to resolve doubts

The amendment, according to which from 2025 Christmas Eve will be a day off from work, is awaiting the president's signature. President Andrzej Duda When asked on RMF FM whether he would sign the act, he emphasized that he had held a meeting with the social side during which a number of objections were raised. As he explained, the votes supporting the act and those against it were divided almost equally.

– I would really like to have a free Christmas Eve. I will also consider the issue of equal treatment of employees here very strongly and is considered from this constitutional point of view. I am calm insofar as this bill does not apply to this year at all. (…) It does not concern Christmas Eve, which is tomorrow, it only concerns Christmas Eve, which is to be next year. There is some time to resolve any doubts. Everything will be done within the constitutional deadline, the president assured.

He added that he himself believes that such a solution is “very necessary” and will allow people to prepare for the holidays.

He noted that the main objection of the social side “against the act and the government was that no public consultations on this matter were held.” – This issue was not discussed at all with trade unions, i.e. employees' representatives, or with employers' representatives, especially those sitting on the Social Dialogue Council – he explained.

In November, the Sejm passed an amendment providing for the establishment December 24 is 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 Holidays, Christmas Eve is a working day until 2 p.m..

The amendment also provides that: from 2025, three Sundays before 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.

Recently, President Andrzej Duda indicated that he was in favor of making Christmas Eve a day off from work, but the act passed by the parliament contained “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.

In mid-December, the president invited representatives of employers and employees to the Presidential Palace to consult with them on the amendment regarding a free Christmas Eve. Protesters against the bill in this form included, among others: Solidarity. The head of “S” Piotr Duda argued that he was in favor of a free Christmas Eve, but he did not agree to three working Sundays in December. – No one can be discriminated against in this amendment, and this act discriminates against some employees, in this case retail and wholesale workers – he said.

From 2020, the trade 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 next two Sundays before Christmas.