Unlike many English-speaking countries, most shops in Switzerland are closed on Sundays, but that could be set to change as Swiss MPs have voted in favour of relaxing opening restrictions.
Currently, most Swiss retailers are allowed to open for business four Sundays a year, but parliament now wants to give them the option to serve customers at least one Sunday each month.
On Tuesday, the Council of States’ Economic Affairs and Taxes Committee backed the initiative spearheaded by canton Zurich in 2023 to allow shops to open 12 Sundays per year by nine votes to two.
The canton had called for the labour law to be relaxed because of the dual economic impact on the retail sector from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The National Council’s committee had already green-lighted the initiative in 2024.
And, on Tuesday, the majority of deputies agreed with the premise of responding “to the new needs of society by granting greater flexibility to the retail sector so that it can also offer its services on Sundays.”
“The proposed amendment to the Labour Act aims to respond to this development and strengthen the competitiveness of local retail,” the committee said in a press release.
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The draft would also allow flexible adjustments to local needs, permitting cantons to authorise some or all of the permitted 12 Sunday openings.
But as it stands, only 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons use the permitted four annual Sunday shopping days with most limiting themselves to one to three Sundays during the Advent period before Christmas.
And, in Fribourg, Jura, and Vaud, shops remain closed every Sunday.
Supporters of the proposal therefore believe that relaxing the law will change little.
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Trade unions threaten referendum
The minority of the committee who abstained believed that Sundays should remain a day of rest and proposed that the new rules should only allow more Sunday openings “if there is a comprehensive collective labour agreement”.
Trade unions are also strongly against relaxing the rules: they say that Sunday opening prevents retail personnel from enjoying a day of rest spent with their families.
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“People need a day off with their family without having to fill out a Doodle first,” said Luca Cirigliano, Central Secretary of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, the Aargauer Zeitung reported.
He argued that Sunday openings should only be permitted where work absolutely has to continue on the weekend, such as in hospitals, on public transport and in retirement homes.
Cirigliano also believed that relaxing Sunday shop opening hours could then spiral into other sectors, as has been seen in countries like Italy.
“It starts with shop opening hours, then moves on to hairdressers and insurance companies. Ultimately, banks will follow at some point,” he said.
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The public has also never voted through more Sunday shop openings when the issue’s been brought to the ballot box, with most Swiss consumers strongly supporting retail workers’ work-life balance.
Unions say they will fight this latest proposal “by any means necessary”, including with a referendum, if it came to that.
The committee will now submit its preliminary draft for consultation. This is expected to happen in mid-August.
Historically, shops are closed on Sundays in Switzerland, a Christian country, due to the historical belief that Sunday should be a day of worship, not work.
According to the law, Swiss businesses – including shops – can open from Monday to Friday between 6am and 9pm, and on Saturdays until 6pm.
The law also allows certain retailers to stay open on Sundays – for instance, small ‘convenience’ shops at petrol and train stations. Stores are also open at airports (even though there are only three in Switzerland) and in some tourist spots in the mountains.
