Christmas Eve to Become a Day Off in Poland Starting 2025

According to amendments approved by the Sejm, Christmas Eve is to be a day off work starting in 2025.

Lack of consensus among ministers, employers and trade union representatives

There is no consensus as to whether Christmas Eve should be declared non-working and how this change should be implemented (by establishing it as an additional day or replacing it with January 6). The government side, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, present different calculations, hence it is impossible to estimate the real economic impact of this change.

Yesterday, the Sejm adopted a law setting out the establishment of Christmas Eve as a day off work. The motion was supported by 403 MPs, opposed by 10, whereas 12 abstained. Now, the law will go to the Senate, and if approved, it will then land on the president’s desk. The regulations are expected to come into effect next year.

The BCC has long argued for partial repeal of the trade ban in exchange for changes to the labor code concerning retail workers. As employers, the BCC primarily highlights the too short vacatio legis and lack of sufficient social consultations. Such important changes should not be introduced as MPs’ projects, but should be government projects, offering 30 or at least 21 days for the social side to comment. In addition, government procedure requires a regulatory impact assessment, which would give a real picture of the benefits and costs associated with the proposed change, says Łukasz Bernatowicz, the President of the BCC Management Board.

It’s fortunate that the combined Sejm commissions did not recommend and the Sejm did not accept the provisions of the project proposing the introduction of a day off on Christmas Eve this year. The employer side, including the BCC, points to the shortcomings of submitting the project as an MP’s initiative, rather than a government initiative, and the associated too short deadline for public consultations. A particularly important argument against introducing a day off on Christmas Eve this year is the potential significant losses in trade, related to already closed contract terms for goods to be sold on Christmas Eve, which for many consumers is the “last day of rescue” in the difficult process of buying Christmas gifts, and for many trade industries – a long-planned day of above-average sales value of goods related to preparing for the holidays. – summarizes Witold Michałek, BCC expert for economy, legislation, and lobbying.

Civic Platform suggested that one Sunday of shopping per month should be allowed in exchange for a day off on Christmas Eve. The Left proposed an amendment introducing a requirement to shorten working hours on Christmas Eve (only up until noon).

There have also been arguments stating that effectively legislating Christmas Eve as a day off work only makes it formally acknowledge the current status quo, as very few people actually work that day anyway and those who do are significantly less productive and finish work earlier. Therefore, unequivocally stating that this change would mean additional costs for employers is not entirely accurate. However, the burden stems from the lack of predictability of the law and surprising the labor market with each new change. Polish entrepreneurs have been caught off guard several times, whether it’s with the health contribution, which is essentially a tax or the so-called “Polish Deal”, while they also have to deal with disappointed expectations over broken electoral promises of raising the tax-free amount, VAT limit or reverting to the previous way of calculating contributions. The sentiment that prosperity is built through work, the strength of the economy is measured by GDP, and GDP is generated by entrepreneurs who need conducive conditions has been frequently expressed in committee.

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk informed that the Ministry has prepared a cost calculation based on a day off on The Epiphany. According to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy data, this cost varies from 0.3 billion to 1 billion PLN.