The federal government has softened the rules relating to the opening hours of stores. They can now stay open until 9 p.m. every day. Of course, it is always possible to close earlier.
Main information
- Stores will now be able to stay open until 9 p.m. every day.
- The day of compulsory closing for retailers also disappears.
- The new measure is criticized from all sides.
In Belgium, retailers – such as clothing stores, household appliances and supermarkets – are subject to strict opening hours. For example, they have a compulsory closure day and must be open between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. It is only on Friday that stores are allowed to stay open until 9 p.m.
Wever’s government has already included in the coalition agreement its intention to soften these rules. According to him, this law no longer meets customer expectations, who want more flexibility. It is now done. The compulsory closing day will disappear and stores will now be able to stay open until 9 p.m. every day. This is what Minister Simonet (MR) indicates to De Morgen (MR). During the week, the rules will be approved in principle permanently.
Critique
The new law is a compromise, because it was initially planned to leave the closure time until 10 p.m., but the project did not succeed. CD&V and Vooruit feared an too large workload for small independents who cannot find staff at this late hour.
The high advice for the self -employed and SMEs (HRZKMO) criticizes the new rules for the same reason. The government then replied by saying that more flexible rules on student work and flexible jobs could be useful in this regard.
Critics have also been issued by the other camp. The Open VLD opposition party wanted greater flexibility. He considers as a missed opportunity the fact that stores cannot choose to open in the afternoon and stay open until very late in the evening, for example.
