Shopkeeper gets more to say about opening hours Inland

Now the relationships are still such that an association can unilaterally determine that a shopkeeper must also open on Sundays or a certain shopping evening. In the Groningen shopping center Paddepoel, for example, this ended in a high-profile conflict when a number of shops were reluctant to open on Sundays.

It can become a heavy burden for entrepreneurs running a business without personnel if they also have to open in the evening or on Sundays. Staas secretary Keijzer (Economic Affairs) is therefore adapting the Shopping Hours Act. “With this change in law, retailers will no longer be forced to be open at certain times, if they have not agreed to this themselves,” says Keijzer. “This way we guarantee that entrepreneurial freedom is not limited by unilateral changes in opening hours.”

It does not mean that retailers will be able to determine when they will be open or not, they will still sign a contract with the retailers association that includes mandatory opening hours. However, the times in that contract can no longer be changed just like that without the entrepreneur having anything to say about it.

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