In Belgium, clothing stores, electronics retailers, and supermarkets are still subject to relatively strict regulations: they must observe at least one designated closing day each week (typically Sunday) and cannot operate between 20:00 and 05:00 on other days – except on Fridays, when they can remain open until 21:00.
A proposed amendment was released in the Belgian Official Gazette on 3 August and is set to take effect on Thursday, 13 August.
"From then on, the compulsory weekly closing day will be abolished, and shops will be allowed to remain open until 21:00 instead of 20:00 currently," says Ortwin De Vliegher, spokesperson for Simonet.
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"This is an option, not an obligation," he adds.
Simonet's office emphasized that this law amendment provides "a chance for retailers," considering the rivalry from e-commerce and the more adaptable operating hours currently practiced in other countries (France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg).
In general, though, businesses in the retail industry are prohibited from having employees work on Sundays after 12 p.m., according to labor laws.
"So we can open, but we cannot use staff," Luc Ardies of Buurtsuper.be, the organization representing independent supermarkets in Flanders, told Belga News Agency.
At present, 75 percent of stores in Belgium operate without employees, indicating that they are managed by the owners themselves and can remain open on Sunday afternoons without problems.
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"De Vliegher stated that these include not only small stores but also specific supermarkets in urban areas."
Moreover, De Vliegher stated that there is an exception to the rule in tourist regions: stores along the Belgian coast or in cities like Bruges, Antwerp, Genk, or Maasmechelen are allowed to hire employees on Sunday afternoons.
De Vliegher clarified that although the determination of retail opening hours falls under Belgium's economic legislation, the regulations regarding employee working hours belong to the nation's employment law – which is not expected to alter in the near future.
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Federal Employment Minister David Clarinval (MR) oversees this matter and is set to arrange a round-table discussion with the industry to evaluate the necessity of updating the legislation and increasing its flexibility.