E.Leclerc Attempts Sunday Trading Loophole via ‘Reading Room’

The Ministry of Labor has launched an urgent inspection into an E.Leclerc hypermarket in Radom after the store attempted to bypass Sunday trading bans by operating a designated reading corner.

The Reading Room Strategy

The E.Leclerc store located on Toruńska Street in Radom exploited a legal loophole to operate seven days a week. By establishing a “Reading Corner,” the facility allowed customers to shop on non-trading Sundays after filling out a short registration form at the customer service desk.

E.Leclerc Polska stated that its brand functions as a group of independent entrepreneurs. The company clarified that the decision to open the Radom branch on Sundays was made solely by the local management, emphasizing the operational autonomy of individual store owners.

Government Intervention and Legal Interpretation

Minister of Labor Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk responded immediately, requesting the Chief Labor Inspector to initiate an urgent inspection of the premises. The ministry is investigating whether the store violated the 2018 Act on the restriction of Sunday trading.

The ministry maintains that the law was intended to allow trade only within institutions such as libraries, cinemas, or theaters. It explicitly states that it is impermissible to reverse this logic by placing a “cultural” activity inside a retail store, particularly when that activity constitutes a negligible fraction of the market’s operations.

Strict Regulatory Framework

Polish law strictly defines the exceptions for legal Sunday trade. The government has scheduled only eight trading Sundays throughout the year, with long stretches, such as February and May, featuring no authorized trading days. Retailers found violating these regulations face severe financial penalties, and the Radom inspection will determine if the store’s legal circumvention will be permitted to continue.