ZPP Newsletter
Warsaw, 19th March 2019
Almost 60% of entrepreneurs against the Sunday trade ban – the most opponents among micro-enterprises
Maison & Partners carried out a survey among companies of the SME sector commissioned by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers analysing the impact of the Sunday trade ban on the economy.
Entrepreneurs from the SME sector are strongly divided concerning possible solutions regarding Sunday trade. Every fifth respondent supports the introduction of a total ban, equally many consider the most appropriate solution the introduction of two free Sundays a month for every employee, while almost 40% are in favour of no restrictions at all. Microbusinesses are the strongest supporters of lack of restrictions – this option was chosen by 43% of respondents from this group.
It is symptomatic that micro-enterprises are also the group that assesses the effects of the regulations introduced to limit trade on Sundays worst. Only 38% of them believe that the trade sector has not suffered from the restrictions, and exactly 40% say that the regulations have not achieved any positive effect, that is, they hit the industry hard and the employees have not been benefitted from them.
“We can clearly see here a correlation that could have been easily predicted. While larger companies somehow deal with the ban and therefore mildly evaluate its results, micro-enterprises more radically point out the negative effects of this law,” claims Cezary Kaźmierczak, president of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers. “We can also see that the effects of restrictions are very much criticised by representatives of the service industry, of which 66% believe that the trade sector suffered as a result of the entry into force of these regulations.”
The results of the assessment of the impact of restrictions on the situation of small stores are interesting. According to over 60% of respondents, the restrictions negatively impact the smallest entities. Interestingly, the highest percentage of respondents indicating that the situation of small stores has deteriorated is among entrepreneurs from the commercial sector (64% against 61% of respondents from the services sector and 56% from the production sector).
“We see that the highest percentage strongly agreeing with the claim that trade restrictions have a negative impact on the situation of small stores can be noticed among medium-sized and large entrepreneurs as well as micro-entrepreneurs: 35% and 34% of them, respectively,” comments prof. Dominika Maison. “At the same time, the percentage of entrepreneurs definitely disagreeing with this statement is similar everywhere and amounts to 13%-14%.”
The study shows that the SME sector generally does not support the proposals to tighten trade restrictions through, among others, a proposal to clarify the concept of a post office. As many as 55% of respondents are against this idea. The highest percentage of respondents who are against tightening the law is among micro-entrepreneurs, of which as many as 61% do not support it, 36% of whom do not support it very firmly.
“This research is another one of our publications on the impact of these harmful regulations on the economy and the situation of small businesses. We have already proven that the society does not accept increasingly restrictive regulations. In our reports, we presented statistics showing the negative effects of the trade ban. Now, the time has come for the views of entrepreneurs from the SME sector on this issue. Also in their opinion, the trade sector has suffered from the new laws. We hope that this is a sufficient signal to the government, which will persuade the cabinet to repeal this law,” sums up Cezary Kaźmierczak.
Fot. Alexas_Fotos/pixabay.com
