{"id":28983,"date":"2026-06-01T21:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/28983\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T21:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:58:10","slug":"carrefour-assai-and-atacadao-supermarkets-will-have-to-follow-a-new-rule-on-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/28983\/","title":{"rendered":"Carrefour, Assa\u00ed, and Atacad\u00e3o supermarkets will have to follow a new rule on holidays."},"content":{"rendered":"

Change in holiday work rules increases the weight of collective bargaining in retail and may alter how supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and large chains organize shifts on busier dates.<\/p>\n

Supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and other retail chains now depend on collective bargaining to keep employees working on holidays, according to guidance from the Ministry of Labor and Employment.<\/p>\n

The rule affects high-traffic companies like Carrefour, Assa\u00ed, and Atacad\u00e3o whenever store openings require labor on dates protected by labor laws and local trade rules.<\/p>\n

Although it does not mandate automatic closure of units, the change creates an additional condition for regular operation on holidays by requiring that employee shifts be supported by a valid collective agreement.<\/p>\n

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW<\/p>\n

See also <\/p>\n

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To call in workers on these dates, companies must observe a agreement made between employer unions and employee representative entities, in addition to municipal rules governing trade openings in each location.<\/p>\n

Holiday work in retail depends on collective agreement<\/p>\n

In practice, retail chains no longer rely solely on broad administrative authorizations that previously allowed holiday work for various commercial activities without a specific collective agreement for the category.<\/p>\n

Operations now depend on a clause negotiated between unions, with validity defined according to the territorial base, economic segment, and professional category involved in service provision during the holiday.<\/p>\n

This requirement directly affects sectors that typically see increased activity on holidays, long weekends, and peak consumption periods, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, and wholesale clubs.<\/p>\n

On each holiday, these companies tend to assess the existence of a collective agreement, the necessary shift, the expected operational cost, and the feasibility of keeping units open to the public.<\/p>\n

The change altered administrative rules that dealt with permanent authorization for work on Sundays and holidays in various commercial activities.<\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of Labor, the measure aimed to reinforce the role of collective bargaining and adjust the authorization for holiday work in general commerce.<\/p>\n

Under current rules, activity on these days depends on authorization in a collective agreement and must also comply with local rules on trade operation.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the application of the rule does not occur uniformly throughout the country, as each city can adopt its own parameters for opening stores on holidays.<\/p>\n

Supermarkets need to plan schedules in advance<\/p>\n

With the new requirement, workers\u2019 unions and employer entities play a decisive role in defining the operating conditions of stores during national, state, or municipal holidays.<\/p>\n

Collective bargaining can establish authorization for opening, compensation rules, schedule organization, additional benefits, and limits applicable to each professional category involved in the operation.<\/p>\n

For companies, the most immediate impact is the need to plan well in advance for peak dates and check if there is a collective basis to call employees.<\/p>\n

Without valid provision in a collective agreement, scheduling workers on holidays can lead to questions, union demands, and disputes related to working hours and call conditions.<\/p>\n

Business entities have been stating that the measure may increase costs and complicate the organization of operations on strategic sales dates, especially in networks with units spread across several municipalities.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Ministry of Labor argues that the ordinance reinforces collective bargaining and reestablishes the formal participation of unions in decisions about operating on holidays.<\/p>\n

The discussion has gained momentum because retail depends on continuous schedules, especially in supermarkets and wholesale clubs that work with perishables, daily logistics, store supply, and in-person customer service.<\/p>\n

Even with the requirement for collective authorization, the rights of those scheduled remain preserved, including regarding remuneration or compensation for the day worked.<\/p>\n

Double payment on holidays remains guaranteed<\/p>\n

The ordinance does not change the remuneration rules for employees called to work on holidays, nor does it replace rights already recognized in labor relations.<\/p>\n

When there is no compensatory day off, the service provided on Sundays and holidays must be paid double, according to the understanding applied in labor relations.<\/p>\n

Thus, collective bargaining addresses the possibility of calling and the conditions applicable to the category, but does not eliminate the remuneration protection guaranteed to the scheduled worker.<\/p>\n

It also remains possible to grant compensatory rest at another time, provided that this alternative is foreseen in the applicable rules and is correctly organized by the company.<\/p>\n

The central difference lies in the authorization to use labor on holidays, not in the right to double payment or the corresponding compensatory day off.<\/p>\n

In practical terms, a network can open a specific unit if there is a collective basis for it, but it must meet the conditions defined for the scheduled employees.<\/p>\n

The rules regarding work on Sundays follow their own regime and were not the main focus of the change promoted by the Ministry of Labor.<\/p>\n

This point remains linked to the organization of schedules, the operation of units, and the employees\u2019 paid weekly rest.<\/p>\n

Ordinance was extended before taking effect<\/p>\n

Since its publication, the entry into force of the ordinance has been postponed more than once, amid impasses between the federal government, trade unions, and business entities.<\/p>\n

In February 2026, the Ministry of Labor published a new 90-day extension and created a working group to discuss the regulation of the issue in retail trade.<\/p>\n

This group brought together representatives of workers and employers, with technical support from the ministry itself, in an attempt to reach a consensus on holiday work.<\/p>\n

The proposal was to adjust the application of the rule to a broad sector, ranging from small neighborhood establishments to large national supermarket and wholesale chains.<\/p>\n

The new extension was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on February 26, 2026, and kept the debate open on the application of the change in retail.<\/p>\n

The act established a 90-day period for the rule to take effect, counted from the date of publication of the norm.<\/p>\n

With this schedule, the requirement began to be considered from the end of May 2026, after the additional period granted by the federal government.<\/p>\n

The exact count may vary depending on the interpretation applied to the period, but the official publication set the extension at 90 days.<\/p>\n

Rules do not affect all services in the same way<\/p>\n

Not all services fall under the new requirement, because the list of activities with permanent authorization was altered only in specific points of the administrative rules on holiday work.<\/p>\n

Some segments continue with their own treatment, while others now depend on collective bargaining to allow work on holidays under the conditions provided for each category.<\/p>\n

In the adjustment made by the government, part of the authorizations related to commerce was removed, while other activities continued with specific provisions for operation.<\/p>\n

This change indicates that the norm did not generically prohibit commercial operation, but removed automatic authorizations that previously covered certain retail activities.<\/p>\n

For consumers, the effect may vary depending on the municipality, union, and economic category, as the authorization for operation depends on the combination of local rule and collective agreement.<\/p>\n

A store from the same chain may have collective authorization in a certain city and face different rules in another location, especially when the regional agreement establishes specific conditions.<\/p>\n

In the case of large retail groups, adaptation requires administrative and union monitoring in various territorial bases, mainly for chains with national presence or operations in several states.<\/p>\n

Carrefour, Assa\u00ed, and Atacad\u00e3o operate in different municipalities, making collective bargaining a relevant factor for setting schedules on national, state, and municipal holidays.<\/p>\n

Debate on working hours increases pressure in retail<\/p>\n

The change occurs at a time of greater public debate about working hours, schedule organization, and the balance between economic activity and workers\u2019 weekly rest.<\/p>\n

Proposals related to reducing weekly hours and reorganizing regimes like the 6\u00d71 schedule have increased attention on the topic in recent months.<\/p>\n

In commerce, the discussion involves different interests among companies, workers, and unions, especially in sectors that depend on in-person service and operation on high-demand dates.<\/p>\n

While retail chains advocate for predictability to keep stores open during periods of high traffic, labor entities demand formal participation in defining schedules, compensations, and working conditions.<\/p>\n

The requirement for collective bargaining turns each holiday into a date for labor and operational planning for supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and other retail companies.<\/p>\n

Instead of a unilateral decision, opening with scheduled employees now depends on agreed authorization, correct remuneration, and respect for local rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Change in holiday work rules increases the weight of collective bargaining in retail and may alter how supermarkets,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12904],"tags":[21036,21037,15119,12908,21038,21039,21040,21041],"class_list":["post-28983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carrefour","tag-acordo-sindical","tag-assai","tag-atacadao","tag-carrefour","tag-negociacao-coletiva","tag-supermercados","tag-trabalho-em-feriados","tag-varejo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}