A hi-tech digital supermarket chain has been ordered to close on Sundays after judges in Germany ruled they breached local trading which protect “work rest and mental upliftment”.
Swiss owned chain Tegut has opened a string of staffless shops across Germany where customers can let themselves in with a smart card to do their shopping round the clock.
Now the Administrative Court in Kassel, Hesse State, has ordered the stores to stop digital trading on Sundays and public holidays.
Judges ruled that Tegut had violated local shop opening laws which protect “work rest and mental upliftment”.
The court said: “The Hessian Shop Opening Act not only serves to protect employees but also the goal of protecting Sundays. And state-recognised public holidays as days of rest and spiritual uplift.”
Under the act, all sales outlets must be closed to customers on Sundays and public holidays.
The 8th Senate of the Hessian Administrative Court has now ruled that the shop opening law also applies to digital shops too even if they have no workers.
They said: “It makes no difference to the display of goods whether the customer takes the desired goods from a vending machine or from a sales shelf or from a sales table.
“In both cases, the sales process requires active action on the part of the customer. Which is not necessarily counteracted by active action on the part of the seller.”
Tegut’s spokesperson, Matthias Pusch says they hope to be able to negotiate a change in the law in Hesse State.
He explained: “We expect that there will now be an impulse to modernise the Hessian shop opening law.”
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An MP from Hesse, Dr. Stefan Naas, 50, criticised the law and told local media. “The law is completely antiquated and has long been outdated by today’s digital reality.
“It means that sales outlets without salespeople are no longer allowed to open on Sundays. And public holidays not only bad for the economy, but also for customers.
“Many consumers rely on being able to shop on Sundays, for example for work reasons.”
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Story By: Marija Stojkoska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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