Why do some countries forbid working on Sunday rather than strictly regulating it?

Question

According to this source, Poland will gradually forbid commerce on Sundays:

Poland’s ruling party approved a law that will gradually impose a ban on Sunday shopping, meeting the demand of its conservative Catholic supporters with a measure that risks undermining economic growth and hitting corporate profits and real-estate investors.

According to this article, EU regulations deal more with ensuring weekly rest periods rather than ensuring a free Sunday:

There are no specific EU regulations regarding weekend work. The 1993 Working Time Directive determined that the minimum weekly rest period ‘shall, in principle, include Sunday’. In 1996, however, the European Court of Justice annulled this provision by ruling that:

the Council has failed to explain why Sunday, as a weekly rest day, is more closely connected with the health and safety of workers than any other day of the week.

The 2003 Working Time Directive does not refer to any specific day in relation to weekly rest periods or any other aspect of working time. Article 2 of the European Social Charter says that Member States should agree:

to ensure a weekly rest period which shall, as far as possible, coincide with the day recognised by tradition or custom in the country or region concerned as a day of rest.

From the economic point of view, this seems to have a negative effect upon tourism and those who can mostly work during the week-ends (e.g. students).

Question: Why do some countries forbid working on Sunday rather than strictly regulating it?

By strict regulation I am thinking about something resembling my own country's regulation, that can be summed up very roughly as:

• normal working schedule is 40h/week
• extended (on request by worker or company) working schedule can be up to 48h/week
• working on any week-end day is paid (almost) double (or a free day + normal payment)
• working on any public holiday is paid double and an extra free day

So, working on Sundays is not forbidden, but companies cannot abuse it due to higher costs associated with it.

Answer 1

The requirement for rest on Sunday is religious in nature, and is not directly related to ensuring sufficient rest time for all workers. Specifically, most denominations of Christianity designate Sunday as a day of rest and prayer.

The Law and Justice Party won elections in Poland in 2015. It has campaigned heavily on its support for traditional Roman Catholic rules of behaviour, and as such it has proposed strict laws against doing business on Sunday.

Although laws against Sunday trading are now uncommon in Western countries, they used to be much more widespread. For example in the UK, most shops were not permitted to open on Sunday until 1994.

Answer 2

Because their main goal isn't to regulate workforce (although sometimes that argument is used as extra leverage, especially in more secular countries like USA where "because Bible says so" may not fly with the court).

These laws in the West are known as "Blue Laws" - the religiously motivated laws prohibiting actions - trading and work - that are contrary to the concept of "Sabbath" (day of rest) in Abrahamic religions. Specific religious origin is Exodus 20:8 in Torah/Old Testament.

It's an important concept, as Wikipedia reminds us,

Observation and remembrance of Sabbath (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת‎‎ šabbaṯ) is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the original Jewish, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions).

These laws aren't exactly new - they existed in Ancient Israel for Judaism based legal systems (and, ironically, are a major political hot topic in Israel today, lest you think Poland is somehow the only place this is an issue). The first recorded blue law in Christian land according to Wikipedia was set up as early as 538AD at the Third Council of Orléans; though they wouldn't be called "blue laws" till 18th century. USA had country wide Sunday work prohibition for most of its early history. Similarly (with slightly different religious color), countries with Sharia based laws have similar rules:

many Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, like Pakistan, count it as half a rest day (after the Friday prayer is over). Jumu'ah attendance is strictly incumbent upon all free adult males who are legal residents of the locality.

To address specifically "why some countries and not the others", please note the predictable patterns - the countries with such laws all have very strong Abrahamic based religion, either socially dominant or even legally enshrined - pre-1950s USA, many other Christian countries in history, modern day Ireland, Sharia-based Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia; and Haredim-dominated parts of State of Israel (e.g. Jerusalem has total blue laws, whereas more secular Tel Aviv does not). Poland fits into Ireland model of societally strong Christian (Roman Catholic) influence, which is why those laws as an idea arose, as discussed in an earlier answer.

Answer 3

As long as the laws don't entirely forbid work on Sunday (so, for example, doctors and emergency workers can continue to work legally), you can attribute this to cultural traditions. And yes, in any country in which one religion dominates as prevalent, the practices of that religion become part of the culture rather then just a private matter.