The Roman Catholic diocese of Mainz, Germany, has published a guide and material on the Sunday for religious teaching at school: “Sunday – The day of the Lord – The day for the people”. It gives historical and theological information about the Sunday and presents models for the religious teaching at school.

Please click here to access the PDF version in German.

In a bid to boost the economy, Finland's government has just fully liberalized shop trading hours that took effect from the start of 2016. Unions in the retail sector are however wary of a potential negative effect on job stability and are looking for a debate on how the country is moving towards an 'open 24/7' society.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Greece is in violation of EU law by allowing medical doctors to work too long without adequate rest. Greece failed to implement a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours and to make provisions for daily or compensatory rest periods.

To find out more about this decision, please click here >>

PRESS 11/12/2015

Tackling the rise in psychosocial diseases by ensuring a fair work-life balance, proper rest and a common work-free day must be a key element of the EU Strategic Framework on health and safety. That was the theme for the third meeting of European Sunday Alliance Interest Group on Work-Life balance that took place on 10 December under the patronage of Ms Evelyn Regner MEP (S&D) and Mr Thomas Mann MEP (EPP).

The theme was prompted by a 2015 European Parliament report indicating that work-related stress and psychosocial risks are responsible for almost half the number of working days lost each year. The report notes a proposal from the European Commission for an “EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work”. Host MEPs also named the intrusion of smart phones and social media, and ‘around-the-clock’ availability as growing problems for workers in Europe.

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On 11 November, the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig delivered a decision prohibiting the opening of shops in business parks on Sunday.

For more information, please click here to download PDF press release.