Can you get groceries delivered on Sunday?
Mostly not. Sunday work is generally banned from Saturday 23:00 to Sunday 23:00, and restaurants are an exception, but delivering groceries is not. A restaurant may deliver its own cooked meals; delivering groceries on Sunday needs a permit.
Ep. 58 · Ding or Clonk? · 54 seconds. Watch
The real rule
Why the Swiss laugh, and what it means if you're new here.
Switzerland has a general ban on Sunday work, and that includes the person who would bring your groceries. Restaurants may work, so cooked meals can arrive, but selling or delivering groceries does not count as restaurant work. As a newcomer, plan your shopping for Saturday and treat Sunday as a Ruhetag.
Blüemli's verdict: Ding. Mostly not. Sunday work is banned. Restaurants may deliver. Groceries need a permit.
RUHETAG: literally: “rest day”; really: the day a shop stays shut Ueli's Word
Be like Ueli. Order the pizza. Buy the milk on Saturday.
Learn more: Swiss Sunday rules
The rule, explained
SECO explains the Sunday rules in its FAQ on Sunday shop opening: there is a general ban on Sunday work, from Saturday 23:00 to Sunday 23:00. Its guidance on ArGV 2, Art. 23, sets out the exception for restaurants and its limits. The mere delivery or sale of food, groceries or drinks is not a hospitality service. A restaurant that delivers its own cooked meals still counts as a restaurant, so the pizza may come. Delivering groceries on Sunday, on the other hand, needs a permit. That is the whole story of Sam's evening: the pizza is restaurant work, the litre of milk is grocery delivery. One rings the bell, the other waits for the next shopping day.
Sources: SECO, FAQ Ladenöffnung am Sonntag; SECO, Wegleitung zur ArGV 2, Art. 23
Questions people ask
Can restaurants deliver food on Sunday in Switzerland?
Yes. A restaurant delivering its own cooked meals still counts as a restaurant, an exception to the Sunday work ban (SECO).
When does the Sunday work ban start in Switzerland?
On Saturday at 23:00, and it runs until Sunday at 23:00 (SECO).
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