Developments in Employment Legislation - BERNITSAS briefing - Bernitsas Law
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BERNITSAS br ief ing
June 2021
Developments
EMPLOYMENT BRIEFING: Special Edition
in Employment Legislation
This Briefing provides an overview of Law 4808/2021, published in Government Gazette
101A/19.06.2021, which introduces some important changes to employment legislation,
ratifies International Labour Organization Conventions 190 and 187 and transposes
Directive (EU) 2019/1158.
In This Issue
balance for parents and carers, which repeals Council
A. Ratification of International Conventions Directive 2010/18/EU.
and Transposition of EU Directive 3. Finally, it ratifies Convention 187 of the International Labour
2019/1158 Organization (ILO) concerning the Promotional Framework
for Occupational Safety and Health.
B. Measures and Regulations against Violence
and Harassment in the Workplace B. Measures and Regulations against Violence
C. Work-Life Balance and Family Protection and Harassment in the Workplace
D. Individual Labour Law Provisions 1. The Law prohibits any form of violence or harassment
for the Protection of Employment (including sexual or gender-based violence and harassment)
that takes place in the workplace or during any work-related
E. Provisions on Telework and Other
travel or communication.
Contemporary Types of Work
2. Employers are obliged to assist in the prevention and
F. Provisions Relating to the 'ERGANI II' elimination of work-related violence and harassment in the
Information System following ways:
G. Collective Labour Law Provisions a. receive, investigate and handle complaints in a prompt
and confidential manner, demonstrating zero tolerance
H. Establishment of 'Labour Inspectorate' as towards violence or harassment;
an Independent Authority b. provide assistance and allow access related to the
complaint to any relevant public or judicial authority;
c. provide adequate information to employees concerning
A. Ratification of International Conventions and the dangers of and the means of protection against
Transposition of EU Directive 2019/1158 violence or harassment in the workplace;
1. Law 4808/2021 (the Law) ratifies Convention 190 of the d. render easily accessible to employees information
International Labour Organization (ILO) concerning the regarding the available procedures and the competent
Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. authorities for filing and handling violence or
2. It also transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European harassment complaints.
Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life 3. Employers must assess psychosocial dangers (including
01
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danger of violence or harassment) and take measures for compensation covering their losses and moral damages. Legal
their prevention, control and elimination. entities and associations of persons (enoseis prosopon),
4. The responsibilities of the Occupational Doctor are including unions, have the right, with the written consent of
expanded. the employee, to file legal actions and lawsuits on their behalf
5. Undertakings with more than 20 employees are obliged to before the courts and administrative authorities.
adopt policies, the minimum content of which is specified 10. Employers who breach the prohibition of violence and
in the Law (Article 9), on: harassment in the workplace are subject to administrative
a. the prevention and elimination of violence and fines.
harassment in the workplace, which may be part of or
accompanied by a policy on equality and prevention of C. Work-Life Balance and Family Protection
discrimination, with the Law also providing for the
1. The Law transposing Directive 2019/1158 provides for:
obligatory appointment of a designated 'reference
a. paternity leave for 14 working days as of the birth or
person' responsible for providing relevant advice and
adoption of a child under the age of 8, irrespective of the
guidance to employees;
b. the handling of internal complaints about violence or employee’s prior work experience or years of service or
harassment incidents by way of a procedure that marital or family status;
safeguards the receipt and investigation of such b. an individual and non-transferrable right to parental
complaints in a manner that protects the victim and leave for each working parent or person with parental
their dignity, which may be included in other policies. custody of a child for 4 months, which may be taken up
These policies may be adopted following collective until the child becomes 8 years old:
negotiations, form part of a company's collective labour i. to be eligible for this, a parent employee must have
agreements or Internal Work Regulation, or be adopted by completed one year of employment with the same
the employer, either following consultation with the employer, unless otherwise more favorably provided
employees’ representatives if any, or unilaterally. for by law, presidential decree, collective labour
6. If an employee violates the prohibition of violence or agreements, arbitral awards, regulations or
harassment in the workplace, their employer must take all agreements between the employer and employees;
expedient measures to avoid the incident happening again, ii. details of the benefit given by the Manpower
including but not limited to change of position, working Organization and the provision of parental leave in
hours, place of work or termination of the employment different circumstances are specified in Article 28 of
relationship. the Law). Also, it is provided that parental leave must
7. Termination of the employment relationship of, or be notified to the Information System 'ERGANI';
discrimination against, the victim of violence or harassment iii. parents adopting a child up to the age of 8 are also
is strictly prohibited and any such termination is considered entitled to parental leave;
null and void. c. an employee who has completed 6 months of
8. All the above provisions apply not only in the case of private employment is entitled to carer’s leave of up to 5
sector employees but also to persons who work in the working days per calendar year in order to attend to the
private sector under a different contractual regime, including needs of a person that requires increased medical care
but not limited to a project agreement, independent services or support due to a serious medical condition;
agreement or salaried mandate, as well as those employed d. working parents or carers are entitled to two paid
via third party service providers, trainees, interns, volunteers, absences of up to one working day from work per year in
employees whose employment has expired and persons cases of urgent (force majeure) family issues, in the event
requesting employment or who are employed unofficially. of an illness or accident of the child or the person cared
9. An employee who is the victim of violence or harassment, for, where the immediate presence of the employee is
even following the termination of the employment required;
relationship during which the incident has taken place, has e. carers or working parents of children of up to 12 years
the right to judicial protection, and may also file a complaint of age may request flexible working arrangements (such
to the Labour Inspectorate and Greek Ombudsman, as well as telework, flexible working time or part-time work) for
as to the company. They may also stay away from work for a the purposes of caring for their children or dependents;
reasonable time, without loss of pay or any negative to be eligible, they must have completed 6 months of
consequences, if they have a reasonable fear of serious employment with the same employer (unless more
danger to their life, health or safety, and are entitled to favorable provisions are provided for by law, presidential
02BERNITSAS br ief ing
decree, collective labour agreements, arbitral awards, arrangements, the employer must notify the reasons for
regulations or agreements between employers and the dismissal in writing;
employees); h. in the absence of a serious reason, the dismissal of
2. The Law also provides for the following amendments to fathers is prohibited for a period of 6 months from the
leaves of absence for the protection of the family: birth of their child.
a. the right to the post-natal part of maternity leave, as well
as to the 6 month special maternity leave provided for D. Individual Labour Law Provisions for the
by Article 142 of Law 3655/2008, is extended to women Protection of Employment
who adopt a child aged up to 8 years or become mothers
1. Full-time working hours (40 hours per week) may be
via surrogacy;
distributed across 5 days of 8 hours each or 6 days of 6 hours
b. each working parent is entitled (interchangeably with
and 40 minutes each.
the other parent and irrespective of the type of
2. The application of shorter daily and weekly working hours
employment or unemployment of the other parent) to
for full-time work is possible by way of a collective labour
paid childcare leave, for 30 months following the
agreement, an arbitral award or individual employment
expiration of maternity leave, or the 6 month special
agreements.
maternity leave or the parental leave, as reduced
3. A 4 day working week may also constitute full-time
working time; adoptive and foster parents of children
employment, upon specific agreement between the employer
aged up to 8 years are also entitled to this; further
and employee (in the context of a working time arrangement
details, including alternative ways to reduce working
provided for under Article 41 of Law 1892/1990).
time, are provided for in Article 35 of the Law;
4. When the continuous workday lasts for more than 4 hours,
c. Additional paid leave is provided for:
a break of at least 15 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes
i. parents to keep track of their child's progress at
school up to the age of 18 or more if the child has is provided for, which does not constitute working time.
special needs, for hours or a whole day and for up to 5. Every hour of additional work in the event of part-time
4 working days per calendar year; employment is compensated at the agreed hourly rate
ii. marriage or cohabitation agreement (marriage leave) increased by 12%.
for 5 working days in the case of a 5 day work week, 6. Overwork (yperergasia) is compensated at the agreed
or 6 working days in the case of a 6 day work week; hourly rate increased by 20%.
iii. undertaking pre-natal examinations if they must be 7. The number of lawful overtime hours is increased from 120
undertaken during working hours; to 150 per year and cannot exceed three hours per day. Every
iv. cases of serious illnesses of children up to 18 years hour of lawful overtime is compensated at the agreed hourly
of age for up to 10 working days per year; rate increased by 40% and every hour that is not in
d. unpaid leave is provided for up to: conformity with legal requirements and approval procedures
i. 30 working days for caring for a child or other is considered unlawful and compensated at the agreed
dependent in cases of illness or hospitalization for hourly rate increased by 120%. In the event that the work is
the duration of the illness or hospitalization; absolutely necessary and cannot be postponed, overtime
ii. 6 days for children or dependents up to the age of that exceeds the lawful limits of the previous paragraph may
three and 8 days thereafter in cases of illness of a be provided and compensated at the agreed hourly rate
child or other dependent; increased by 60%.
e. parents of children with disabilities who are employed 8. If no trade union exists or if no agreement is reached between
in businesses with over 50 employees are entitled to the trade union and the employer, a working time
reduced working hours of one hour a day; arrangement system may be applied by way of a written
f. an additional paid leave of 6, 8 (for two children), and agreement, upon request by the employee. Termination of
14 (for more than two children) working days per year the employment agreement on the grounds that the
is also provided to widowed or single parents, the details employee did not file a request for working time arrangement
of which are provided for in Article 42 of the Law; is prohibited.
g. any discrimination against, or termination of the 9. Annual leave may be taken for every year until completion
employment contracts of, parents who have requested of the first quarter of the following calendar year.
one of the above rights is prohibited, and in the event 10. Every full or part-time employee is entitled, upon written
of dismissal of an employee who has made use of the agreement with the employer, to unpaid leave of up to one
above provisions for leaves of absence or flexible work year.
03BERNITSAS br ief ing
11. The business categories that are allowed to operate on b. as a result of a reaction to a lawfully exercised employee
Sundays are increased and the following business categories right;
in particular have been added: c. as a result of a reaction to a lawful complaint by an
a. courier service providers; employee;
b. businesses that produce sanitary or nursing materials; d. as a result of a reaction to the exercise of a lawful
c. supermarket warehouses for the performance of sales employee right in the case of violence or harassment in
contracts concluded online; the workplace;
d. logistics service providers, mainly for the delivery, e. if the employee is pregnant or has recently given birth,
storage, collection and distribution of goods; or if the employee is the father of a newborn, unless
e. company group shared services centers; there is a serious cause for dismissal;
f. company group data centers; f. if the employee has requested leave for family reasons
g. businesses that offer digitization services; in accordance with C above, or a flexible working time
h. help desk and customer support centers; arrangement for the purposes of childcare;
i. concrete and mining materials production businesses; g. during paid annual leave;
and h. if the employee has 4 or more children, is disabled, or is
j. businesses that offer security services. otherwise entitled to high legal protections;
12. The Labour Inspectorate might also approve work on i. if the employee is serving in the military;
Sunday for the following purposes: j. if the legal provisions on collective dismissals are not
a. diploma or certificate exams; complied with;
b. legal activities of private schools; k. if the employee is a trade union executive, member of
c. conservation works of public or private schools; and the employee council, member of the special
d. adjustment and update of information systems. negotiation group or the European employee council or
13. With respect to prior notice obligations and other provisions employee representative for the protected period,
applicable in the case of termination of employment, the unless there is a serious reason;
distinction between (white-collar) employees and workers l. if the termination is due to lawful trade union activity;
(blue-collar employees) is abolished. Law 2112/1920, Law m. if the termination is due to a refusal by the employee of
3198/1955 and any other provision that concerns the the employer's proposal for part-time work or work
termination of white-collar employment agreements shall also rotation;
be applicable in the case of workers (blue-collar employees). n. if the dismissed employees have collectively refused a
A worker's monthly salary shall consist of 22 daily wages unless working time arrangement and this refusal does not
they are already paid by way of a monthly salary. violate good faith; and
14. Where employment is terminated with notice, the employer o. if the termination is due to the exercise by the employee
may exempt the employee from the obligation to provide of the right to disconnect in the case of telework (see
work during the notice period, without prejudice to the below under E).
employee's right to remuneration. In such cases, the 17. The burden of proof and the consequences of null and void
employee might initiate an employment relationship with terminations are as follows:
another employer. a. if a dismissed employee challenges their termination as
15. The days that shall be considered public holidays for all null and void due to one of the reasons stipulated under
businesses that do not operate on Sundays or public par. 16 above, the employer is obliged to prove before
holidays are 1 January, 6 January, 25 March, Easter Monday, the Courts that the termination did not take place for
1 May, 15 August, 28 October, 25 December and 26 one of those reasons;
December. Additional holidays may be established by way b. if the termination is unlawful for a reason other than those
of ministerial decisions. set out above, upon the request of either the employee or
16. Protection from dismissal is provided for and the employer, an additional compensation may be awarded to
termination of an employment agreement is null and void the employee which must not be lower than the
in the following cases: employee's three month remuneration or higher than
a. due to discrimination for reasons of gender, race, skin twice the statutory compensation provided for the case of
colour, political ideology, religious or philosophical dismissal; this compensation might also be requested by
beliefs, ancestral origin, national or ethnic origin, sexual the employee in the case of termination for one of the
orientation, age, identity or gender characteristics, reasons under par. 16 above, instead of the recognition of
disability or participation in a trade union; the invalidity of the termination and the consequences of
04BERNITSAS br ief ing
that recognition; in such cases, the action requesting be registered with this system includes the conclusion,
compensation may not include a request for recognition modification or termination of employment agreements
of the nullity of the termination, unless the two requests and personnel lists of undertakings. Information on trade
do not have the same factual or legal basis; union registries is also available.
c. if the termination of an employment agreement is not 2. Employers are obliged to keep a tracking system of their
in compliance with the requirements of Article 5(3) of employees' working time with ERGANI II which is measured
Law 3198/1955, with the exception of the requirement by use of a digital employee card.
for severance payment, the termination is rendered 3. Employers may submit documents to ERGANI II even after
valid, if the employer remedies the typical omission the lapse of the set deadline and may also modify or correct
within one month of the service of the relevant action an existing submission.
or from the filing of a motion for labour dispute 4. Following the commencement of operation of ERGANI II,
resolution; in the event that the specific conditions are the passwords and registries of the Labour Inspectorate, the
fulfilled after the above deadline, the fulfilment is e-platform of the Social Security Organization (e-EFKA) and
considered as a new termination and the previous the Manpower Organization (OAED) will be unified.
termination is deemed non-existent; Additional unification is provided for the codes of
d. if the amount of severance pay is less than the severance specialisations and professions used by ERGANI, the Public
pay provided for by the law due to apparent error or Revenue Independent Authority (AADE), e-EFKA and OAED.
reasonable doubt as to its basis of calculation, the 5. ERGANI II interoperates (by operating as a hub) with bodies
termination is not declared null and void but an that are responsible for fighting unemployment, on-going
additional severance pay is ordered. learning and education and the development of skills for
entry into and movement within the business arena, and
E. Provisions on Telework and Other Contemporary the preparation of professional plans (including but not
Types of Work limited to OAED, the Sector of Employment and Social
Economy and the National Organization for Qualification
1. Telework may be provided for reasons of public health or in
Certification and Professional Orientation). Any further
the case of specific danger to the health of the employee.
technical issues related to this interoperability shall be
2. Telework-related costs including but not limited to
determined by a joint decision of the Minister of Labour and
equipment, telecommunication or service costs, shall be
Social Affairs and the Minister of Digital Administration.
borne by the employer.
6. In the case that any overtime or change in an employee's
3. When an employee works via telework, the employer may
working schedule or in their working time organization is
monitor employee performance only by means that respect
not registered with ERGANI II prior to its taking place,
the employee's private life and personal data. The use of a web
employers shall face sanctions.
camera for verifying employee performance is prohibited.
4. Teleworkers have a right to disconnect, namely to abstain
from any work and communication (via e-mail, telephone G. Collective Labour Law Provisions
etc) outside their working hours or within their annual leave. 1. Changes introduced by Law 4808/2021 to Collective Labour
Any discrimination against teleworkers who have exercised Law concern, inter alia, the categories and registration of
their right to disconnect is prohibited. trade unions, the right to strike, the ability to conclude a
5. The notion of 'digital platforms' is introduced, meaning Collective Labour Agreement, the scope of application of
enterprises that act either directly or as intermediaries and Collective Labour Agreements, the conciliation procedure
use an online platform to connect service providers, and the judicial review of arbitral awards.
enterprises or third parties with users, customers or
consumers, and facilitate transactions among them or transact H. Establishment of 'Labour Inspectorate' as an
directly with them. Digital platforms are bound with service Independent Authority
providers via an employment agreement, an agreement for
1. The Labour Inspectorate becomes an independent authority
the provision of independent services or a project agreement.
with full operational independence, with the aim of
ensuring the application of employment legislation.
F. Provisions Related to the 'ERGANI II' Information
System
1. The information system 'ERGANI' is updated to 'ERGANI II'
which is available via EΨΠ-gov.gr. Information that needs to
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Contacts
Katia Papantonopoulou Maria Kloni
Counsel Senior Associate
E kpapantonopoulou@bernitsaslaw.com E mkloni@bernitsaslaw.com
This Briefing is intended to provide general information and is not meant to constitute a comprehensive analysis of the matters set out herein or to be
relied upon as legal advice. It is not meant to create a lawyer-client relationship. Legal and other professional advice should be sought before applying
any of the information in this Briefing to a specific situation.
Bernitsas Law Firm is a partnership of attorneys regulated by Presidential Decree 81/2005 and Law 4194/2013, as currently in force, with its registered
address at 5 Lykavittou Street, Athens 106 72, Greece.
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