Employment

If the first labour laws date back to the early 20th century, it was only after the end of the World War II that their development grew. Then, the new Constitution, adopted after the fall of the dictatorship, in 1975, included, for the first time, provisions devoted to work, such as the recognition of the right to work, the freedom of association, the right to strike and to collective bargaining. Greece has also ratified the majority of ILO Conventions, the ECHR and the European Social Charter. Finally, the influence of the legislation of the European Union is considerable and gave new impetus to improving the national system of protection of workers. Indeed, Greek labour law provides answers to almost all current questions relevant to work. Provisions regulating labour relations have, however, not yet been codified into a Labour Code.

Individual labour relations

Labour law applies to subordinate workers only. The notion of “subordination”, indeed a central one, is not defined in the law, but it has been developed by case law. It is characterized by the performance of work under the authority of the employer who has the power to give orders and to control its execution. A presumption in favor of subordinate work exists in case where work is personally provided solely or mainly for the same employer and for nine consecutive months. The employer has the option of proving that the worker operates in independently.

What is the main type of employment contract?

It is the open-ended employment contract. Fixed-term employment contracts are permitted in exceptional cases, when the limited duration is justified by some specific (‘objective’) ground, such as the time required to perform a specific task for the employer. Where there is no such ground, the contract is deemed to be open-ended, even if it has been agreed as being fixed-term. Moreover, where there continues to be a specific (‘objective’) ground, the renewal of a fixed-term contract without limit is permitted. Where the specific ground does not exist, it will be presumed to be an open-ended employment contract.

How can fixed-term and open-ended employment contracts be terminated by the employer?

Fixed-term contracts terminate after their term expires or they can be rescinded where there is a serious ground.

 Open ended contracts are terminated by rescinding them. When a fixed-term contract expires no compensation is owed, but, where an open-ended contract is rescinded the compensation specified by law is payable, as follows:

How is strike defined by Greek law?

A strike is understood to be the collective cessation of work by employees decided by trade union organisations, with the aim of exerting pressure on the employer for achieving a fighting point, whether offensive or defensive, and particularly for the protection and advancement of their financial, labour, trade union and insurance interests.

How is the right to strike strengthened in Greece?

Article 23 of the Constitution stipulates that “The State shall adopt due measures safeguarding the freedom to unionise and the unhindered exercise of related rights against any infringement thereon within the limits of the law” and “Strike constitutes a right to be exercised by lawfully established trade unions in order to protect the financial and general labour interests of working people.” From the wording of the Constitution, it is evident that particular attention is given to striking as a means of promoting the rights of working people. Pursuant to article 20 of the existing law 1264/1982, “striking is a workers’ right for the
protection and advancement of their financial, labour, trade union and insurance interests and as an expression of solidarity for these purposes.

What Law governs social security?

Social Security in Greece is mainly regulated by Law 4387/2016 regarding the Unified Social Security System – Reform of the social security and pension system as amended and currently in force. Given the complexity of the applicable legislation, its provisions have been further clarified by Ministerial Decisions and/or Circulars by the competent ministries.

What are the main provisions of the law?

As of its establishment, the Greek social security system has been a highly fragmented system comprising of different social security funds and different pension schemes/rules depending on various factors (workforce specialization, type of occupation (i.e. dependent or independent) date of entry in the employment market etc.) resulting in inequalities in terms of social security treatment and benefit entitlements.

To overcome the above deficiencies, Law 4387/2016, which was voted under the framework of the Third Memorandum of Understanding (signed in August 2015), sets uniform social security and pension rules for adoption by all the workforce subject to social security in Greece. For this purpose, the provisions of the law provide, among other issues, for the integration of all public main pension funds into one fund (the so-called “Unified Social Security Institution” – Eνιαίος Φορέας Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης (Ε.Φ.Κ.Α.)) and of all auxiliary pension and lump sum benefits funds into one fund (the so-called “Unified Auxiliary Social Security and Lump Sum Benefits Fund” – Ενιαίο Ταμείο Επικουρικής Ασφάλισης και Εφάπαξ Παροχών (Ε.Τ.Ε.Α.Ε.Π.)).

What is the most common violation of employee rights in the context of the employment relationship?

The most common violation, is the abusive exercise by the employer of his managerial prerogatives. Since the contract of dependent employment between an employer and a employee cannot regulate exhaustively, all the terms for the provision of labour, it is at the employer’s discretion, when exercising his managerial prerogatives, to specify such, in order to ensure the appropriate organisation and operation of the business.

However, the employer must exercise his managerial prerogatives fairly, within the framework of the employment contract, labour laws, collective work agreements, the company’s work regulations, the long-standing practice of the company, etc.

Therefore, the managerial prerogatives have a distinct functional nature and their exercise is in principle legitimate. If, however the employer aims, when exercising his managerial prerogatives, at fulfilling motives that lie outside the aforementioned framework, the exercise of such rights, is considered abusive (e.g. when an order aims at reprisals against an employee or the satisfaction of another objective that is unrelated to the employee’s performance, or when the employer’s orders have onerous results for the employee, etc.).