A four-day workweek, 13-hour workdays and the possibility of quick appointments via a mobile app - Greece wants to introduce all these possibilities for more flexible working hours, writes "Handelsblatt". Minister of Labor and Social Policy Niki Kerameos plans to submit the relevant bill to parliament in September.
Day shifts up to 13 hours
The project provides for the weekly working time to remain 40 hours, with an additional eight hours of overtime allowed. The weekly working time will be calculated for a quarter, which allows for more or less work in certain weeks, according to needs. Employers and workers can agree on daily shifts of up to 13 hours.
However, the number of overtime hours will be limited to 150 per year, which means that there will be a maximum of 37 days of 13 hours of work per year. Overtime pay will also be regulated, the German publication continues. After the regular eight hours, they will receive 40 percent more per hour. In addition, workers will be entitled to at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest and once a week - 24 hours.
Four-day work week, but with the same working hours
The main purpose of the law is to help companies where employment varies according to the season or days of the week - for example in gastronomy or tourism, points out "Handelsblatt". These sectors employ around 400,000 people, but the number could be much higher - this summer, 80,000 vacancies remained in hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes. This poses problems for companies, as tourism in Greece is growing for the third year in a row.
In addition, the law will allow for a four-day work week - but without reduced working hours. The Greek model provides for regular working hours to be distributed over four days of ten hours.
"Handelsblatt" recalls that Greece introduced the possibility of a six-day work week with 48-hour working hours by law last year. And Labor Minister Kerameos emphasizes: flexibility will benefit not only tourism, but also working parents, who instead of working five days of eight hours, will prefer to be busy four days of ten hours - in order to have another day off for their family. In her words, this is a "law that is based on practice".
Greece has a huge labor shortage
"We are reducing bureaucracy, replacing paper with digital documents and simplifying many procedures - for example, for the rapid appointment of seasonal workers," says Kerameos, quoted by "Handelsblatt". The publication indicates that in the future it will be possible to appoint workers for two days, for example, by replacement, through a special mobile application of the Labor Ministry. "The law strengthens workers' rights and, thanks to digitalization, increases the possibilities for control to ensure that legal requirements are complied with", the minister explains.
The new regulation is also expected to combat undeclared work, which is widespread in Greece - fines for undeclared work and unpaid overtime will be increased.
As "Handelsblatt" notes, the government also hopes to reduce the shortage of qualified labor. The Greek labor market is still marked by the crisis of the 2010s. In November 2013, unemployment in the country reached a record 28%. In May this year, it reached its lowest level since before the crisis - 7.9 percent. Nevertheless, Greece exceeds the European average of 5.9 percent. The German publication writes that qualified labor is lacking mainly in the energy, IT and telecommunications sectors, in enterprises related to transport and logistics, as well as in healthcare.
Greeks work the most in Europe
ARD, for its part, points out that Greece is the country in the EU where people work the most - Greeks spent an average of 39.8 hours a week at their workplace in 2024. The situation is similar in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania. However, the German public media outlet notes at the same time that productivity in Greece is not at all high on a European scale - the most efficient work is done in Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Nowadays, the average European works less than 10 years ago, the data also shows.
According to EU rules, employers must provide their employees with at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest for every 24-hour period. Employees are also entitled to at least 24 hours of uninterrupted weekly rest in every 7-day period, as provided for in the new Greek legislation.