We advise companies on business law in Greece. Labor law is an important aspect of business law and therefore a central field of law of our work.
We advise companies from hiring to termination of employment, as well as on ongoing personnel issues. We draft the employment contracts of the managing directors and the employment contracts of the executive employees and staff; temporary or not, according to the specifications of your human resources department and adapted to Greek labor law.
For our international clients, we act in the long term as an “external” legal and human resources department in Greece, always in close cooperation with the parent company or the local manager. In this context, we advise on ongoing personnel issues, employee data protection and compliance, check the conditions for posting and hiring out employees, draft company rules and, if necessary, negotiate with the labor inspectorate.
When terminating an employment relationship, we advise on effectiveness of the termination and prepare layoffs or termination contracts and accompany or represent the managing director on the day of the dismissal.
In the tourism industry, special labor law provisions apply to seasonal work in accommodation establishments. These employment contracts are temporary and end at the end of the season. However, provided that certain occupancy figures are reached, the employee has the right to be re-instated, otherwise he is entitled to a severance payment. We have special expertise here.
As part of company acquisitions, we check compliance with labor law regulations and advise on business transfers.
The “normal case” of ordinary termination in Greece is dismissal without notice and simultaneous payment of the severance pay. It is therefore not an important reason, as is required for an extraordinary termination, to terminate without notice. In addition, there is also the possibility of so-called termination with prior notice, observing certain statutory notice periods (depending on the duration of the employment relationship). In this case only half the severance payment is due.
The precondition for a termination under Greek law to be effective is the payment of the severance pay on the day of discharge. The minimum severance payment must be calculated in advance by the company’s accountant or tax advisor. In addition to the number of severance pay resulting from the length of service, this calculation includes shares in Christmas and Easter benefits, unused vacation days and any other claims, if not contractually excluded.
The relevant law does not refer to a probationary period, rather it stipulates that the employment relationship can be terminated within the first 12 months without stating a reason and without providing a severance payment. This rule is mandatory and represents a de facto probationary period of 12 months.
Greek labor law is highly formalized to protect workers and is in many aspects inflexible due to the compulsory nature of respective rules. Employment relationships and working hours must be uploaded to the online system of the labor inspectorate (ERGANI), as well as overtime, vacation days etc. The 12-month trial period cannot be shortened by contract, the possibility to agree notice periods is limited. A good way of regulating various issues and adapting them to the needs of the company is to adopt company rules.
