Substantial changes in the operation of the labor market, but also many problems of circumvention of the measure, have been caused by the widespread application of the digital labor card, which began in July 2022 and is currently estimated to be applied to 1,500,000 workers.
The first recorded positive consequences should include an increase in declared overtime hours in most sectors where the measure was implemented, which demonstrates its usefulness in the fight against undeclared or implied work.
Imaginative methods
At the same time, however, it highlighted a number of problems as well as attempts to circumvent with imaginative methods by employers, in order to avoid recording the actual work, which highlights the important role that the Labor Inspectorate is called to play, especially after the extension of the measure and in the – problematic from on the labor relations side – the area of tourism and catering.
In almost all industries where the digital card was implemented, there was an increase in overtime reported and recorded. The Ministry of Labor attributes the fact both to the development of the economy and to the implementation of the digital card that leads to the recording of real working time. Officially, the minister, Mrs. Niki Kerameos, has linked the measure with the continuous increase in registered overtime hours.
24,5%
is the increase in declared overtime, in supermarkets, compared to the previous period when the card did not exist, while in banks, the cumulative increase in overtime approaches 14%. Both retail and industry, sectors where the digital work card was implemented within 2024, see an increase of over 10% in overtime reported within this year, compared to the corresponding 7 months of 2023.
Rising trend
According to the data of Ergani, since the start of the application of the card (in 2022) there has been a steady increase in overtime. While in 2021 we have 1.87 million hours of recorded overtime, 2022 sees a significant increase of 36.9%, with businesses as a whole reporting 2.56 million hours of overtime.
The upward trend continued in 2023, as we had 2.68 million hours of recorded overtime, increased by 4.7% compared to 2022, while also in the 7 months January – July 2024 recorded overtime hours reached 1.53 million, increased compared to the corresponding 7 month of 2023 (1.49 million hours).
Tourism
However, the application of the digital work card enters its most difficult – perhaps – phase with its introduction into the tourism and food industry. The pilot application of the measure began in September as the government considered it prudent to do it towards the end of the tourist season, on the one hand so as not to disrupt the operation of the market and businesses, on the other hand so that there would be time – in the last months of the season – to to test the measure.
However, this is an extremely difficult sector, which shows high rates of violations of labor legislation, where the application of the card will create new data. At the same time, however, the Labor Inspectorate should be further activated, in order to support the measure in the chaotic tourism labor market.
Indicative of the situation prevailing in the tourism industry is the recent record of the controls conducted by the Labor Inspectorate from May to August.
Almost a third of the audits carried out corresponded to fines for infringements of the companies found.
In total, 9,059 checks were carried out and 2,569 fines were imposed, amounting to 8,118,261 euros. At the same time, 105 lawsuits and petitions were filed.
Indicative of the problem is the fact that over a two-year period (2022), controls in the tourism sector increased by 21.06%, while administrative sanctions increased by 34.78%.
The problems
Problems have also been recorded – through official complaints – in the way the measure is implemented, with the following cases being indicative:
Employees who work on behalf of third parties (shop in a shop) in cosmetic stores, shopping centers, spas, beauty centers, perfume shops, etc., do not punch a digital card. Supermarkets, logistics, department store companies do not provide the possibility of applying the digital card to the contractor staff they employ.
Employees who start work at 5 a.m. have been instructed to punch their card at 6am. Problems have also been reported with security companies, cleaning crews, hourly workers, online order clerks, drivers, etc.
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