It is taken for granted that the rate of use of the Digital Labor Card will increase further in the coming days, as businesses and workers familiarize themselves with the new system, while the period in which no penalties will be imposed for not activating it is running out.
On the occasion of the completion of one week from the start of its application Digital Job Card at banks and Super Market with more than 250 employees, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announces the results of its use by businesses and workers in the sectors in question.
According to the data obtained from the P.S. ERGANI, today Thursday July 7, at 12 noon:
• The percentage of employees in the two sectors who used the Digital Work Card from Friday, July 1st until today is 79.9%. Out of a total of 120,344 employees (117,017 if 3,327 executives holding positions of responsibility are removed) in the specific companies, 93,440 used the card in the previous 7 days.
• In the supermarket sector the percentage is 80.4%, while in the individual chains it escalates up to 98%. In the vast majority of businesses the percentage exceeds 80%. However, there are also three companies with a single-digit or even zero application rate. The Ministry calls on these businesses to comply immediately.
• In banks, the average is 78.3%, the percentages reach up to 100%. Similarly, the majority have complied, but there are also a few cases of small banks with zero rates. In the four systemic banks, the application rate ranges from 74 – 85%.
The percentages are satisfactory, if we consider that the Digital Card currently includes only physically present employees, while in banks a significant number still practice teleworking (in June the percentage of teleworking employees in banks was over 10%). There are also many employees who are absent in July on summer holidays.
However, it is considered self-evident that the rate of use of the Digital Work Card will increase further in the coming days, as businesses and employees familiarize themselves with the new system, while at the same time the period in which no penalties will be imposed for not activating it is running out. In any case, the high rates of application of the Digital Work Card by a number of businesses, some of which are included in the largest businesses in the country, prove that the organizational preparation of the measure on the part of the State was implemented in an even way. Therefore, businesses in the two branches of the first phase that have not yet proceeded with the implementation of the Digital Card can and should do so as soon as possible.
Moreover, on the occasion of the complaints that were made public about cases of working hours being circumvented by bypassing the Digital Work Card, it is pointed out that the Card is the most effective tool for preventing, controlling and dealing with exactly these phenomena. The facilitation of controls and their processing in a transparent and objective manner is one of the reasons why the implementation of the Digital Labor Card has progressed and will be expanded, which:
• Ensures the immediate, real-time information of the Ergani PS on the start and end of the work.
• Allows inspectors to know before visiting a workplace, how many and which workers should be there.
• It equips employees with an important piece of evidence for claiming what is owed, especially given that the relevant records in PS Ergani are kept for a decade.
The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, said: “The Digital Labor Card is a measure in favor of workers, a standing request of the GSEE, implemented by the current government. With its implementation and gradual expansion to all businesses, declared and undeclared work is more easily detected while workers acquire a powerful weapon to defend their rights. I have emphasized and repeat that the inspections by the Labor Inspectorate both in the sectors where the application of the Digital Labor Card has begun and in the entire market continue and will be intensified especially in the sectors where delinquency is high. It is a matter of fairness for workers and equal competition for businesses, to ensure that working hours and overtime are respected.”
In banks and supermarkets, the controls will emphasize the correct use of the Digital Work Card by recording the actual working hours, but also on the possibility of presenting ordinary workers as executives in order to circumvent the restrictions on working hours. It is clarified that the two-month period of adjustment to the measure concerns exclusively the activation of the Digital Card mechanism. Any other violation of labor law found, such as undeclared or implied work, is punished according to law.
It is recalled that according to the Law 4808/2021 on the Protection of Labor (article 74 par. 4): “The Digital Labor Card is used by the Labor Inspectorate to check compliance with business hours. If, during the on-site inspection in a business, it is found that the employee’s digital card is not activated, the employer is fined ten thousand five hundred (10,500) euros per employee who does not have an activated digital card. In the event that in three audits, within a period of twelve (12) months, a violation of this is found, a temporary shutdown of the business for a period of fifteen (15) days is imposed.”
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs clarifies in every direction that businesses of all sizes and sectors that are part of the Digital Work Card regime will be checked for its correct application and if violations are found, they will be subject to the penalties provided for by the law. It also encourages employees and trade union bodies who find phenomena of circumvention of the measure to proceed with complaints to the Labor Inspectorate, named or anonymous, which will be checked immediately.
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