Clarifications on Easter gift The employees of the private sector are provided by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the Information Center for Employees & Unemployed of the Confederation (KEPEA / GSEE). Employees also have the opportunity to calculate the Easter Gift they are entitled to, at the following link: https://www.kepea.gr/calc-doro-pasxa.php.
In particular, the GSEE and the Information Center of Employees & Unemployed of the Confederation point out the following:
“Easter Gift Registration
The Easter Gift, as well as the Christmas Gift and the leave allowance, were further secured by the National General BCC of the year 2010 (article 1) for private law employees throughout Greece.
The provisions of the institutional framework for holiday gifts are of public policy, with the consequence that any explicit or tacit agreement to the contrary is not allowed and is invalid, as well as the waiver of the employee from the demand for their payment.
Which employees are entitled to it
Under current law, all employees employed in the private sector on a permanent or part-time, full-time or part-time basis with any employer are entitled to an Easter Gift.
How the Easter Gift is calculated
For the calculation of the amount of the Gifts, the method of remuneration of the employees is taken into account, ie whether they are paid a daily wage or a salary. The estimated time period of the Easter Gift starts from the 1st of January until the 30th of April of each year. Thus, employees whose employment relationship with the employer lasted without interruption for the entire period mentioned above, ie from January 1 to April 30 of each year, are entitled to the entire Gift equal to half (1/2) monthly salary for those who are paid with a salary and with 15 salaries for those who are paid with a salary.
However, in case the employment relationship of an employee with his employer did not last for the entire aforementioned period, he is entitled to receive a gift ratio, which is calculated as follows: in the case of a salaried employee, an amount equal to 1/15 of half a monthly salary or one wage, while for those paid a wage for every eight calendar days of employment. If the employment relationship lasts less than eight days, you are entitled to a corresponding fraction for an Easter Gift.
Except if the work was provided without interruption throughout the period from 1 January to 30 April, this period also includes all the days that employees are legally absent from work (eg with annual leave, with maternity leave, with student leave). Specifically, with regard to the absence of employees, due to illness, during the calculation of the Easter Gift, the “three days of illness” are taken into account, ie the time of absence during which no sickness benefit is paid, while the intervals paid by the sickness insurance are deducted.
Example: If an employee was absent from work due to illness for 60 days and received sickness benefit from his / her insurance fund for 40 days, only the 40 days for which he / she was subsidized will be deducted from the employment period and not the 60 .
When is the Easter Gift paid?
The Easter Gift is paid on Holy Wednesday every year. The Easter Gift is subject to contributions in favor of EFKA, payroll tax. It is noted, of course, that the employer can pay the gift earlier than the above date.
The Easter Gift is in no case allowed to be paid in kind, but only in cash.
How to pay the Easter Gift of the year 2022, due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Especially for the employees, whose employment contracts were suspended or subjected to the program “COOPERATION” at any time during the period from 1/1/2022 to 30/04/2022, the following applies in terms of time and manner payment of the Easter Gift (JM 35129 / 12.04.2022 – Government Gazette B ‘1819 / 13.4.2022):
Suspended employees: Employees whose employment contracts were suspended from 1/01/2022 to 31/01/2022 will receive the Easter Gift from two different sources:
A) the companies-employers are obliged to pay the entire Easter Gift, except for the periods when the employees were suspended, no later than Holy Wednesday (20/04/2022), based on their actually paid salaries,
B) for the periods during which the employment contracts of the employees were suspended, the proportion of the Easter Gift will be paid from the regular budget directly to the bank accounts of the employees and will be calculated on the amount of the special purpose compensation. The payment of this ratio will take place until Holy Wednesday (20/04/2022).
“COOPERATION” Program: In case the employees joined the Employment Assistance Mechanism “COOPERATION”, the Easter Gift will be paid as follows:
A) employers are obliged to pay the proportion of the Easter Gift, based on the actual remuneration they received during the period of membership in this Mechanism, no later than Holy Wednesday (20/04/2022).
B) from the state budget will be paid directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries-employees the proportion of the Easter Gift, based on the amount of financial support they received for the period of their membership in the Mechanism. The payment will be made in two phases: a. for the period of affiliation until 31/03/2022, the payment is made until Holy Wednesday (20/04/2022) and b. for the period of affiliation from 1/04/2022 to 30/04/2022, the payment is made until 31st / 5/2022.
From the state budget will be paid the insurance contributions corresponding to the Easter Gift of the above periods (suspensions and inclusion in the program “SYN-ERGASIA”), calculated on the nominal salary of the beneficiaries-employees.
For the rest, the provisions of the labor legislation for the holiday gifts are still valid (ministerial decision 19040/1981 – Government Gazette B ‘742).
Especially for the Easter Gift earnings
The Easter Gift is calculated, based on the regular salaries actually paid on the 15th day before Easter, if these are equal to or higher than the legal ones. In case the employment relationship has been terminated before the above date, the Easter Gift is calculated based on the remuneration paid on the day the employment relationship was terminated.
Regular remuneration is the salary or wage, as well as any other benefit (either in cash or in kind) paid by the employer as a contractual or legal consideration of the work provided regularly each month or repeated periodically at certain times of the year. Regular remuneration is, among other things, the remuneration for regular legal overtime work, overtime work, work on Sundays, holidays, night shifts, productivity bonuses, housing allowance, etc., when they are repeatedly paid at regular intervals. , etc .. In the regular remuneration is included the leave allowance. Therefore, the employee will receive the Easter Gift increased by the leave rate, which amounts to 0.04166.
Example: an employee with an Easter Gift of 900 euros, with the increase of the leave rate should receive 938 euros.
When are the gifts of the Gifts expired?
Pursuant to article 250 par. 17 of the Civil Code, the receipts of Gifts in the private sector are statute-barred, after five years from the end of the year that were required, according to article 250 par. 17 of the Civil Code.
What should the employee do if the Gift is not paid to him?
In case the Easter Gift is not paid on time, the employees and / or the unions can and must apply to the relevant Labor Inspectorate, in order to prepare an indictment. The indictment is forwarded to the prosecutor for the prosecution of the employer, while, at the same time, it is forwarded to the relevant police department for the initiation of the spontaneous procedure.
Employees and / or their unions have the right to file a complaint directly to the competent police department and request the application of the spontaneous procedure.
The lawsuit should include the details of the business and the residence of the employer, if possible, as the process of the highway takes 48 hours.
In any case of non-payment of the Easter Gift, within the set deadline, the Labor Inspectorate is obliged to intervene immediately, carrying out checks and to be in full readiness to carry out the procedure of the highway and the imposition of relevant sanctions.
At the same time, it is possible to calculate the Easter Gift with an online application of KEPEA / GSEE: https://www.kepea.gr/calc-doro-pasxa.php.
For rotation work: https://www.kepea.gr/calc-ek-peritropis-doro-pasxa.php.
Ways of communication
With the constant aim of timely and valid information, GSEE emphasizes that it will continue to have at the disposal of trade unions and employees throughout the country for every issue of information, support and collective action, the Information Center for Employees and Unemployed of GSEE, KEPEA / GSEE (www.kepea.gr) and the Network of Information Services & Counseling for Employees and Unemployed of the Labor Institute of GSEE (https://www.inegsee.gr/diktio-ipiresion-pliroforisis-simvouleftikis-ergazomenon-anergon/) “.
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