When is the Christmas Gift paid to private sector workers?

by

What should the employee do if he is not paid – How is it calculated

Until December 21, the Christmas Gift must be paid, as reported by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the Confederation’s Workers & Unemployed Information Center (KE.PEA./GSEE).

Employees have the possibility, through the online application created by KEPEA, to calculate the Christmas Gift they are entitled to by themselves, at the link: http://kepea.gr/calc-doro-xristoygennon .php

Also, the K.E.P.E.A. of GSEE has created an application, making available to employees modern information tools, so that they know and claim their rights.

In the app, those interested will find online applications, coded (alphabetically) electronic library of work topics, as well as information on current affairs. For the most direct communication, special forms for submitting questions or complaints have been created.

If those interested have an Android Smartphone, they can download the app from the Play Store while, if they have an iOS device from the App Store, by doing a simple search for “KEPEA GSEE” or at the following link

Which employees are entitled to it?

According to current legislation, all employees employed in the private sector on an indefinite or fixed-term, full-time or part-time basis for any employer are entitled to holiday gifts.

How is the Christmas Gift calculated?

For the calculation of the amount of the Gifts, the method of remuneration of the employees is taken into account, i.e. whether they are paid a daily wage or a salary.

The time period in which the Christmas Gift is calculated, starts from May 1st until December 31st every year. Thus, employees whose employment relationship with the employer has lasted without interruption throughout the mentioned period, i.e. from 1 May to 31 December of each year, are entitled to the entire Gift, which is equal to one month’s salary for salaried employees and with 25 days wages for the daily wage earners.

However, those of the above employees, whose relationship with the employer did not last the entire period (from 1/5 to 31/12), are entitled to receive part of the Gift proportional with the duration of their employment relationship.

In this case, the Christmas Gift is calculated as follows: 2/25 of the monthly salary or 2 daily wages – depending on how they are paid – for every 19 calendar days of employment. Even employees who worked for less than 19 days they are entitled proportional fraction of the Gift.

Except in the case that the work was provided without interruption throughout the period from May 1 to December 31, this period also includes all the days that the employees are legally absent from their work (e.g. with annual leave, on maternity leave).

Especially, regarding the absence of employees, due to illnessin the calculation period of the Christmas Gift, the “three days of sickness” are included, i.e. the time of absence during which no sickness benefit is paid, while the periods for which sickness benefit is paid by the insurance company are subtracted.

Holiday gifts, under no circumstances, may be paid in kind, but only in money.

When is the Christmas Gift paid?

The Christmas Gift must be paid by December 21st every year. The Christmas Gift is subject to EFKA contributions and payroll tax.

As pointed out in a related announcement, the employer can pay the Gift even earlier than the above date.

In particular for the receipts of the Christmas Gift

The basis for calculating the Gift is the wages actually paid to the employees on December 10th. In case the employment relationship has been terminated before the above dates, the Christmas Gift is calculated based on the wages paid on the day the employment relationship was terminated.

As a paid salary or daily wage is the total of regular wages. The concept of regular wages includes the salary or daily wage, as well as any other benefit (either in money or in kind, such as food, housing, etc.), as long as it is paid by the employer in exchange for the work provided by the employee, regularly every month or repeatedly, periodically, at certain intervals of time.

The concept of regular remuneration, according to the jurisprudence of the courts, also includes:

  • The leave allowance: to calculate the proportion of the leave allowance in the Gift, we multiply the total amount of the Gift to which the employee is entitled by the coefficient 0.041666.

Example: An employee with a Christmas Gift of 900 euros (gross salary) with the additional leave rate should get 938 euros.

  • Statutory overtime pay, provided it is provided regularly.
  • Overtime pay, if this work is performed regularly.
  • The remuneration for work on Sundays and on exceptional holidays or at night, as long as the employment is regular and permanent.
  • The value of the milk supplied daily.
  • The additional pay given by the employer voluntarily for greater productivity (premium), when repeated over a long period of time and at regular intervals.
  • Gratuities given to employees by third parties.
  • Travel expenses, when not dependent on business travel, are not billable and are not interrupted during illness or leave.
  • The fee from commissions.
  • The housing allowance.
  • The balance sheet allowance, as long as it is paid regularly every year.

More special categories, indicatively:

a. Calculation of the Christmas Gift for hourly workers

For those who are paid an hourly wage, the calculation is based on the average salary for the period from 1-5-2022 to 31-12-2022. That is, the total remuneration received by the employee during this period is divided by the number of days during this period during which the employee worked or maintained a claim for his wages. The resulting amount is multiplied by the number of daily wages corresponding to the duration of the employment relationship.

b. Calculation of the Christmas Gift for part-time employees

Employees who work fewer hours per day (compared to full-time employment) will receive as a Christmas gift the same daily wages as a full-time employee, but having as a basis for calculation the reduced wages and according to the time of their employment from 01/05 /2022 to 31/12/2022.

c. Calculation of the Christmas Gift for employees with intermittent work (rotational employment)

Employees who are employed less than five days a week (for those employed on a five-day basis) and less than six days a week (for those employed on a 6-day basis) are entitled to a Christmas Gift of 1 day’s wages for every 8 days’ wages worked within the period from 01/05/2022 until 31/12/2022.

In all cases, the Gift amount is increased by the license factor of 0.041666.

What should the employee do if the Gift is not paid?

The payment of the Christmas Gift must be made by December 21st. In the event that the Christmas Gift is not paid on time, employees and/or unions can and should appeal to the relevant Labor Inspectorate, in order to draw up a complaint report. The complaint is forwarded to the Public Prosecutor for individual prosecution against the employer, while, at the same time, it is also forwarded to the relevant police station for initiation of the automatic procedure. Employees and/or their unions have the right to file a complaint directly with the relevant police department and request the application of the automatic procedure.

The claim report should include the employer’s business and residential details, if possible, as the self-reporting process takes up to 48 hours.

In any case of non-payment of the Christmas Gift, within the set deadline, the Labor Inspectors have an obligation to intervene immediately, carrying out checks and to be fully prepared for the exercise of the autoforo procedure and the imposition of the relevant sanctions.

Employees can make named or anonymous complaints to the single service line 1555 or to the online anonymous complaint submission service of the Labor Inspectorate or by sending a message, via e-mail, to the Inspection Department of their place of work.

GSEE informs that the GSEE Employee and Unemployed Information Center (KE.PEA./GSEE) www.kepea.gr is at the disposal of employees for submitting complaints or following up complaints to the Labor Inspectorate regarding non-payment of the Christmas present. It is possible to submit a question or complaint.

RES-EMP

You May Also Like

Recommended for you