It started today, Thursday, February 16y, according to the schedule that had been announced and after the dialogue with both the representatives of the employees and the employers’ side was completed, the implementation of Digital Job Card in two more business branches, the insurance companies and private security companies.

With the application of the Digital Job Card, the 32,000 employees in the two sectors (8,000 in insurance companies and 24,000 in security companies) will declare the start and end time of their work when they arrive and leave and this declaration will be transmitted digitally to the ERGANIS II system. Labor Inspection as well as ensuring conditions of equal competition between businesses.
It is recalled that the Digital Labor Card is already implemented in the summer of 2022 in banks and supermarkets that employ more than 250 workers. Gradually and after dialogue with the stakeholders, the measure will be extended to industry, DEKO, tourism and restaurants.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis stated: “We are moving forward steadily and after dialogue in the gradual expansion of the Digital Work Card with the aim of covering all employees and businesses. The Digital Work Card is a reform for the benefit of workers, because it fights against declared and undeclared work, for the benefit of businesses, because it helps to tackle unfair competition and ensures transparency in controls, but also for the benefit of the insurance system as it ensures revenue from contributions and creates conditions for their additional reduction. It’s a step forward that brings fairness into practice in the labor market.”

The general secretary of Labor Relations, Anna Stratinaki, stated: “The process of integrating the Digital Labor Card into the sectors of the economy continues unwaveringly and always within the schedule set by the political leadership of the ministry during its first implementation in the summer of 2022.
After honest and thorough dialogue with the representatives of the employees and the side of the employers, we are proceeding with the integration of the business sectors, the insurance companies and the companies providing private protection (security).

The Digital Work Card is a total reform in the labor market that is implemented gradually, with a plan, without surprises and clearly reflects the political will of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis for transparency, justice and, above all, safety in the workplace”.
In view of the application of the Digital Work Card to insurance companies and security companies, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs issued a detailed guide with useful information and clarifications for businesses and employees as well as answers to a series of questions raised by the businesses to which it has been applied up to today the Digital Card.

Here are some of these clarifications:

-The company can continue to use the existing timekeeping system, if it exists, with or without a QRCode.

– Late declaration of start / end is allowed only in cases of force majeure or objective impossibility that prevents the operation of the system for measuring the working time of the employees or the transmission of the data to the P.S. ERGANI II (e.g. problem with the employer’s systems, power / telecommunications outage, connection problem with the ERGANI). In these cases, the employer is obliged to notify the relevant Labor Inspection immediately, in any appropriate way, and as soon as the problem ends, to make an overdue declaration.

– The marking of the digital work card is an obligation of the employee and cannot be replaced by the employer. In any case, the responsibility for the application of the digital card as well as the correct use of the digital work card by the employee, belongs to the employer. The repeated non-submission of start and end declarations to PS ERGANI II constitutes a reason for an audit by the Labor Inspectorate (riskanalysis).

– In the event that there is no card punch at the beginning and/or at the end of the employees’ employment due to the nature of their work (eg traveling salesmen), the working hours are assumed to be those declared in PS ERGANI for the specific day. In case of arrival after the declared start of the hours, or departure before the declared end of the hours, it is necessary to mark the card, among other things for reasons of legal security of the employee (e.g. work accident).

-Flexible attendance takes place up to 120 minutes from the start of the pre-announced schedule and includes the announced end time of the schedule. It is understood that flexible attendance only applies after the start time of the stated schedule and not before.

For example, if an employee has flextime declared within 120 minutes and their stated working hours are 09:00-17:00, then if the employee punches in at 10:30, they are eligible to have their shift marked as ending on the 18 :30. If, on the contrary, he comes to work at 08:15 and punches a card with a declared time of 09:00, he is not considered to be covered by flexible attendance and in order for the employer to be legal, he must have made a relevant demonstration in the context of the Variable/Amended Hours .
It is clarified that the preparation time of employees before taking up duty or upon leaving work, e.g. for changing clothes, washing, etc., does not constitute working time unless otherwise agreed between employer and employee. (AP 317/65).
-Overtime is declared with a Notice of Legal Overtime Employment (and in case of exceeding the legal overtime hours, the relevant application or approval decision of the ASE must also be mentioned).