The details of the grant special permit with pay for the excercise of suffrage of workers in the private sector during parliamentary elections May 21 elections are determined by a decision of the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis (Government Gazette B’ 2989- 6 May 2023)

The decision specifically stipulates that all industrial, craft and commercial enterprises, holdings and operations of the private sector, as well as those that generally employ staff and fall under the private sector, are required to grant their staff a special leave of absence with pay to facilitate the exercise of the electoral process of the right, during the elections of May 21.

The number of leave days that covers the absolutely necessary time for the workers to go to the place of exercising their right to vote and return, is determined as follows:

A. For employees with a six-day weekly work regime:

  • a) For those who move 100-200 kilometers, a leave of one (1) working day is granted.
  • b) To those who move at a distance of 201-400 kilometers, a leave of 2 working days is granted.
  • c) Those who travel a distance of 401 kilometers or more are granted a leave of 3 (3) working days, if they travel by road, based on their responsible declaration.
  • d) For those who travel from and to islands for which there is no road access, the number of days of leave granted will be examined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the distance and the special conditions of travel, without, however, the leave in these cases exceeding 3 working days.

B. For employees with a five-day weekly work status:

  • a) For those who move 200-400 kilometers away, a leave of 1 working day is granted
  • b) For those who travel a distance of 401 kilometers or more, a leave of 2 working days is granted, if they travel by road, based on their responsible declaration
  • c) For those who travel to and from islands for which there is no road access, the number of days of leave granted will be examined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the distance and the special conditions of travel, without, however, the leave in these cases exceeding 3 working days.

C. For those employees, Sunday May 21 (the day of the voting), being a working day, is considered a day of special leave of absence with remuneration, in addition to those mentioned above.

Finally, it is noted that the special leave to exercise the right to vote is not offset against the annual paid leave.

Read the text of the decision in detail