Even today, August 22, 2023, the bill of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the main axis of which is the integration of the European Directive 2019/1152 “on transparent and predictable working conditions” into national legislation, is headed for public consultation even today, August 22, 2023.

According to the ministry, the legislative initiative seeks to strengthen workers’ rights, effectively tackle undeclared and undeclared work and reduce red tape for businesses.

Based on information, among the main provisions of the upcoming bill are the following:

  • Employers are required to promptly inform their employees in writing or electronically of the essential elements of their employment relationship, as well as of any change in working conditions.
  • At the same time, with the bill, the issue of flexible forms of employment is regulated and a protective framework is defined to avoid the abuse of these special forms of employment.

According to the Community directive, in case the working time schedule is entirely or mostly unpredictable, the employer must inform the employee about:

i) the principle that working hours are variable, the number of guaranteed paid hours and the remuneration for work performed in addition to those guaranteed hours;

ii) the reference hours and days, within which the employee may be called upon to work and

iii) the minimum period of notice that the employee must receive before starting a work assignment.

  • Also, a provision is being promoted, with which the employee will be given the possibility of parallel employment, outside of his working hours, as defined by European legislation.

However, as the Ministry of Labor and Social Security has already clarified, in no case does PD 88/1999 on minimum rest periods cease to apply, which is supranational law and where it is expressly defined that, for each 24-hour period, the minimum rest cannot be less than 11 continuous hours, which continues to apply to each employer, for which the employee works.

  • At the same time, the bill will provide a maximum duration for the probationary work period, which will be reduced from 12 months, which is currently, to six months.

Even if the employment relationship is fixed-term, the duration of the trial period will be proportional to the expected duration of the contract and the nature of the work, while, if a contract is renewed for the same position and the same tasks, a new trial period is not required for the employment relationship.

In addition, based on the Community directive, there will be the possibility, exceptionally, for trial periods of longer duration, in cases where this is justified by the nature of the work or is in the interest of the employee, while, in cases where the employee was absent from his work during the probationary period, a corresponding extension of the corresponding period may be established, depending on the duration of the absence.

  • With the ratification of the European directive, it is also defined that, when the employer is obliged by the Union or national legislation or collective agreements to provide training to the employee for the performance of the work for which he works, this training shall be provided free of charge, counted as working time and, if possible, will be carried out during working hours.
  • In addition, the bill will include provisions, according to which the reduction of bureaucracy will be foreseen for the companies that choose to implement the Digital Work Card.
  • Furthermore, without prejudice to the right to strike, it will be established as a criminal offense to occupy entrances to workplaces during a strike or to obstruct workers who wish to work.
  • Finally, with a proposed legislative provision, the fine for the reported work is tightened. Specifically, a fine of 10,500 euros is imposed on employers who, after an inspection by the Independent Labor Inspection Authority, are found to be impersonating an employee. That is, they declare a worker to be employed for four hours, when, in fact, he works eight hours.