The employment status in Greece remained conservative and unchanged in the past few years. Both employers and employees were not familiar with the term of teleworking and its structure within a company. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Greek companies were forced to adopt models of remote work for their employees, so that they could reduce the possibility of transmission of the virus among staff members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this blog, I examine the development of labour legislation in Greece as regards teleworking, the new laws and resolutions that were enacted due to Covid-19 and the new hybrid-working model that is here to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initial teleworking legislation in Greece<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Article 1 of Law 2639\/1998 established teleworking as a special form of employment in Greece (Hellenic Republic, 1998). The legislation for remote work was introduced in 2006 with the National General Collective Agreement 2006 and 2007 (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 2006: 3). Pursuant to Appendix B of the aforementioned legislation (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 2006: 9-13) the following rights were granted to employees: the refusal or request of teleworking by the employees without affecting the employment relationship (Article 3) and the preservation of the same rights as employees who execute their work on the company’s premises (Article 4). Furthermore, the following obligations of employers were established,: the respect of teleworkers\u2019 privacy (Article 6), the provision to teleworkers with the necessary equipment for their work (Article 7), the protection of teleworkers\u2019 health in relation to visual display (Article 8) and equal opportunities in training, development and evaluation with non-teleworkers (Article 10). Under Article 4 of the convention, the immediate implementation of the European teleworking framework in Greece was agreed upon, as a voluntary benefit, with the aim of reforming the labour organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, despite the institutionalisation of teleworking in 2006, the levels of teleworking in Greece remained very low, until the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the National Institute of Labour and Human Resources, teleworking in Greece in 2019 was estimated at 5.3%<\/strong>, one of the lowest rates in the European Union (National Institute of Labour and Human Resources, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Extension of the regulations due to Covid-19<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greek government opted for remote staffing with the Decree Law published on 11.03.2020 (Hellenic Republic, 2020a), as a containment measure. On September 2020 with the Government Gazette \u0391’184, the Greek Government imposed remote work (restrictions) of a required 40% of employees on Greek businesses operating in Athens (Hellenic Republic, 2020b). This was later extended throughout the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a survey conducted by the University of West Attica, only 17% of the respondents had experience of teleworking before the pandemic. Thus, it became necessary to amend the old law on teleworking and establish new legislative regulations for employees who would execute their work remotely. In June 2021, Law 4808\/2021 was published, and brought radical changes to Greek Labour Legislation. In particular, Article 67 stipulates that (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 2021):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, based on the same Article, within 8 days from the start of teleworking it is necessary that the employee be notified of the contract, in which all the above terms of teleworking are indicated. Whether the staff members work from the company’s facilities or not is also predetermined from the company’s contract. Additionally, with Cabinet Decision 98490\/2.12.2021, the minimum compensation costs for teleworkers were determined in the amounts of EUR 13,00 for the use of the domestic workplace, EUR 10,00 for the use of home telecommunications and EUR 5,00 for the maintenance of household equipment (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why choose a hybrid\/remote work model? Implementation in Greece<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Law 4808\/2021, it was determined that teleworking can be implemented in combination with work from the employer’s premises, as a hybrid work model. (Fowell, 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n By establishing a hybrid work culture, employees increase their productivity as they work flexibly and have the freedom to choose themselves their workplace, in the most appropriate environment according to their needs. At the same time though, cases such as the isolation of employees who work exclusively remotely are also avoided (What is hybrid work?, 2022). Therefore, companies offer their workforce both the privileges of working from their facilities, in terms of benefits, teamwork and cooperation with colleagues, as well as the privileges of working from their own place, such as the freedom and reduction of the time and cost of moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A survey conducted by Envoy on 1,000 employees showed that 41%<\/strong> of workers would be willing to accept a job with a lower salary if this company offered a hybrid work model (Smith, 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the establishment of teleworking and the hybrid work model, Greek companies will be able to offer their employees greater flexibility and freedom, in order to balance their work and personal life. Consequently, they may keep their staff satisfied and committed, achieving low turnover rates. They might also be able to create new jobs, which will be appealing to the new generation, foreign workers or even Greek employees who have migrated in search of a job (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The freedom to work remotely presupposes the trust of the employer towards teleworkers. Greek employers, especially older ones, are not familiar with remote employment and many doubt the employees\u2019 ability to work efficiently in a place other than the company’s premises, as there will be no supervision with physical presence. It will take a long time for Greece to reach the teleworking levels of other European countries. Greek businesses should initially adopt the culture of teleworking, transmitting it to their employees and subsequently, they will have to upgrade the systems and networks of businesses (computers, peripheral equipment, VPN connections), so as to create the appropriate conditions for remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eurobank is the first bank in Greece to implement the hybrid-working model, offering its employees the opportunity to work from the office and from home (Eurobank becomes the first bank in Greece with a hybrid working model, 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will teleworking eventually become institutionalised in the Greek marketplace, or is it just another phenomenon of Covid-19 that will slowly disappear?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We will find out soon\u2026!<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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