The Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance has confirmed that the Digital Work Card will be fully implemented in Greece’s tourism and food & beverage sectors beginning on March 1.
The ministry announced the specifications for the full rollout of the measure on Monday. The Digital Work Card, which tracks employees’ working hours, has already been in effect since September 2024 through a pilot program in these sectors.
Since then, the ministry, led by Minister for Labour and Social Security Niki Kerameus, has held extensive discussions with representatives from both employees and employers to fine-tune its application to the tourism industry. These discussions led to adjustments, including the recognition of the time employees need to prepare for work after arriving — such as changing into uniforms — among other considerations.
The specifications issued on February 10 by the ministry’s Secretary General for Employment Relations, Nick Milapidis, reflect these adjustments.
Ensuring fair compensation and protecting businesses
Photo source: my Ergani
The primary goal of the Digital Work Card is to ensure that employees are compensated accurately for the actual hours they work. By doing so, the system aims to protect both workers and businesses from unfair competition.
The Digital Work Card registers the time an employee enters and exits their workplace. These times are then cross-checked with the employee’s initially declared hours in the Ergani digital platform. Any discrepancies between the two are flagged and reported.
Additionally, penalties will be imposed if an employee is found at their workplace without their card having been registered, or if they remain after their departure time has been recorded.
Daily registration guidelines
Photo source: my Ergani
The ministry has provided specific guidelines for how the Digital Work Card should be registered on a daily basis:
– Zero registrations: If an employee is working remotely or is not required to be physically present at the workplace due to certain reasons (e.g., participation in a strike or being unable to attend work), their daily registration should be recorded as zero.
– Two registrations: If the employee works at the company’s facilities for a continuous shift, only two registrations — one at the beginning and one at the end of the shift — are required. In between, no additional registrations will be considered.
– Four registrations: Employees working two shifts on the same day must register their entrances and exits for both the morning and afternoon shifts. Again, no in-between registrations will be considered.
Exemptions
It should be noted that employees with managerial, inspection, or high-security clearance roles are exempt from the requirement to use Digital Work Cards.
Further information on the digital work card can be found here (in Greek) and here.
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