Individual Labor Law: Work Contracts

• The summary content is about individual labor law, specifically the establishment of a work contract, rights and obligations, working hour limits, protections and more

Formation of a Work Contract

• A contract is formed by the convergence of two or more declarations of intent aimed at a specific legal outcome, binding the parties upon its formation
• A declaration of intent is the external expression of a legally binding desire
• The declaration made first is a "proposal," followed by an "acceptance"
• These often coincide, or the roles of proposer and acceptor alternate during negotiation
• The parties to the contract are called "contracting parties"
• A work contract can be written or verbal, but employers must report hiring to P.S. ERGANI and provide written notice of basic contract terms to the employee

Basic Content of a Work Contract

• The employee agrees to provide work for a specified time (definite or indefinite)
• The employer agrees to pay the agreed wage

Contract Validity

• A work contract may conflict with mandatory legal rules or lack a basic condition required by such rules, leading to its invalidity

"Work Relationship"

• If, despite invalidity, the employee provides work and the employer accepts it, a "work relationship" is established and protected

Employee Responsibilities

• The basic contractual obligation of the employee which pertains to specific job type, at a specific place and time
• Employees must perform the work in person, unless otherwise agreed

Employer Rights

• The employer can specify or modify job details, such as work schedules or location, if permitted by contract or law.
• The employer has the authority to specify and detail the employee's work duties (type, place, time) for better organization and operation

Limitations

• Limitations to the employer's authority include:
  • The contract (ex., specific job, location)
  • The law (ex., legal working hours)

Contractual Clauses

• Contractual clauses excessively expanding the employer's authority or its exercise may be deemed abusive (ex., retaliatory transfer)

"Modifying Termination"

• The employer can propose changes to the contract, and if the employee rejects them, terminate the contract
• This must be justified by objective reasons and is subject to review for abuse

Modifying Work Terms

• If there are no contractual or legal restrictions, the employer can unilaterally specify or change work terms

Modifying Agreements

• If there are restrictions, and the employer changes terms, the employee's express or tacit approval creates a modified contract

Employee Rights

• If the employee doesn't accept the change, and the employer imposes it, causing harm (material or moral), it's a unilateral detrimental change of work terms

Employee Options

• Employees have these options when it comes to unilateral detrimental change of work terms:
  • Uphold the original terms: If the employer then rejects the work, they are in default and may be legally compelled to fulfill their obligations
  • Consider the detrimental change a termination and claim compensation
  • Comply with the new terms, while expressly reserving their rights

Express reservation benefits

• This ensures the employer cannot claim tacit acceptance
• So the employee can still pursue claims

Working Hour Limits

• A normal work schedule is either 5 or 6 days a week (9 or 8 hours/day respectively)

Contractual Work Schedule

• A contractual schedule is defined by individual or collective agreements

Overtime

• 5-day week: +5 hours (total 45 hours/week); 6-day week: +8 hours (total 48 hours/week)
• Is compensated with a 20% wage increase

Additional Work

• Additional work up to the legal daily limit agreed upon or unilaterally by the employer
• It is not compensated

Legal Overtime

• For a 5-day week, it is >45 hours/week and for a 6-day week >48 hours/week
  • Legal (declared): up to 150 hours annually => 40% increase
  • Above 150 hours annually => 60% increase
  • Illegal (undeclared): 120% increase

Sixth Day

• Working on the 6th day of a 5-day week:
  • Is not overtime, paid with a 40% increase

Holidays

• Working on Sundays/Holidays
  • Is theoretically forbidden, compensated with a 75% increase

Rest Day

• If work is allowed by law (ex., commercial stores), a rest day is mandatory on another day of the week.
• Only the surcharge is paid, not the Sunday wage

Work Breaks

• For workdays >4 hours, a 15-30 minute break is required
• There is an option to leave the workplace

Visual Display Screens

• With visual display screens, there is up to 15' break every 2 hours

Night shift

• Night Work: 22:00-06:00, compensated with a 25% surcharge

Employee Liability

• The employee must perform the assigned tasks diligently
• They are liable for damage caused by fraud

Damage

• Employee's freedom from liability for damage related to negligence
• Sharing of liability between employee and employer

"Loyalty"

• The employee must avoid any harmful action against the employer (ex., inaccurate criticism/evaluation)
• It is a supplementary obligation
• Does not stop them from exercising their legal rights

Additional Obligations

• Additional obligations comes from the contract;
• These may include a non-compete clause (for a limited time, or will be abusive if unlimited), a confidentiality obligation, etc

Compensation

• Wage is the consideration, the exchange for the work
• Compensation includes:
  • legal wage: determined by law (minimum legal wage) or collective agreements
  • agreed wage: higher than the legal minimum as agreed
  • forms of wage: monetary or in-kind
  • basic salary + allowances (ex., seniority, marriage, hazardous work, etc.) + holiday bonuses
  • Christmas bonus: 1 salary for employment from 5/1 to 12/31 and Easter bonus: ½ salary for employment from 1/1 to 4/30

Payment

• Unless otherwise agreed, payment is given at the end of the month
• Interest is normally due if the employer delays wage payment
• The employer must provide an itemized payslip with the legal and agreed wage (gross pay)
• The deductions (for insurance contributions and tax) and the net payable (net earnings)

Wage Protection

• Ban on offsetting/seizure
• Preferential satisfaction upon compulsory execution
• No waiving the legal wage

Employee Rights - Unpaid Wages

• Employee rights for when wage has not been paid are:
  • Report the employer to the Labor Inspectorate (administrative sanctions and ex officio criminal prosecution)
  • Claim wage payment in court (by issuing a payment order or court decision after filing a lawsuit)
  • Suspend work: withhold work until the obligation is met (the employer defaults and owes wages
  • Consider the employer's behavior a unilateral detrimental change and seek severance pay if it's an indefinite-term contract
  • Consider the employer's behavior an important reason for early termination of the fixed-term contract
  • Seek a bankruptcy ruling (if conditions are met – cessation of payments, etc.)
  • File a complaint (non-payment of accrued wages = criminal offense)

Inability to Provide Work

• If accepting the work is impossible for reasons concerning the employer, not "force majeure," the employee can claim their wage
• The employer however has the right to ask to deduct whatever the employee gained from working elsewhere

Circumstances

• If the employee is unable to work for a valid reason not due to their fault (ex., snow)

Vacation Leave

• Annual, normal leave with pay
• It is where the employee is entitled to refrain from work and the employer must pay the earnings they would have received if they worked ("leave pay")
• Entitlement to "leave allowance" equal to the leave pay with a maximum of 1/2 of the monthly salary or 13 daily wages

Allocation

• Up to 12 months of employment => 2.5 days/month
• From the 2nd calendar year onwards => +1 working day for each year with a maximum of 26 working days for the 6-day work week and 22 working days for the 5-day week

Types of Holidays

• Holidays are by full actual leave, where the employee is completely absent
• Can be broken into 2 periods within the same calendar year
• Not transferable to another year (according to law)
• If not taken by year-end (12/31), there is financial compensation
• If the employee sought it and the employer refused to grant it by year-end, there is compensation for the allowance, increased by 100%
• Besides vacation leave, the law provides for other special leaves (ex., union, sick leave, exam leave, maternity leave, etc.)

Protection

• Employees have a right to health and security
• Employers have a fundamental obligation to organizes work and the workplace to protect the life and health of workers as an expression of respect for their personality
• Laws which enforces it and are industry and job type specific
• There is information obligations to the dangers, provide directions and use Means of Individual Protection (MAP)

{WORK ACCIDENT

• Any harm during or due to work (ex., commuting), as a result of a violent event (including illness under conditions)
• The accident is reported agencies
• If the employee isn't insured => the employer must cover medical expenses and provide lump-sum compensation
• If the employee is insured => the employer is in principle released and covered by EFKA as well as financial compensation for moral damage suffered if the accident was due to the employer's fault

Shared Responsibility

• It is not uncommon to recognize "concurrent fault," where there is shared liability of the employee

Equal Treatment

• Equal treatment and fair practices:
  • Similar treatment of substantially similar cases within a company on voluntary employer benefits
• Prohibition of discrimination based on gender, age, disability, religious or other beliefs, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, etc
  • There is special legislation from European Union law
  • Less favorable treatment of an employee for one of the protected characteristics is prohibited unless the different treatment is objectively justified as provided by law

Right to Personality

• Respect, freedom of expression, protection of moral and mental world (vs harassment), the protection of personal data