Working Weekends—Greece Approves a Six-Day Workweek

As we debate the benefits of switching to a three-day or four-day workweek, Greece is adopting a six-day workweek to deal with the economic pressure that has been mounting in the country. Greece’s new workweek policy will allow employees to work six days a week with flexible working hours, opening up the option to work thirteen-hour days if they wish. Workers with full-time jobs can work with an additional part-time employer for five hours a day apart from their existing eight-hour commitment to their primary employer. 

The Greece labor policy update was approved after 158 out of the 300 legislators voted in favor of the law but citizens and unions are not pleased with the change. 

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Greece Adopts a Six-Day Workweek—The Lines between Work and Rest Are Blurred

Greece has been under significant financial pressure for more than a decade now, and it all began when it was accepted into the Eurozone and adopted the Euro, despite having several structural problems that should have prevented its entry. Soon, the 2007 global financial crisis proved to be a breaking point for the country’s economy. Despite receiving bailouts, the country struggled with taxes and expenses and defaulted on loans, creating a terse and uncertain climate across the region. The government had been locked into a hard place that was difficult to climb out of, but things are looking up to a degree. 

According to Reuters, the Greek economy is forecasted to grow 3 percent this year, which will put it closer to the pre-crisis size of 2009. Despite the positive trend, falling birth rates and labor shortages could affect the country’s performance. This factor has likely fueled Greece’s labor law changes to ensure citizens who can work put their abilities to full use in boosting the country’s growth. Greece’s six-day workweek will go into effect on July 1, 2024, which leaves workers and unions with little time to protest its adoption now that the work climate is about to change drastically soon enough. 

Greece’s labor reforms in 2024 will apply to the public sector, public utilities, banks, and private sector businesses that are working on a five-day workweek. The Greek City Times states that the new labor law will not apply to government employees. Administration, teachers, lecturers, and bank employees will not be subjected to the new law as they “do not belong to the category of businesses operating continuously.”

What Does Greece’s New Workweek Policy Include?

Greece’s labor policy update has introduced a six-day workweek where employees will be able to work an eight-hour full-time job and a five-hour part-time job in order to make ends meet. Overall, workers can choose to have a 65-hour five-day workweek or a 78-hour six-day workweek. Restricting workers from doing their jobs during strikes and protests or any other conditions is punishable by the law, and offenders could incur up to a $5,349 fine. This particular condition has been added in to deter union activists from getting in the way of work. 

According to Greek Reporter, under Greece’s labor reforms in 2024, employers can put new hires on six-month probation and fire them at any time within the first year without compensation or notice unless they have an explicit agreement that states otherwise. The reasoning behind this rule has not been made clear and there is no explanation for why this rule was enforced. It may encourage employers to hire short-term labor and turn over their human resources to another employer when they no longer need it as urgently. 

Greece’s labor law changes also allow employers to call in an employee to work with just a twenty-four-hour notice and the work done on the sixth day cannot exceed eight hours. Workers can be made to work on a Saturday or Sunday, with a payment of an additional 40 percent of their daily wages for the sixth work day that they are called in. If the sixth day happens to fall on a holiday, the bonus will include an additional 75 percent, putting it at 115 percent. 

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Greece Labor Law Changes Go Forward Despite Resistance from Workers

According to the European Commission, in Europe, Greek workers already have the longest work hours, landing at 39.8 hours, with Romania, Poland, and Bulgaria following immediately behind. The Netherlands has the shortest working week at 32.2 hours, with Austria and Germany in tow. Greece’s six-day workweek will expand the gap between the country and its neighbors considerably. While the decision to work a 6-day workweek may sound like a choice that employees can opt into, it is likely that most employers will choose to enforce this extended work period as the labor monitoring in Greece is particularly lax. Without any overseers to check how this is enforced, most employees could be looking at an end to breaks and steady days off.

The government’s explanation for the Greece labor policy update has focused on the existing situation of employers where many have been forced to work longer hours that go undeclared. Now, employees called in for additional work will have to be paid for the additional service. While this is good in theory, unless the enforcement of the labor laws is monitored, employees will continue to be overworked without compensation. Employers only have a more valid reason to call workers in and more freedom to fire them, but whether workers will be fairly compensated remains to be seen.

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