Law 4808/2021, among other things, brought significant changes to the issues of public holidays in the private sector, such as:
• Conversion of the 28 October holiday from voluntary to compulsory,
- the introduction in the private sector of two more holidays, which until 18.6.2021 were holidays only for the wider public sector and for certain sectors of the private sector, with the provision of sectoral collective agreements and customary holidays for the wider private sector, and
- the authority of the ASE to recommend to the Minister of Labour the introduction or abolition of public holidays.
In particular we have the following:
1. For 28 October
By article 60 of Law 4808/21, «the days of compulsory holidays are determined». In this article, the holidays are listed and among these holidays is also included the 28th of October, which, according to the provisions in force until the publication of this law, was a voluntary holiday.
As it is known, the only difference between voluntary holidays and compulsory holidays was the right of the employer to legally employ his employees on this day.
Otherwise, 28 October is also included, along with the other 6 holidays, in Article 2(2)(a) of the Constitution. 2 of Law 3755/57, in paragraphs 2 and 2 of Law 3755/57. 1 and 3 of which it is stipulated respectively that those employed on the 7 public holidays are due an increase of 75%, while those not employed and paid on a daily wage are due their daily wage.
Article 2 of Law 3755/57, as amended (paragraph 2) by Article 1 of Law 147/73 and subsequently replaced by Article 2 para. 1 of Law 435/76 and supplemented by Laws 4468/17 and 4554/18, stipulates the following:
«1. Employees working on Sundays and the holidays referred to below shall be entitled, irrespective of the validity of the agreement concerning such employment and the other possible consequences thereof, to the allowance provided for in Articles 1 and 2 of Regulation No. 8900/46 of the Joint Decision of the Ministers for Finance and Labour, as interpreted by Joint Decision No 25825/51, as amended by Joint Decision No 25825/51, to the increase of 75% provided for therein, in accordance with the rules laid down in those Decisions as they stand at present.
2. The following shall be regarded as public holidays on which the above supplement is granted: a) 25 March, b) Easter Monday, c) 1 May, d) the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (15 August), e) 28 October, f) the Nativity of Christ (25 December) and g) 26 December. Of these, on 28 October, the employment of employees shall be at the sole discretion of the employer.
3. Salaried employees paid on a daily basis who are not employed for reasons not due to them on the days referred to in paragraph 2 shall be paid for each of them an amount equal to their daily wage, without any other increase.’.
Based on what has been developed above in accordance with the above, 28 October is now a compulsory public holiday, and on this day, the employment of employees and the operation of businesses is prohibited, except for those that operate legally on Sundays.
Therefore:
I. Employees who will not be employed on 28 October for reasons not attributable to themselves and who:
i. If they are paid on a daily wage, they will receive their normal daily wage without any increase.
ii. They are paid a monthly salary and do not receive any additional remuneration beyond their salary.
II. Employees who will be employed on this day are entitled to receive:
i. If they are paid on a daily wage, their usual daily wage (more correctly, as many hours as the number of hours they work) and a supplement of 75%, which will be calculated on their statutory hourly wage, while
ii. If they are paid a monthly salary,
α. If they are employees of companies that legally operate on Sundays (according to the Decree 748/66), only an increase of 75%, which will be calculated on their legal hourly wage, for as many hours as they work, and no other remuneration, because their remuneration for working on a holiday is considered to be included in their monthly wage, i.e:
while
β. in the case of businesses that work late on Sundays and public holidays, employees paid on a monthly salary will receive in addition to the 75% supplement on their legal hourly wage for the number of hours worked, and 1/25 of their paid salary (more precisely, as many hourly wages as the number of hours worked, since 1/25 of the salary corresponds to the full contractual working hours of the six-day working period, i.e. 6 hours and 40 minutes, or else 6.667 hours, i.e:
2. For the introduction of two more holidays in the private sector
Also, article 60 of Law 4808/21, establishes two new mandatory holidays:
• 1 January (New Year's Day) and
- January 6 (Epiphany).
These holidays -repeating the same omission that was made with the establishment of 26 December 2017 as a holiday- are not included in the special Law 3755/57 which provides, as already mentioned, for the 75% increment for those who are employed and the payment of a daily wage for those who are not employed, while Law 4808/21 makes no mention of remuneration.
We hope that there will be a relevant supplementary regulation by the end of the year and before the advent of the New Year that will apply or provision for these two holidays, in order to grant the relevant increase and the pay for New Year and Epiphany and not to be essentially gifted. .
The previous one, with the inclusion of 26 December in the compulsory holidays, brought out the prestigious NEM - as it already did for these holidays - and was eventually regulated.
3. Establishment or abolition of public holidays by decision of the Minister of Labour
By decisions of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs issued after an opinion of the Supreme Labour Council (SAE) and published in the Government Gazette, other holidays, up to a maximum of five (5) per year, may be designated as compulsory or optional holidays throughout the territory. As long as they are local holidays, the responsibility lies with the regional governors. The same procedure may be used to abolish or change the public holidays provided for.
