Critical changes in licenses established by the new law on labor. For the first time, it is envisaged that unpaid leave in the private sector, while the possibility of using up annual leave up to the first quarter of the following calendar year.

As reported by Ta Nea, the protective provision that was in force, concerning the predetermined (declared) date of granting the entire leave, remains in place. However, this is no longer December 31 of each year, but March 31 of the following year.

Annual leave:

The main change consists in extending the period within which annual regular leave must be granted to employees. It is now possible to use up the leave for each year separately, until the end of the first quarter of the following calendar year. However, the protective provision that was in force, concerning the predetermined (specified) date for granting the entire leave, is maintained. Only now, this date is no longer December 31 of each year, but March 31 of the following year.

At the same time, a number of separate parameters remain in force, such as:

According to the news, However, it is necessary for there to be an agreement between the employee and the employer in order for the annual regular leave to be granted.

Once the employee has submitted the relevant request, the leave must be granted within two months. However, submitting a request is not a formal prerequisite for obtaining leave.

The 50% of a company's employees must be taken during the summer, i.e. from May 1 to September 30 of each year.

Unpaid leave:

Specifically for unpaid leave, its granting in the private sector is being institutionalized in national law for the first time. Now, once an employee has submitted a request to their employer, it can be granted for a maximum period of one year. The relevant agreement must be posted by the employer on the «ERGANI» system. This measure applies to both full-time and part-time employees. If there is a new agreement between the two parties, this leave may be extended further.

During this period, the employee's employment contract is suspended. No insurance contributions are payable for the same period. Once this unpaid leave has been completed, all rights and obligations of both parties continue to apply., as recorded in the employment contract, which is reactivated. However, in order for the employee to subsequently take regular leave after the end of the period of unpaid leave, the period during which the applicant was under this special condition must be taken into account.