The six-day work was introduced by articles 25 and 26 of Law 5053/2023 «in order to combat undeclared and under-declared work and to increase the income of workers, since their daily wage for the 6th day will be increased by 40%». In case the 6th day coincides with a Sunday or public holiday, the worker is entitled to have his/her daily wage increased by 115% (40% from the 6th day increment plus 75% for his/her employment on Sunday/holiday), an increment which can potentially exceed 115% in case of working during night hours for which an additional increment of 25% applies.
It concerns:
- undertakings which, by their nature, operate on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis on a rotating shift system and apply a five-day working week for their employees, and
- Non-continuous enterprises that operate 5 or 6 days a week on a 24-hour basis with a system of alternating shifts and apply a system of five-day working week for their employees, in case of increased workload, with an obligation to declare this to the P.S. ERGANI.
According to the ministry, the protection limits for workers concerning the 11-hour mandatory daily rest, the mandatory 24-hour weekly rest (1 day off) and the maintenance of the average weekly working time of 48 hours (including overtime) over a reference period of 4 months are fully maintained.
All this while according to Eurostat data for 2023 Greeks are the hardest working people in the EU. Also, the country is overtime champion. All this at a time when Europe is promoting the 4-day working week.
