14-day paternity leave with compensation which will be given around the child's date of birth, 4 months of parental leave for both parents, with a subsidy of the OAED and work accommodations so that it can be reconciled with family life, as provided for in the provisions of labor bill, which is being introduced today in the House of Representatives for a vote by Thursday.
In addition to the much-discussed provisions on working hours—which have led the opposition and labor unions to call for the abolition of the 8-hour workday —the bill transposes into Greek law Directive 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019, concerning the work-life balance.
These are measures that promote equal treatment of men and women, remove disincentives to hiring women, and help reconcile personal, family, and professional life.
As the Ministry of LaborSpecifically, the provision will grant 14 days of paternity leave, even though the relevant EU directive stipulated 10 days of leave for the father. The government’s «generous» approach to paternity leave moves the country up to 5th place in the OECD, from the second-to-last position it previously held in this area.
The following is also provided Two-month parental leave for fathers, subsidized by the OAED and not just the mother. Furthermore, protection against dismissal will be enshrined in law for both parents when they make use of these leaves and accommodations.
Leave will be granted to working parents—biological, adoptive, foster parents, as well as to mothers who have a child through surrogacy, and to caregivers employed in both the private and public sectors.
More specifically, the new licenses are as follows:
– Leave for Working Fathers 14 days of full-time leave upon the birth of a child and 10 days in cases where the father works part-time. The leave may begin two days before the birth or after the child is born.
– 4 months of parental leave for working parents, which is paid continuously or in installments until the child turns 8 years old. The employee must have completed 6 months of employment with the same employer. Of those 6 months, the first 2 are paid by the OAED at the minimum wage. If both parents work for the same employer, they must decide which of them will be the first to take this leave and for how long.
It should be noted that, as an exception, Parents of twins, triplets, or more children are entitled to parental leave for each child separately, whether intermittent or continuous, and are entitled to receive the allowance for an additional two months, regardless of the number of children born at the same time.
In addition, single parents—due to the death of the other parent—are entitled to parental leave and double the parental allowance. The leave is granted upon the employee’s request and may be arranged in any flexible manner that suits both the employer and the employee, in the form of a reduced daily work schedule or as days off, which may be allocated on a weekly or monthly basis, without affecting the employee’s right to receive parental leave benefits.
The employer reviews the application and must decide within one month whether or not to approve the request for parental leave.
– Leave for Personal Care Every employee who has completed one year of employment with the same employer is entitled to 5 days of leave each year, provided there is a serious medical reason and this is confirmed by a medical certificate.
– Two days of leave per year which is granted twice a year, for one workday each time; an employee is entitled to this leave for reasons of force majeure related to medical emergencies, provided that this is confirmed by a medical certificate from a public hospital or a physician contracted by EOPYY.
– Every working parent or caregiver with children up to 12 years of age are entitled to work with teleworking, part-time work, or flexible work schedules for caregiving purposes. When flexible working arrangements are of limited duration, the employee returns to their original form of employment once the agreed period expires.
After this specific period of work under flexible employment arrangements, the employee returns to their original form of employment before the end of the agreed-upon period, upon their request.
At the same time, the following is provided: protection against layoffs since the dismissal of an employee who has requested or been granted leave or flexible work arrangements under the new parental leave provisions is invalid. Fathers are now protected from dismissal for 2 months following the birth of their first child, 4 months for their second child, and 6 months for each subsequent child after the second.
