Self Test: What applies to employee salaries – When and how they are paid

Workers in seven sectors are required from next Monday to submit every week to self-test in order to go to work. In addition to the retail trade, a compulsory self-test must be submitted from Monday and employees in banks and insurance companies, at the request of the Union of Greek Banks, OTOE and the insurance industry.

The procedure requires caution, as if the employee does not comply with the obligation, the employer reserves the right not to pay him/her a salary until he/she has complied with his/her obligations. That is, if the employee refuses to undergo a self-test or does not declare its result on the special online platform, then the employer can cut his/her wages. Until the employee takes the test and reports the result, the employer has the right not to pay the employee.

For example:

A retail worker with a nominal salary of €1,000. He refuses to submit to a self-test next week. The employer - if he is employed normally and has not suspended his contract - can cut from his salary about €250 per week of refusal to take the test, or about €33 per day.

If the test result is positive, the employee should within 24 hours make a repeat check. Pending the result of the second check, the worker is quarantined at home.

If employers offer personal work in their company or attend workplaces, they are individually responsible for self-testing and taking all personal protective measures for COVID-19.

The same procedure applies to employees belonging to special cases, such as employees through Temporary Employment Agencies, recruitment outside the ERGANI system by manual procedure, sales promoters, etc.

When tests and online declarations must be made

Especially for the first week of implementation of the new measure, employees can obtain the self-tests and report the result on the online platform within the period 19-25 April. That is, no fines will be imposed until next Sunday, as the system must be up and running.

Therefore, within the coming week, all employees in the 7 sectors, for whom the self-tests become mandatory, must obtain them from pharmacies, take the test and declare the result on the special online platform by next Sunday at the latest.

This procedure is for next week only.

From next week, that is from 26 April onwards tests must be compulsory. The check must be made up to 24 hours before the first day of the week on which the employee is physically present.

For example, if a bank employee returns from telecommuting to the office on April 23, he or she will have to take the first self-test on April 22, repeat it on April 29, and so on.

The self-test shall be carried out once a week, before the employee arrives at the workplace and is valid for one week from the day it is carried out.

This means that :

• All employees must within the coming week (19-25/4) take a self-test and report the result by Sunday 25/4.
• The same workers have to do a second self-test next Sunday 25/4 in order to go to work on Monday 26/4
• If an employee returns from suspension or telecommuting midweek then the week counts from the day of return to the office - to work.

For whom it is compulsory

The self-tests are required for workers in order to provide their work with physical presence to employers with business activities in the following sectors:

• Retail trade (including supermarkets and food and beverage outlets)
• Focus
• Financial and insurance activities 
• Transport (land, sea, air)
• Cleaning services
• Hairdressing salons, barber shops and beauty centres
• Gambling and betting services

How workers will get them

Employees covered by the compulsory self-test measure receive the tests free of charge from the pharmacy. They will need :

• Their social security number and
• Their police ID.

Pharmacists will also be informed through the EDIKA platform about which employees are beneficiaries of the self-test. If an employee chooses to have a rapid or molecular test instead of a self-test (at their own or their employer's expense), they have this option.

Where to make online declarations

The steps for employees to declare the result are as follows:

1. enter the online platform self-testing.gov.gr
2. select «Self test result declaration for an employee» and
3. are automatically transferred to supportemployees.services.gov.gr.
4. are identified using the taxisnet codes,
5. enter the Declaration Platform COVID-19 tests in the ERGANI MAINTENANCE and
6. submit the test result by completing the special form «Employee Declaration of Responsibility for recording the COVID-19 TEST result (Self/Rapid/PCR)»

The two safeguards

Key to the process is the access by the employer to the content of the employee's electronic declaration, so that it can verify whether the employee has fulfilled their obligation to take a self-test and report the result. When employees report their test results on the platform, they will also be asked to give their consent for their employer to access the content of their report.

This is one safeguard in the system. The second safeguard consists of fines ranging from 300 to 1,500 euros, which are imposed on the employer if the employee has failed to fulfill their obligations.

The Employer's Obligations

The employer An employer may not hire an employee to work on-site if the employee:

• has not reported the result of the self-test,
• has tested positive on a self-test.

In such cases, the employer is required to refuse to accept the employee’s work and is exempt from the obligation to pay wages until the employee complies with his or her obligations.  This means that until the employee takes the test and reports the result, the employer has the right to withhold pay.

What happens if the result is negative?

If the result of the self-test it is negative, once the test results are reported, the employee returns to work as usual.

What happens if the result is positive?

If the result of the self-test it is positive, after the results are announced, the platform issues a corresponding statement, which the employee prints out or brings in electronic form.

The employee in question must undergo a follow-up test within 24 hours, either at a free public testing site (among those listed on the self-testing.gov.gr platform) or at a private testing site of their choice (at their own expense or that of their employer). Until the results of the second test are available, the employee must remain at home in quarantine.

If the result of the The result of the second test is positive, a certificate is issued that serves as proof that the employee may enter quarantine in accordance with the EODY protocol.

If the result of the The result of the second test is negative, a certificate is again issued confirming the negative test result, and the employee must report to work.

The result of the repeat test must be reported on the ERGANI System’s COVID-19 Test Results Reporting Platform by filling out the special form «Affidavit by COVID-19 Test Result Recording Staff Following a Positive Test Result" self-test».

The fines

The employer is required to inform its employees of their obligation to take a self-test and the consequences of failing to comply with this obligation.

If the employer fails to comply with its obligation to inform its employees by any appropriate means (email, text message, announcement, etc.) regarding the mandatory self-tests, a fine will be imposed 300 euros by the Labor Inspectorate (SEPE)

If, during an inspection by SEPE, an employer is found to be employing a worker who has not reported a self-test result, the employer will be fined 500 euros per employee.

If an employer is found to have an employee who has tested positive on a self-test (whether on the initial or follow-up test), the employer will be fined 1,500 euros per employee.

Please be aware that, as the Ministry of Labor warns, the implementation of these regulations will be subject to inspections by SEPE, which, within the scope of its responsibilities, is planning targeted inspections in the sectors covered by the Joint Ministerial Decision (retail, food service, transportation, etc.)

What is the situation with new hires?

The Ministry of Labor will send IDIKA the AMKA numbers of employees working in companies in the affected sectors, as registered in the ERGANI system. At the beginning of each week, the Ministry will update the employee data by sending IDIKA any changes, such as new hires, terminations, or the expiration of employment contracts, etc.

Employees hired after the information regarding the groups of employees who are required to undergo a self-test before arriving at their workplace was submitted to IDIKA must undergo a rapid or moleculartest, either at a public facility or a private facility (at the employer’s expense), only for the first time the measure is implemented.