Greece introduces new labor reforms for parental leave and digital work cards

Greece's Ministry of Labour and Social Security is introducing a new bill to enhance flexibility for working parents and strengthen labor protections. According to Minister Niki Keramei, the legislation will abolish the mandatory one-year waiting period between consecutive parental leaves for families with multiple children. Parents with children up to eight years old remain entitled to four months of parental leave per child.

Additional reforms include greater flexibility for couples working for the same employer, who will no longer need to declare the order in which they take leave. The bill also removes the requirement for employees to complete six months of service before being eligible for caregiver leave. Furthermore, the bill aims to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace to ensure human oversight.

Separately, the Ministry announced the expansion of the digital work card to an additional 500,000 employees across sectors such as telecommunications, private healthcare, logistics, hair salons, and cleaning services. This expansion, expected to be completed by November, aims to combat undeclared labor and ensure accurate recording of working hours and overtime pay, potentially covering up to 2.5 million workers in total.