Greek employers evade digital work card rules with hidden workers

In Greece, a number of employers are employing inventive yet illegal methods to sidestep the mandatory digital work card system and avoid labour inspections. Common tactics include registering employees as department heads, turning staff into apparent customers, and having workers hide in crates, freezers, fitting rooms or even on beach loungers during inspections.

Inspections have been intensified ahead of the summer season, especially in tourism‑heavy areas. Reported cases feature a supermarket where nearly all staff were listed as managers, beach bars where employees posed as sunbathers, a sawmill where workers were concealed inside wooden crates, a food‑processing plant with staff hidden in cold storage, and a clothing store where employees hid in fitting rooms. The Labour Inspection Authority deems these practices illegal and has issued fines to offending businesses.