Easter: How those who work will be paid

Clarifications on the Easter holidays GSEE gives with its announcement, clarifying how all those who work on the given days are paid.

GSEE’s clarifications for the Easter holidays

Specifically, the GSEE clarifies that:

Good Friday (3-5-2024) is a mandatory half-day for shops. According to the law, the employment of employees and the operation of shops until 13.00 on Good Friday are prohibited. For other businesses, Good Friday is not included in the statutory holidays for private sector workers. However, private businesses in our country are late in the event that Good Friday is designated as a holiday or half-day by a provision of the SSE, Labor Regulations of the business, by business habit and custom, during which the business remains closed on this day.

The Holy Saturday (4-5-2024) is a working day for employees who are legally employed on Saturday in the private sector, unless a holiday or half-day has been established by a provision of the SSE, Labor Regulation of the company, by business habit and custom, during which the business remains closed on this day.

For Easter Sunday (5-5-2024) the general rule of the Sunday holiday applies, i.e. the employment of employees is prohibited.

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Easter holidays: How those who work will be paid

Employees employed in businesses that legally operate on Sundays and other statutory holidays are entitled to the following:

• if they are paid on a daily basis, their usual daily wage and a 75% surcharge which will be calculated on their statutory hourly wage for all hours worked
• if they are paid a monthly salary, a 75% increase is due, which is calculated at 1/25 of their legal salary for as many hours as they work
  compensatory rest (day off): If employees work more than 5 hours on a Sunday, they are entitled to extras and compensatory rest (day off), on another working day of the week.
• In the event that more favorable conditions apply (e.g. from the Collective Labor Agreement, Labor Regulations, business custom or custom) regarding the pay increases for work on a Sunday (as well as a mandatory holiday), these prevail.

THE Easter Monday (6-5-2024) is a mandatory public holiday by law for all businesses. In businesses that are not operating, the usual daily wage is paid without any surcharge to those who are paid a daily wage, while those who are paid a salary are paid their monthly salary.

Employees who will be employed are entitled

• if they are paid a daily wage, their usual daily wage and a 75% surcharge that will be calculated on their legal hourly wage for all the hours they work
• in the event that employees are paid a monthly salary:
  a) if it concerns businesses that legally operate on Sundays and other statutory holidays, a 75% surcharge is due, which is calculated at 1/25 of their legal salary for all the hours they are employed.
  b) if it concerns businesses that are late on Sundays and public holidays and will exceptionally operate on Easter Monday, 1/25 of their normally paid salary is due and an additional 75% increase on the legal daily wage for all the hours they are employed.

The above for the statutory holidays are also valid this year for Easter Tuesday (7-5-2024), a day to which May Day was transferred by Ministerial Decisions (Β΄1406/2024, Β΄1836/2024).

Clarifications on the Easter holidays

The provisions of the legislation on the Sunday holiday, the Easter period holidays, the weekly rest time of employees and the exceptions thereto (depending on the activity and the nature of the work) are contained codified in articles 193-209 of the Individual Labor Law Code (PD 80/2022, A΄222)

In the event that more favorable terms apply (e.g. from the Collective Labor Agreement, Labor Regulations, business custom or custom) regarding the pay increases for work on a mandatory holiday or Sunday, these prevail.

• In on a mandatory holiday, the employment of employees is prohibited and the operation of businesses, except those that legally operate on Sundays and holidays.
• It is not legal to set off a day of due rest (day off) with a mandatory holiday.
• Mandatory holidays are not included in annual leave with pay.
• Against on Sundays and public holidaysany industrial, craft, commercial work and any professional activity in general is prohibited, except for the exceptions expressly stated in the legislation.
• Those businesses that do not fall under the exceptions of the law, cannot operate legally and therefore cannot employ workers, without having received a special permit from the competent Labor Inspectorate and in case of an emergency (risk of destruction of products or damage to facilities or materials), after from an announcement to the Police.
• THE illegal employment of personnel on Sunday or on mandatory holidays is classified as a very serious violation with the highest fine and further criminal liability of the employer.