- Phase
- PD 178/2002: Μeasures for safeguarding employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses, transposing Directive 98/50/EC; Law 3846/2010: Guarantees for job security and other provisions
- Native name
- ΠΔ 178/2002: Μέτρα προστασίας των εργαζομένων σε περίπτωση μεταβίβασης επιχειρήσεων, εγκαταστάσεων ή τμημάτων εγκαταστάσεων ή επιχειρήσεων, σε συμμόρφωση προς την οδηγία 98/50/ΕΚ του Συμβουλίου; Ν. 3846/2010: Εγγυήσεις για την εργασιακή ασφάλεια και άλλες διατάξεις.
- Type
- Obligation to consider alternatives to collective dismissals
- Added to database
- 08 May 2015
Article
PD 178/2002, Article 3, para. 1; Law 3846/2010, Article 4
Description
A dismissal is defined as 'collective dismissal' when affecting:
- more than 6 employees in companies with 20 to 150 employees; or
- 5% of the workforce or 30 employees in companies with more than 150 employees.
Although there is no explicit legal obligation to consider alternatives to collective dismissals, the legislation discusses the possibility of alternatives, foreseeing that undertakings and undertakings with restricted economic activity may, instead of terminating an employment agreement, serve written notice temporarily laying-off salaried employees after they have first consulted with the employees’ legal representatives. The notification may be via a single notice posted in a conspicuous and accessible place at the undertaking. Consultation occurs at a place and time set by the employer. The relevant departments of the labour inspectorate (SEPE), the social insurance foundation (IKA) and the labour force employment organisation (OAED) must be notified by the employer in any manner of the declaration of temporary layoffs of all or part of the workforce.
The employees’ representatives are considered to be the legal representatives of the union that has at least 70% of the company’s employees as members, and the majority of those being dismissed. If there is more than one union in an undertaking or establishment, without any union covering 70% of the employees and the majority of those being dismissed, the persons nominated by the boards of the unions in a joint statement to the employer shall be considered the employees’ representatives. These representatives shall be designated in proportion to the strength of the unions, provided that they cover, overall, 70% of the employees and the majority of those being dismissed. If there is no union or unions meeting the conditions exposed in the preceding paragraphs, the employees shall be represented by a committee comprising of three members in the case of undertakings with between 20 and 50 employees, and five members for undertakings or establishments with more than 50 workers. If there are no employees’ representatives in the undertaking, information and consultation take place with all the employees.
Citation
Eurofound (2015), Greece: Obligation to consider alternatives to collective dismissals, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin,
https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/obligation-to-consider-alternatives-to-collective-dismissals/greece