Article

Law 2956/2001, Chapter A, Articles 1-7; Law 4921/2022, Article 3.

Description

In addition to granting benefits (unemployment, maternity, medical care and other aid), the Public Employment Service (DYPA) also aims to strengthen the provision of employment services to the unemployed and to develop policies and measures through targeted interventions to tackle unemployment. In particular:

• it implements employment programmes for the benefit of both businesses/employers and the employed/unemployed, such as business grant programmes for the employment and/or training of employees, employer's support programmes with subsidised social security contributions, subsidy programmes for young self-employed people, and business subsidy programmes for the hiring of young employees or those close to retirement age, among others;
• a main priority area for the organisation is to provide counselling services which constitute dynamic interventions to activate and mobilise the unemployed and to facilitate their entry into the labour market. The counselling services provided by the DYPA consist of counselling and career guidance - namely, career management, job seeking counselling and entrepreneurial counselling; and
• other interventions, including direct hiring of staff for public works by municipalities, associations and public sector legal entities.

The above-mentioned measures are open to all unemployed people, not only to those affected by restructuring.

In general, there are no restrictions, but some specific actions may target specific industries or categories of unemployed, such as people younger than 25 or older than 50, or persons with disabilities, and so on.

Commentary

The purpose of the DYPA is to implement government policy on a number of issues, namely fostering employment/combating unemployment; strengthening and facilitating the integration of the country's human capital into the labour market;  providing unemployment benefits; promoting vocational education and training and their connection with employment; supporting the intellectual and social development of the workforce and their families; providing housing benefits; and supporting their collective organisation and action, with a view to improving their living standards.

The unemployment allowance currently provided by the DYPA is considered particularly low in relation to the needs that exist in the country due to the prolonged economic crisis. It is provided for a maximum period of approximately one year, after which it stops even if the unemployed person has not found a new job. 

On the other hand, there is a great effort to support active employment policies. Nonetheless, due to the economic crisis, high unemployment (especially long-term) and the structural problems in the labour market, these programmes (although necessary) are currently not able to provide an effective long-term response to the problems of the unemployed, given that labour demand is low.

Additional metadata

Cost covered by

Companies Employee Employer National government

Involved actors other than national government

Public employment service

Involvement (others)

None

Thresholds

Affected employees: No, applicable in all circumstances
Company size: No, applicable in all circumstances
Additional information: No, applicable in all circumstances

Sources

• Public Employment Service (DYPA)
• Law 2956/2001
• Law 4921/2022