More targeted labor inspections this year

The business plan of the independent labor inspection authority that has replaced SEPE provides for more inspections in sectors where the digital labor card applies, such as banks and large supermarkets, but also in those where the measure is expected to be extended, starting with insurance and security companies.

During the first year of operation of the new authority, almost 60,000 checks have already been carried out and approximately 12,000 sanctions (i.e. one in five were caught breaking the law) and fines of 32.2 million euros were imposed.

In 2022, the audits focused, among others, on the delivery-courier, school bus and construction sectors. The number of checks during the first 11 months of 2022 exceeded the corresponding size of the annual checks from 2015 onward, while based on the plan, as presented on Thursday by the authority’s director Giorgos Tzilivakis to Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, in 2023 more will be carried out in targeted controls, in order to effectively deal with labor rule violations.

It should be noted that the organizational transition of the former SEPE to the new operating regime, as Labor Inspection, was formally completed on February 1, on the occasion of which Hatzidakis visited the offices of the now independent authority on Thursday.

According to the data presented during the meeting, in January-November 2022, 59,476 checks were carried out, and 11,871 sanctions and fines totaling €32.2 million were imposed.

Particular emphasis was also placed on the implementation of the digital labor card in the supermarket and bank sectors, where the measure came into force last July.

The checks for the digital labor card will also be carried out in the other sectors to which its application is extended, starting with companies providing insurance services and security and protection services.

As for 2023, emphasis – by applying the method of risk analysis and based on the controls carried out in previous years – will be placed on sectors in which greater delinquency is normally found. Based on the data available, the sectors of retail, food production and hospitality are among those with the most violations in terms of compliance with labor legislation, industrial relations and health and safety conditions.