Soft expansion for digital card
The application of the digital labor card started on Monday in thousands of businesses active in industry and retail, with low participation and minor technical problems.
The participation of businesses is, according to the data of the General Secretariat of Labor Relations, very low, with only one in three businesses in retail commerce making use of the measure and four in 10 industry.
From the industry side, approximately 52,022 businesses with 345,021 employees should have joined the process of using the digital work card since July 1, while in retail 115,857 businesses employing 229,382 employees should have joined. The actual participation rates, after the expiry of the extension given for two full months, are very low, since the use rate of the digital card for industry is around 41%, while for retail it is close to 30%.
According to General Secretary for Labor Relations Anna Stratinaki, since the start of the implementation of the digital card, labor inspectors have also activated their advisory role to help and support businesses in the correct and legal application of the digital card. However, there is no official directive not to impose fines.
Moreover, according to information from the Independent Labor Inspection Authority, the objective of inspectors is to advise entrepreneurs in cases of difficulty in implementing the measure, without this meaning that fines will not be imposed. The digital card is also a tool for the independent authority in terms of monitoring the application of labor legislation. That is, regardless of whether the card is used or not, checks for working hours, overtime, underinsured or uninsured work will be carried out as normal and fines will be imposed accordingly. On Monday, the first day of application of the measure to such a large number of businesses and employees, there were difficulties, mainly technical, regarding the introduction of businesses into the electronic system. Of course, the interested parties were immediately informed that this is a technical matter and they are not at risk of sanctions.
The General Secretariat for Labor Relations made it clear that any technical problems existing will be dealt with immediately.
