Greece scraps legal need for lay-off justification

Greece’s new center-right government has scrapped legislation that required employers to provide a “well-founded” reason for dismissals.

Labor Minister Giannis Vroutsis signed the change into effect Monday, abolishing the rules approved just three months ago by the previous left-wing government which had argued that justifying dismissals protected workers.

The minister countered that simplifying employment rules would encourage employers to create more jobs.

Greece has the European Union’s highest unemployment rate, at around 17 percent.

Following a general election in July, the new conservative government has promised to slash regulation and create a more business-friendly legal framework, insisting that growth rates — forecast to be at 2.1 percent this year — are too low for a country emerging from a protracted recession and financial crisis.

[AP]