One in five businesses inspected in 2022 by labour inspectorate fined

One in five business inspected in Greece last year by the independent labour inspectorate were cited for some sort of labor law violation that resulted in a fine.

Specifically, nearly 59,500 businesses were checked by labor inspectors, with 11,871 violations ascertained and fines issued.

The value of imposed fines, in turn totaled 32.24 million euros, although no information was released on what percentage of the fines actually made their way to state coffers.

More than half of the violations, 54.8 percent, involved erroneous or misleading worksheets that must be posted at the business’s premises during work hours to show which employees work on a specific day and their shifts.

Just more than 10 percent of the violations involved the more serious “off-the-books” employment, essentially wage-earners paid “under the table”. Other violations, in single digits, are failure to adhere to labor regulations; refusing entry or access to inspectors and failure to pay on time.

Sectors with the most violations are retailers, food & beverage and construction. Additional emphasis was placed during the year on inspections focusing on the delivery/courier sector, school buses and construction.