An employment lawyer (ergatologos) deals with labour law, which defines the rights and obligations of employers and employees. Labour law covers two main areas:
- working conditions: working hours, part-time and fixed-term employment, posting of workers,
- information and consultation with employees regarding collective redundancies, transfers of undertakings, etc.
Our law firm understands the importance of asserting employment rights, which are so frequently violated, in order to reverse the entrenchment of their generalised infringement, in conjunction with and in mutual support with trade union and other forms of struggle. Our experience and legal practice have shown that every employee deserves to assert the protection of their rights and that, with appropriate legal support, vindication is entirely achievable, even when the circumstances are not the most favourable.
The employment lawyers of our firm, possessing valuable experience and training in labour law, undertake with reliability and sensitivity the legal support of employees with a view to their fair vindication across the full spectrum of labour law matters. In particular, as a firm we have dealt extensively with cases such as:
Work as a creative manifestation of personality and foundation of economic wealth
Work is a primary concept of Labour Law. For millennia, it was regarded as a mere object of trade and exploitation. For instance, in the era of slavery, work was deemed degrading and worthy only of slaves. It is characteristic that in the Greek language the word for “work” (douleia) is etymologically derived from the word for “slavery” (douleia), and the word for “boss” (afentiko) from “afentis”, meaning the master of the slave. The situation remained essentially the same for centuries. With the Industrial Revolution, the institution of slavery receded. Nevertheless, work continued to be regarded as nothing more than an object of trade. The exploitation of labour, and consequently of workers, knew no bounds, and working conditions were inhumane (child labour, exhausting hours, lack of social insurance, etc.). This situation gave rise to long and bloody struggles. Gradually, and as a result of those struggles, it came to be recognised that work is not merely an object of trade but constitutes a creative manifestation of human personality, and that its protection is at the same time the protection of personality. Within the framework of economic science, labour is recognised as a distinct factor of production, with a fundamental role in the creation of economic wealth, and its protection redounds to the benefit of society as a whole. Furthermore, securing satisfactory remuneration and working conditions for employees contributes to the balance of social life and of the economic system.
The employment lawyer in labour law
Labour law concerns itself with cases in which work is provided by one person to another, and indeed only with that form of work which is provided to a third party and which is termed dependent (subordinate) employment. The work performed by a civil servant, as well as that performed by a self-employed professional, is not regulated by labour law. From the perspective of labour law, work is the activity which an individual, the employee, offers to another person, the employer, in order to serve the latter’s purposes within the framework of a special legal relationship known as the relationship of dependent employment. The employer’s purpose is, as a rule, economic. There are, however, cases where the purpose differs, namely where the work is provided for the direct benefit of the employer (for example, the work of a housekeeper or of a baby-sitter). The relationship of dependent employment is governed by the employment contract. In other words, work is the object of the legal relationship that binds the employee to the employer and with which the employment lawyer is concerned.
The employment lawyer and dependent employment
Dependent employment is work that is subject to the exercise of the employer’s managerial prerogative. This means that the employer has the right to direct and supervise the work and determines the time, manner, place and other conditions of its provision. The employee is obliged to comply with the employer’s instructions and orders, and where a disagreement arises, the employment lawyer takes over from every angle.
Employee
An employee is the person who, on the basis of a relationship of dependent employment, is in the service of a third party and is obliged to provide work for that party. Self-employed professionals, members of the employer’s family who provide work by operation of law, civil servants, and partners and members of associations who provide services to the company or association, are not considered employees.
Employer
An employer is the person who employs another as an employee. They may be a natural or legal person of public or private law, or even the State.
Wages
Wages are any benefit provided by the employer, of whatever form, name or specific cause, granted as consideration for the work performed by the employee.
Undertaking
This is considered to be any economic unit that produces material products or services by appropriately combining the factors of production.
Establishment
An establishment is the organisational unity of personal and material means and intangible assets, in which the technical result of work is pursued.
- See also article Termination of Employment Contract
- See also article Severance Compensation
- See also article Modification of Employment Terms
- See also article Withholding of Labour
- See also article Annual Statutory Leave
- See also article Employee Remuneration
- See also article Additional Hours – Overtime
- See also article Employer Obligations
- See also article Rotational Employment
- See also article Unjustified Absence of Employee
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS
1. What employment rights can I claim from my employer?
An employee is entitled to unpaid wages, holiday bonuses (Easter, Christmas), the leave allowance, compensation for unused leave, payment for additional hours and overtime, as well as severance compensation when the conditions are met. If you are working without insurance or “under the table”, you can claim retroactive social insurance and wage differentials based on the applicable collective agreement. In the event of an abusive dismissal or a unilateral detrimental modification of the terms of employment, you can seek annulment and retroactive default wages. As a rule, the claim is brought either by way of petition to the Labour Inspectorate or by lawsuit before the competent court.
2. What can I do if I have been abusively dismissed?
A dismissal is valid only when it is given in writing, the statutory severance is paid, and it is declared in the ERGANI information system. If any of these elements is missing, the termination is null and void. Furthermore, a dismissal is deemed abusive when it is carried out out of revenge, on account of trade union activity, pregnancy, following a lawful claim for unpaid wages, or in breach of the principle of staff selection. In such cases, the employee may bring an action for annulment of the dismissal and seek reinstatement and default wages from the date of dismissal. Alternatively, additional compensation may be sought. The relevant action must be brought within an exclusive three-month deadline from service of the dismissal.
3. How quickly must I act in an employment dispute?
The deadlines are short and exclusive, which is why delay is critical. The action for annulment of an abusive dismissal must be brought within three months of the termination of the contract. Claims for unpaid wages, bonuses and allowances are, as a rule, time-barred after five years, while claims for overtime and leave allowances are likewise subject to a five-year limitation period. The claim for compensation arising from a workplace accident is time-barred five years from knowledge of the damage. A petition to the Labour Inspectorate may be lodged immediately, without particular formal deadlines, but it favours an amicable resolution when the dispute is recent.
4. What documents do I need in order to assert my rights?
Gather your employment contract (if there is a written one), payslip receipts, payroll statements, copies of the hiring and dismissal notifications in the ERGANI system, EFKA insurance stamps, tax clearance documents, and bank movements showing the payments made. Also useful are emails, messages, attendance sheets, shift records, entry-exit cards and any evidence documenting your actual working hours and duties. If a workplace accident has occurred, you will need medical reports, an incident report and an EFKA certificate. Witness statements from colleagues are particularly important, especially where there is insufficient documentary evidence of undeclared work or unpaid overtime.
5. What are my chances of vindication as an employee?
The chances are, as a rule, favourable for the employee, since labour law is governed by the principle of protection of the weaker party and favourable rules of evidence apply. Case law has established consistent principles in favour of the employee, particularly in disputes over unpaid wages, overtime and abusive dismissals. Even where there is no written contract, the actual provision of work is presumed to be dependent and is proven through witnesses and circumstantial evidence. In many cases, an out-of-court settlement is achieved through the Labour Inspectorate, which delivers results quickly and without the wear and tear of litigation. The final outcome depends on the specific facts of each case and on proper legal preparation.
6. What is the role of the employment lawyer in my case?
The employment lawyer takes on the full legal support of the employee, from the first contact with the employer through to the final judicial decision. They assess the documents, calculate with precision the wages owed, the overtime and the severance compensation, and select the most appropriate avenue of claim (extra-judicial notice, petition to the Labour Inspectorate, lawsuit before the Single-Member Court of First Instance). They represent the employee at the tripartite conciliation meetings, draft the lawsuit and pleadings, examine witnesses and negotiate compromise solutions where these are in the client’s interest. Our firm has many years of experience in labour disputes of every kind, with an accessible fee policy, recognising the difficulties faced by an unpaid or dismissed employee.