What is rotational work?
Rotational work (εκ περιτροπής εργασία) is a special form of part-time employment, provided on fewer days per week, or fewer weeks per month, or fewer months per year, while maintaining a full daily working schedule.
It differs from ordinary part-time employment, since part-time employment refers to working all days of the week but with shorter daily hours than the standard schedule.
When and how can a system of rotational work be applied?
This system may be applied either by agreement between the employee and the employer, or by unilateral decision of the employer, provided the conditions set out below are met.
1st case: Application of the rotational work system by agreement between employee and employer.
Article 38 of Law 1892/1990, as currently in force, provides that, when concluding the individual employment contract or during its term, the employer and the employee may, by written individual agreement, agree on any form of rotational employment. Rotational employment is considered employment on fewer days per week, or fewer weeks per month, or fewer months per year, or any combination of these, with a full daily working schedule.
The employee’s remuneration is proportional to their working time.
Example:
Full salary (40 hours per week): €650
Rotational employment: 4 days per week / 6.66 hours per day – 26.64 hours per week
Proportional salary: 650 × 26.64 × 40 = €432.90
As stated above, rotational work may be agreed either at the start of the employment relationship or during its course by amendment of the individual employment contract. Therefore, the employee’s consent is required for the modification of the employment contract.
Termination of the employment contract on the grounds that the employee did not accept the employer’s proposal to convert a full-time contract into a rotational work contract is null and void.
The agreement must in any event be in writing (the two-month deadline for notification of employment contract terms does not apply here) and is submitted to the ERGANI Information System.
If the rotational work agreement is not concluded in writing or is not notified within eight (8) days from its conclusion to the Labour Inspectorate (submission to the ERGANI Information System), full-time employment of the worker is presumed.
2nd case: Unilateral imposition of the rotational work system, due to a reduction in the company’s activity
Labour legislation allows the employer, where their activities are reduced, instead of terminating the employment contract, to impose a system of rotational employment in their business, following consultation with the employees. The information and consultation is conducted with the legal representatives of the employees, in accordance with Presidential Decree 240/2006 and Law 1767/1988. If there is no trade union or works council in the company, consultation must take place with all the employees of the company.
The duration of rotational work may not exceed nine months in the same calendar year.
The necessary conditions for the imposition of the above system are therefore the reduction of the company’s activities (substantive condition), and the prior information and consultation of the employees by the employer (formal condition).
A characteristic feature of this case is that, in imposing this system, the principle of “equal treatment” must be taken into account.
The system must cover either all the employees of the company, or all the employees of a department of the company that shows reduced activity.
The imposition of the rotational work system on part-time employees is not permitted.
The selective imposition of a rotational work system on specific employees only is not permitted (Areios Pagos 1252/2014).
The employer’s decision to impose rotational work must be submitted to the ERGANI Information System within eight (8) days of being taken; otherwise, full-time employment of the workers is presumed.
The imposition of rotational work by the employer is unlawful if there has been no prior dialogue with the employees, if they have not been provided with financial information about the company, if every alternative solution has not been exhausted, and if there has been no prior consultation with the employees (Athens Single-Member Court of First Instance 4424/2012).
For the calculation of remuneration in this case, for those paid by salary, we multiply the full salary (40-hour week) by the weekly working hours and then divide by 40, while for those paid by daily wage, we multiply the full daily wage (of 6.66 hours) by 0.15 to find the hourly wage and then multiply by the daily working hours to find the daily wage.
Example
Employment: 3 days per week × 8 hours per day
Daily wage of 6.66 hours: 29.04
Hourly wage: 29.04 × 0.15 = €4.36
Proportional daily wage: 4.36 × 8 = €34.88
Monthly remuneration: (working hours/week) × (hourly wage) × (26/6) = 24 hours × €4.36 × 4.133 = €432.48
During the period of unilateral imposition of rotational work, no dismissal may take place with the severance compensation calculated on the reduced remuneration resulting from this system.
For a dismissal to take place, the rotational employment system must first be discontinued and the employee restored to a full-time employment system, while the calculation of severance compensation must be based on the remuneration the employee would have received under the full-time employment regime (Document of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security 4355/16/3-3-2011).
- See also article Termination of Employment Contract
- See also article Severance Compensation
- See also article Social Security – Pensions
- 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 Work – Overtime
- See also article Employer Obligations
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON ROTATIONAL WORK
1. My employer is imposing rotational work without my agreement. Is this lawful?
The unilateral imposition of rotational work is lawful only when strict conditions are met: an actual reduction of the company’s activity, prior information and substantive consultation with the employees or their representatives, provision of financial information about the company, and exhaustion of every alternative solution. In addition, the measure must cover all employees, or at least all those belonging to the department with reduced activity, without selective application to specific persons (Areios Pagos 1252/2014). When even one of these conditions is missing, the imposition is unlawful and the employee is entitled to full-time remuneration.
2. What can I do if I consider the imposition of rotational work to be unlawful?
The employee may file a lawsuit before the competent Single-Member Court of First Instance, seeking recognition of the nullity of the employer’s unilateral decision and an award of the difference in remuneration between full-time employment and the reduced amount paid. At the same time, they may submit a complaint to the Labour Inspectorate, which monitors compliance with the consultation procedures and the submission to the ERGANI Information System. In cases of imminent risk, an application for interim measures may also be filed. If submission to the ERGANI Information System has not been made within eight days, full-time employment is presumed by law and full remuneration may be claimed.
3. Can my employer dismiss me because I refused the conversion to rotational work?
No. Termination of the employment contract on the grounds that the employee did not accept the employer’s proposal to convert full-time employment into rotational work is null and void. The employee has the right to refuse the modification of their employment terms, since express consent and a written agreement are required. In the event of such a dismissal, the employee may seek recognition of the nullity, reinstatement and payment of arrears of salary for the period of default. At the same time, the dismissal may be characterised as abusive, with the right to claim pecuniary compensation for moral damages, depending on the circumstances.
4. How is severance compensation calculated under a rotational work regime?
Where the employer has unilaterally imposed the rotational work system, dismissal during its application, with severance compensation calculated on the reduced remuneration, is not permitted. The system must first be discontinued and the employee restored to full-time employment, so that severance compensation is calculated on the full remuneration that they would have received (Document of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security 4355/16/3-3-2011). If the employer disregards this obligation, the employee may pursue the difference in severance compensation through the courts, on the basis of the actual full-time salary and not the reduced amount.
5. Within what time must I act to claim my rights?
Claims for unpaid salary and salary differences are subject to a five-year limitation period from the time they became due. By contrast, an action for nullity of dismissal must be filed within three months of service of the termination, otherwise the right is extinguished. For the recovery of unpaid severance compensation, the deadline is six months from the time it became due. Because of these short deadlines, it is advisable for the employee to consult a lawyer immediately, so as not to lose the opportunity to claim their rights through the courts. Social security claims against EFKA also have their own deadlines.
6. What is the role of the lawyer in rotational work cases?
The lawyer first examines the lawfulness of the imposition or the agreement: they check whether the written form was complied with, whether the contract or decision was submitted to the ERGANI Information System on time, whether substantive consultation took place, and whether the principle of equal treatment was observed. They draft an extra-judicial notice to the employer, a complaint to the Labour Inspectorate, and file a lawsuit or application for interim measures before the Single-Member Court of First Instance to claim the difference in remuneration. They represent the employee throughout the judicial proceedings and accurately calculate the unpaid severance compensation or earned remuneration, drawing on the established case law of Areios Pagos in favour of the employee.