Fixed-term contracts and principle of equal treatment in Greece
| Autor | Evangelos D. Angelopoulos |
| Cargo | Attorney at Law, LL.M., PhD candidate |
| Páginas | 37-43 |
IusLabor 1/2017
34
FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS AND PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL TREATMENT IN
GREECE
Evangelos D. Angelopoulos
Attorney at Law, LL.M., PhD candidate
Introduction
According to a 2014 Eurostat survey, 12% of the workforce in Greece is employed with
a contract of limited duration, a figure slightly beneath the EU-28 average of 14%. It
would be no surprise if the percentage is nowadays increased since the fiscal/financial
crisis remains severe. The topic of fixed-term employment is highly controversial in
Greece with acute political and social ramifications. The type of fixed-term employment
was abused by the main political parties over the years in order to attract voters that
wished to enter the public sector labour market. It was the most efficient way to
circumscribe the strict public-sector hiring legislation and the relevant supervising
Authority (Supreme Council of Public Sector Personnel-«»). Since entering the
public sector myriads fixed-term employees were left with the alternative of signing
consecutive fixed-term contracts, despite the fact that their work usually covered
permanent and usual needs of the public sector. Eventually the problem became so acute
(almost 30% of the public sector workforce was employed in the early ‘00s with -
consecutively renewed- fixed-term contracts) that a special constitutional amendment
was introduced forbidding the transformation of fixed-term employment to indefinite
term (article 103 paras 7-9 Greek Constitution).
1. Is it possible to subscribe a temporary or fixed-term contract? Also to carry out
the company’s permanent needs or activities?
According to article 648 of the Greek Civil Code, the employee has the duty to provide
for indefinite or definite (fixed-term) time his work to the employer and the latter has the
duty to provide the agreed remuneration to the employee. Thus, in principle it is perfectly
legal in accordance with the general principle of contractual freedom (article 361 Greek
Civil Code) for an employer and an employee to engage in a fixed-term contract.
Nevertheless, there are restrictions in order to prevent the abusive exploitation of fixed-
term contracts (see below answer to question 3). These restrictions are introduced by the
Presidential Decree 81/2003 (ratione personae: private sector employees) and by the
Presidential Decree 164/2004 (ratione personae: public sector employees). Specifically,
according to article 5 paragraph 3 PD 81/2003 when for no objective reasons the duration
of the consecutive fixed-term contracts exceeds the total amount of three (3) years, a
presumption is introduced that the contracts cover permanent and usual needs of the
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