Current status
- Termination of the contract by the employee:
Resignation can be made explicitly or implicitly and in its case no compensation is due, in any case, however, the employee, upon leaving, is entitled, if he has not taken his annual leave, to Leave Compensation and Vacation Bonus, as well as of all his accrued wages and benefits due.
- Announcement of employee's resignation
The article 38 of the Law 4488/2017 provided for the obligation of the employer to announce electronically the resignation of the employee to the "ERGANI", no later than 4 working days from the day of the employee's departure. An important difference is the employer's obligation to obtain the employee's signature on the relevant form in the following ways:
- The employee's resignation notice form must be signed by the employer and the employee,
- In the event of the employee's refusal to sign the form, the employee should be notified of an extrajudicial statement, informing him that he has voluntarily resigned and that this will be announced in the "ERGANI".
In the latter case, the employer's out-of-court declaration is served on the employee no later than 4 working days after his resignation and the announcement is made the next working day after the extra-judicial declaration is served.
If the employer does not comply with the obligations of notice of resignation, including the submission of the accompanying documents herein, the employment contract shall be deemed to have been terminated by the employer's irregular termination.
Article 23 of Law 5053/2023
It is provided that the employee's unjustified (arbitrary) absence from work for more than five consecutive working days can be considered as termination of the contract from his part. It is, however, required beforehand that an additional period of five consecutive working days has passed since his compulsory employment by his employer, which:
- Posted in P.S. ERGANI II and
- It is proved in any suitable written way.
In this case, the employer is obliged, on the next working day after the end of the period of five consecutive working days (which follows the period of five consecutive working days from the employer's compulsory dismissal), to announce the resignation of the employee to ERGANI II, without requiring the employee's signature.
The new provision does not require the cooperation of a bailiff. It also delimits the relevant time milestones: the termination by the employee and the obligation to announce the voluntary departure by the employer.
However, cumulatively, the process of resignation requires the passage of at least ten consecutive working days. At this point, questions arise as to how the requirement to pass such a long period of time creates the conditions for abusive behavior on the part of employees. The latter will have at their disposal a sufficient period to change their possible will to leave their job. In other words: an unjustified absence of an employee for nine consecutive days does not count as resignation if one, and only, working day follows. Even if it is followed by another nine-day unexcused absence and so on.
In the case of the employee's return to work - either before or after the relative inconvenience of the employer - it is reasonable for the employee not to be paid nor to be insured for the days of his unjustified absence. It is strongly recommended to have a relevant clause in the employment contract.
Thanasis Karmiris
Payroll Manager
