25% of Businesses Violate Labor Laws in Greece

Greece's labor market faces a challenging reality in 2025, with inspections revealing a significant increase in violations of labor laws, even as employment grows. This trend suggests that undeclared and underdeclared work are structural issues, not temporary phenomena.

Inspections rose in 2025 compared to the previous year, uncovering 82,233 cases with 19,093 sanctions, over 2,500 lawsuits, and fines totaling approximately 54 million euros. The violations manifest in various forms but consistently aim to conceal actual working hours and labor costs. The most frequent offense is the non-use or improper use of the digital work card, with 2,994 recorded instances. Other common violations include working beyond declared hours without proper compensation (2,332 cases), unpaid wages (1,410 cases), and undeclared work (1,372 cases).

These practices collectively contribute to underdeclared employment, allowing businesses to artificially lower their labor expenses. This is exacerbated by high non-salary labor costs, such as social security contributions, which continue to incentivize employers to hide actual hours or even entire job positions. The digital work card system, intended to improve transparency, is frequently circumvented.

The catering sector stands out with the highest number of fines and lawsuits, accounting for more than a quarter of all labor relations inspections with 12,415 checks and 4,279 sanctions. This sector's high violation rate is attributed to its seasonality, staff turnover, and extensive use of flexible employment. Retail trade followed with 1,649 sanctions, while transportation and accommodation also showed significant issues, particularly in land transport concerning working hours and overtime.