A Greek court has held that an employee’s death from a fatal heart attack at home attributable to the stress he was experiencing over his employer’s reorganisation plans should be considered a work accident.

The Athens Court of First Instance has ruled in a recent unprecedented decision that an employee’s death at home from a heart attack can be considered a work accident if attributable to work stress.

In the case at hand, the Court concluded that the death of the employee as linked with the intense work stress he had suffered due to insecurity and uncertainty over his employment relationship, in view of a planned reorganisation by the employer. The employer had apparently not taken the appropriate precautionary measures to mitigate the risks associated with its business decision and had not provided adequate information or clarification to its staff to minimise the implications of the restructuring on the mental and physical health of its employees. 

What’s on the ‘to do’ list for employers in Greece before the end of 2019? 

Annual leave and annual leave allowance

According to Greek legislation, employees should take all their annual leave by the end of year. Transferring annual leave days to the next year is not permissible and any agreement between employee and employer for deferring leave is invalid. This means the employer might face fines if it does not give employees the opportunity to take annual leave on time. By 31 December, all employees should have taken their annual leave days and their annual leave allowance. If the employer denies an employee the opportunity to take his or her annual leave days, then the employer will be obliged to pay the employee compensation for not having been able to take his or her annual leave days: the compensation is double the remuneration to which the employee would have been entitled if he or she had taken the annual leave days. During leave, an employee is entitled to the remuneration he or she would have received if he or she had worked full time. These earnings include all monthly allowances and surcharges paid. He or she is also entitled to a leave allowance equal to the pay for the days of leave, up to a maximum of half of salary or 13 daily wages.

Christmas bonus

Employers should pay all employees their Christmas Bonus (fourteenth salary). The Christmas Bonus is equal to one month’s salary with an increase corresponding to a percentage of the annual leave allowance. The Christmas Bonus is always proportionate to the days that the employee has actually worked during the period 1 May to 31 December. An employee is only entitled to a whole Christmas bonus and not to a proportion of it if his or her employment contract has lasted from 1 May until 31 Decembe . Christmas bonus is payable on 21 December of each year.