As of July 1, a six-day work week is being introduced in Greece, and the obligation will apply to state services, utility companies, banks, organizations and agricultural holdings, which until now have worked five days a week.
According to the law that was adopted in September 2023, the additional working day cannot last longer than eight hours and no overtime is allowed on that day.
This provision, which enters into force on July 1, does not have to be observed by companies and farms whose work is not continuous, that is, which have not worked five days a week until now.
In terms of restrictions, a worker on the sixth working day may not work more than 8 hours and no overtime is allowed. In the event that companies or agricultural holdings have five-day night shifts (00:00-06:00), then on the sixth day they must not work in the night shift.
The amended labor law not only provided for a six-day work week, but also allowed for a working day lasting a maximum of 13 hours, in order to legalize the combination of permanent and additional work, which many practice.
This labor law reform has prompted critics to recall the European Working Time Directive, according to which employees should not work more than 48 hours in a seven-day period, including overtime.
The new law was passed a decade later as international creditors asked the country to introduce a six-day work week in order to get out of the economic crisis. In the 2015 referendum, the Greeks convincingly said “no” to the package of measures proposed by the creditors.
