The Digital Employee Card in Retail and Manufacturing

According to the Minister of Labor, January 1st will mark the introduction of the Digital Employee Card in retail and manufacturing. It is then expected to be gradually applied to other industries as well, with the food and beverage industry being the last in line.

The implementation of the Digital Employee Card continues as already announced. According to the Minister of Labor, on January 1st, 2024, the digital card will be introduced in retail and manufacturing, and will then be extended to other industries, with food and beverage being the last one. In fact, a ministerial decision is expected within this month that will detail the entire implementation schedule for 2024, by industry. According to official statements, the government will open a dialogue with other industries and consult with the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) to discuss implementation in retail.

The Minister was asked whether the Digital Employee Card is effective in detecting undeclared work. The answer is that, so far, it has been implemented in supermarkets and banks which have never had major undeclared work issues. The process started there because of the size of these businesses, but also because it was easier to monitor the implementation of the measure in these industries.

Essentially, however, the “battle”, as he said, for undeclared and uninsured work will begin on January 1st, 2024, as the card will be implemented to smaller businesses, thus to the entire economy, reaching even those that traditionally have the highest tax evasion. It will therefore take a few more months to have a more accurate picture.

In addition, the minister said that there will be different implementation guidelines for each industry in order to reduce any issues that may arise in cases where the nature of the work is significantly different. In particular, separate guidelines will be created for those working remotely, outside the office and so on.

It should be reminded that from the summer of 2022, the Digital Employee Card is being implemented in banks and supermarkets with more than 250 employees, while already from February 2023, its implementation started in two more business sectors, insurance and security companies. Lastly, according to the Ministry’s figures, the measure covers more than 150,000 workers employed in these four industries.