Background information

The Ministers of Finance and Labour by a joint Ministerial decision (No. 39539/996 of 30.09.2020) launched an open-ended programme for the creation of 100,000 new jobs in the private sector. The aim of the programme is to create 100,000 new jobs, by subsidising the whole of the social security contributions (employers-employees), for six months across the country, regardless of sector and business activity. The companies can be subsidised only for jobs that are additional as regards the staff they employed until 17 September 2020.

The programme is in force from 1 October 2020 and is valid until the total number of the jobs will be covered.

Content of measure

The job contracts will be of six months duration, concern any type of employer activity and on the precondition that the companies have paid their tax and social security obligations and the new recruitments are additional to the existing jobs.

All employees’ and employers’ social security contributions, regardless of the amount of the net monthly salary, including contributions to any benefits and leave allowances, are paid by the Ministry of Labour from government's budget. The recruited unemployed will be working either full-time or part-time.

As regards the long-term unemployed people registered to the Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED), the companies will be subsidised except for the social security contributions with an additional amount of €200 of the net salary.

In any case, the net salary of the recruited long-term unemployed may not be less than €200. The employers can’t go below the statutory minimum wage. The €200 correspond to fewer hours of (about 3 hours). It is also stipulated that the companies which include their employees in the new job subsidy scheme can't place the same workers into the alternative “less working hours scheme” of the 'SYN-ERGASIA' programme or suspend their relevant employment contracts.

Τhe provided total budgetary amount for this measure is €345 million.

Use of measure

There is no information. The program is in progress.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Unemployed	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies Public employment service	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

There is no involvement of the social partners.

Views and reactions

The opposition political parties and some left-oriented unions expressed their strong disagreement as regards the provision that the "wage cannot be less than €200", stating that this promotes the precariousness.

One criticism is that: by subsisdizing the employers with €200, they will prefer to create part-time jobs of €200 instead of hiring full-time employees.

Sources

• 01 October 2020: OΑΕΔ. Started the recruitment programme for 100000 unemployed people with a job subsidy - (ΟΑΕΔ. Ξεκίνησε το πρόγραμμα προσλήψεων 100.000 ανέργων με επιδότηση εργασίας (www.odigostoupoliti.eu)