Background information

The Greek government, as part of the restriction of the dispersion of the coronavirus, covers the cost of conducting rapid tests on companies with more than 20 employees. The programme is implemented by the Ministries of Labour and Digital Governance, in cooperation with the National Public Health Organisation (EODY). Employees in companies with over 20 employees will be able to apply for a rapid test up to 2 times a month through a special platform. The aim is to intensify testing in enterprises where the number of employees causes staff crowding and thus increases the risk of transmission. The measure follows on from other initiatives to limit the dispersion of coronavirus, such as compulsory teleworking (where it can be provided), special-purpose leaves and the intensification of inspections on companies to comply with health protocols by the Labour Inspectorate (SEPE).

Content of measure

According to the Ministry of Labour, from 11 March 2021, the planned procedure for participation in the testing programme is as follows:

Employees complete the "Application Form for free testing of COVID-19" entering to the Digital Platform “ergasia.testing.gov.gr.”

The platform carries out a verification check to confirm that they are employees of a company with more than 20 employees, through an interface with the electronic system of the Ministry of Labour "ERGANI".

After the successful verification, employees can complete the required information as well as the testing centre they choose for the examination.

The selection of employees is always made according to the available tests. Once the employee is selected for free test, he receives an SMS with the date/time and address of the testing center. On the day of the examination the worker presents the SMS to the health staff for priority examination. The SMS is used as a moving permission for the examination and the employee takes a 3 hours justified leave of absence in order to make the test.

Use of measure

According to the Ministry of Labour with the new measure is expected to increase significantly the number of tests made by the Public Health System, which at the day of the announcement of the measure were approximately 45,000 daily. In total the testing centres participating in the programme are 386 across the country.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	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 social partners.

Views and reactions

There are no social partner's reactions to the measure.

Sources

• 11 March 2021: In full operation the special platform for applications at ergasia.testing.gov.gr (Σε πλήρη λειτουργία η ειδική πλατφόρμα για τις αιτήσεις στη διεύθυνση ergasia.testing.gov.gr (ypergasias.gov.gr)