Work Card, Tourism and Car Hire Companies

Η digital work card is a new application of the government's digital tools to combat illegal or undeclared work and to map labour issues in the Greek territory. The digital transition of workers and employers is immediate like many other forms of digitalisation and usually in these cases there are many gaps until the measure is fully implemented.

 Many companies are being asked to purchase and install specialised equipment in the workplace, to familiarise both employers and employees with this measure immediately, and all this in the midst of financial fear. In the first instance, this measure will be applied to catering and tourism businesses and subsequently to all other sectors. The professionals are once again on the fence and questioning the measure.'But are they right?  The truth is that in Greece there is a large number of undeclared work which, combined with the lack of labour force, makes the project of this measure doomed from the beginning.Moreover, entrepreneurship in Greece, unfortunately, consists mainly of very small and small businesses or self-employed people, mainly in catering and tourism. On the other hand, the state, in an effort to save money, is constantly putting obstacles in the way of these businesses, either through taxation or digital tools, in order to combat tax evasion and undeclared work.The attitude of the central administration towards these businesses seems to be that of a multinational company with a large number of employees.     It would be appropriate to make a mapping of businesses in Greece and their real needs. The central administration should give financial incentives and firm guidance to businesses and employees and implement measures that will solve problems rather than create confusion. As things stand now, businesses will live in fear of a fine and workers will prefer to either work minimally, work undeclared or seek a dressing down. In tourism businesses where the demand for staff is high in the summer months, the situation is more difficult due to overtime or overwork. In particular in the companies car rentals where workers are not permanently present at the workplace, the implementation of the measure seems dysfunctional. With the current situation and the implementation of the digital labour card it seems that the phenomenon of undeclared work will increase at least in the above mentioned sectors and employers mainly & employees secondarily will look for ways to fool the controls.