For the past fifteen years Vassilios Kartaltzis and Associates Law Office both advises on cases pertaining to salary claims of all types (salaries, holidays salary bonuses, leaves of absence etc., wage differences based on Collective Labour Agreements/ Arbitral Awards and with compliance to the principle of equal treatment, etc.)., and litigates in order to refute wage demands.
Our primary goal is to be quick and efficient by promoting the most beneficial dispute resolutions for our clients.
Salary: the contribution of the employer to the employee for the work provided. Namely, the salary is a financial return, the economic evaluation of the work offered by the employee.
The salary is a continuous and regular granting, consistently determined and independent from the business risk and the employer’s profits, except of course the exceptional case when the salary is calculated on the basis of the percentage in the employer’s profits.
The salary consists of the basic salary and other fringe benefits, bonuses or certain allowances, which are paid by the employer as remuneration for the work provided by the employee. Therefore, the wage is regular salary received by the employee. Regular wages are all benefits received by the employee regularly and consistently every month or repeated periodically, at certain time intervals. The law uses the term “regular salary” in order to estimate various funds, such as compensation due to termination of contract and holiday bonuses based on the average total remuneration received by the employee. There is often a dispute in relation to what should be considered as a regular salary and what constitutes fringe benefits/bonuses. The Social Insurance Institute (IKA) often tries to include various funds, which show no regularity or have unstable criteria, to the concept of regular salary.
The salary is usually paid in cash. Nevertheless, the law also gives the right to the parties to agree on a part thereof being paid in kind. Salary paid in kind is defined as the granting of other benefits to the employee, eg. a house, a car, food, clothing etc.
Most commonly the amount of the salary is determined during the conclusion of the employment contract, either expressly or implicitly. If not agreed upon, it may be determined in another manner. Even in cases where the salary is not mentioned at all in the employment contract, this does not mean that the agreement is void or that a salary is not to be paid to the employee. The law (Article 649 of the Greek Civil Code) sets a rebuttable presumption, according to which, if under the usual circumstances this type of work is provided only on the condition that a salary must be paid, it is deemed to have been tacitly agreed therein. The minimum protective wage limits are determined primarily by the Collective Employment Agreements or currently with the minimum statutory wage.