GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nikolas Sigkridis, Semina Zavitsanou, Chrysa Kalantzi and Yannis Ragos, POTAMITISVEKRIS
7.5 Protected Categories of Employee Maternity and Paternity Protection Dismissal is prohibited during pregnancy and for 18 months after childbirth, during pregnancy or child - birth-related illness, and for fathers for six months after the child’s birth, unless a serious cause exists. Employee Representatives Specific categories of employee representatives ben - efit from special protection regarding dismissal during their tenure and for one year afterwards. Employees Hired by Virtue of Mandatory Legal Provisions Companies of more than 50 employees may be required by State order to hire people with disabilities who have limited access to employment due to life - long health problems and other categories (such as children of victims of war or the children of members of the National Resistance). Employment agreements governed by these legal provisions are terminated only following a decision of the National Unemploy - ment Authority or following an application filed by the employer to the relevant State Committee on the grounds of the employee’s serious misconduct. The Committee will then render a mandatory decision ratifying or rejecting such demand for permission to terminate the employment agreement. The grounds for nullity of the termination of an employ - ment contract of indefinite duration, as codified in the law, are as follows: • discrimination based on gender, race, skin colour, political ideology, religious or philosophical beliefs, ancestral or national origin, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or characteristics, disability, or par - ticipation in a trade union; • reaction to the lawful exercise of employee rights; • reaction to a lawful complaint made by the employ - ee; 8. Disputes 8.1 Wrongful Dismissal • reaction to the exercise of employee rights in cases involving violence or harassment in the workplace;
• pregnancy or recent childbirth (or if the employee is the father of a newborn), unless there is a serious cause for dismissal; • reaction to the employee’s request for family leave or a flexible working arrangement for childcare purposes, including remote work; • during paid annual leave; • obligatory employment under Law 2643/1998; • during military service; • failure to comply with legal provisions on collective dismissals; • dismissal of a protected unionist, unless there is a serious reason; • dismissal due to lawful trade union activity; • dismissal resulting from the employee’s refusal to accept the employer’s proposal for part-time work or job rotation; • collective refusal by employees of a working time arrangement, provided this refusal does not violate good faith; and • dismissal due to the employee’s exercise of the right to disconnect in the case of remote work. According to settled case law, dismissal is a last resort (ultima ratio) and lawful only if no less harsh alterna - tives (eg, warning, reassignment) are available. The employer must prove that all milder measures were exhausted. Choosing termination when milder, equally effective options exist may be seen as an abuse of rights. Wrongful Dismissal Based on One of the Grounds for Nullity Stipulated by Law The dismissed employee may initiate legal proceed - ings (file a lawsuit) within three months of their dis - missal seeking: • a judicial declaration that the dismissal is invalid; • payment of outstanding wages (plus statutory interest accrued from the date of termination); • compensation for moral damages; and • potentially, reinstatement. If the dismissed employee presents facts that reason - ably indicate that the dismissal was based on one of the prohibited grounds set out by law, the burden of proof shifts to the employer. The employer must then demonstrate that the termination was not due to the
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