CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
| GREECE |
| SÝMVASI ERGASÍAS σύμβαση εργασίαζ CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT |
The concept of the contract of employment is defined in law. According to Article 648 of the Civil Code, under a contract of employment the worker is obliged to perform work for the employer for either a fixed or an indeterminate period and the employer is obliged to pay remuneration. A contract exists even when pay is calculated per unit of work performed or as a lump sum, as long as the worker is hired or employed for a fixed or indeterminate period.
If the work is performed in a position of subordination , the contract constitutes a contract of employment as a contract of service (συμβαση εξαρτημενηζ εργασιαζ), which is the only kind to which the provisions of labour law are applicable. Whether or not it incorporates this element of "subordination" (see contract for services ), the contract of employment is a bilateral agreement creating reciprocal obligations governed by private law. Its subject is the performance of specified work irrespective of the result. It need not be concluded in written form, except in cases where this is expressly stipulated by law. It is null and void when it contravenes a prohibitory legal provision (Civil Code, Article 174) or when it is contra bonos mores (Civil Code, Article 178). A particular instance of the latter is the so-called exploitative contract of employment, where an employer takes advantage of an employee's neediness, inexperience, etc., in contracting to pay him or her a rate of pay obviously disproportionate to the value of the work performed (Civil Code, Article 179).
Special laws stipulate a number of additional preconditions for the validity of the contract, such as a particular form of authorization or certificate, health record card, etc., whose absence renders the contract null and void. See fixed-term contract , part-time contract .
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.