Greece can now fine employers in health, telecoms, cleaning and hairdressing that skip the digital work card

Since 12 October 2026, employers in Greek health care, telecoms, employment agencies, cleaning and landscaping, and personal services such as hairdressing can be fined if their staff are not recorded on the digital work card.¹³ The card itself is not new for these sectors: a ministerial decision made it mandatory for them from 2 June 2026.¹ A second group of sectors, from warehousing to advertising and repairs, has been covered since 29 June 2026 and faces fines from 16 November 2026.²³

The digital work card (ψηφιακή κάρτα εργασίας, psifiaki karta ergasias) records when each employee starts and stops work on ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ (Ergani II), the online system to which employers report working time.¹³ ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ sorts each hour into regular hours, extra hours (υπερεργασία, yperergasia) or overtime, and workers can see their working time, rest days and leave in the myErgani app.¹⁰¹¹ Employers send the clock-in and clock-out events, by web form, XML file, API or the Card Scanner app.³

What changed on 12 October 2026?

What changed on 12 October 2026 is that fines can now be imposed on the first group of new sectors; the obligation itself has applied since 2 June 2026.¹ Decision 15441/28-05-2026 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Ypourgeio Ergasias kai Koinonikis Asfalisis), signed by Labour Minister Niki Kerameus (Νίκη Κεραμέως), was published in the Government Gazette, the ΦΕΚ (Φύλλο Εφημερίδας της Κυβερνήσεως, Fyllo Efimeridas tis Kyverniseos), as ΦΕΚ Β' 3051 on 2 June 2026.¹¹⁵ That issue of the Gazette was reprinted because of an error.¹ Taxheaven described the reprint as a correction "with Table 11", the table for personal services.¹⁹

The decision says that the administrative sanctions for these sectors "are imposed from 12 October 2026", in our translation.¹ΕΛ Before the fines began, the Labour Ministry said the first phase would apply "on a pilot basis" (πιλοτικά), in our translation.⁴⁵ The decision itself, in the text we read, does not use that word.¹ A ministry press release of 23 September 2026 called the change from 12 October 2026 the "full application" of the card to these sectors, in our translation.⁶

Since 2 June 2026, employers in the first group of new sectors have had to run a digital work card system for their staff who work on site. From 12 October 2026, they can be fined for not doing so.¹

Which sectors are covered, and from when?

Coverage depends on the employer's activity code, the ΚΑΔ (Κωδικός Αριθμός Δραστηριότητας, Kodikos Arithmos Drastiriotitas).¹³ What counts is the employer's main ΚΑΔ as registered in TAXIS, the tax authority's online system; a firm whose main ΚΑΔ is outside the listed sectors is not covered.¹³¹⁶

Phase 1: obligation from 2 June 2026, fines from 12 October 2026

• Telecoms (ΚΑΔ 61): wired, wireless and satellite telecoms, resale of telecom services and other telecoms.¹ The table heading also mentions programming and IT, but only ΚΑΔ 61 is listed.¹
• Employment activities (ΚΑΔ 78): including employment and temporary-work agencies.¹⁶
• Services to buildings and outdoor areas (ΚΑΔ 81): including general building cleaning, other cleaning and landscape services.¹⁶
• Human health (ΚΑΔ 86): including hospitals, diagnostic imaging and medical laboratories, psychologists, nursing and midwifery, physiotherapy and alternative medicine.¹ The ministry describes this group as hospitals and therapy and diagnostic centres, "excluding doctors", in our translation.⁶
• Personal services (ΚΑΔ 96): laundry and dry cleaning, hairdressers and barbers, beauty salons, spas and saunas, funeral services and personal services in the home.¹⁶

Phase 2: obligation from 29 June 2026, fines from 16 November 2026

Decision 18047/24-06-2026, published as ΦΕΚ Β' 3791 on 29 June 2026, added a second group.² The ministry lists it as consultancy, advertising and other office activities; repairs; warehousing and support activities for transport (logistics); water and wastewater management; and gambling.⁵ The decision's activity codes are 36, 37 and 38 (water supply, sewage, and waste collection, recovery and disposal); 52.1; 70.1 and 70.2; 73.1 to 73.3; 82; 92.0; and 95.1 to 95.4.² The decision's warehousing table lists only ΚΑΔ 52.10, warehousing, and the office-support table includes call centres (82.20).² The circular confirms: "From 16 November 2026 the administrative sanctions are imposed", in our translation.²³

The Labour Ministry put the expansion at 476,000 workers in June 2026 and at about 500,000 in September 2026.⁴⁶

Who is excluded?

The interpretative circular 25291/23-09-2026, issued by the Labour Ministry and signed by the Secretary-General for Labour Relations, Nikolaos Milapidis (Νικόλαος Μηλαπίδης), sets out these exclusions.³

• Doctors and dentists employed by businesses whose main activity is in the covered sectors are excluded, "in accordance with the relevant Ministerial Decision", in our translation.³ΕΛ The 2026 decision's own table, however, lists medical and dental practice codes (86.21 to 86.23), and its exclusion clause says nothing about doctors or dentists.¹
• Support staff of doctors' and dentists' practices, such as administrative and secretarial staff, nurses and cleaners, are not excluded: the circular says the obligation to clock in applies to them.³
• Stretcher-bearers, paramedics and ambulance drivers and crews do not clock in, because of the urgent nature of their work.³
• Teleworkers do not clock in on the days they work remotely.³
• Firms whose main ΚΑΔ in TAXIS is outside the listed sectors are not covered, even if some activities on the same premises, or some branches, fall in a listed sector.¹³ A firm whose covered main ΚΑΔ earns nothing (as shown on its last Ε3 tax form) is also outside, if its dominant secondary activity is not covered.¹³

What does the digital work card require?

Every covered employer must have and activate a digital work card system for all its employees who work on site, including staff on loan from other firms, from the date its sector was included.¹ The circular sets out the practical rules.³

• Fifteen minutes: a clock-in or clock-out event must be submitted "with a maximum delay (from the start/end event) of fifteen (15) minutes", in our translation.³ΕΛ The circular says the limit applies to every way of submitting: the web form, XML upload, API or the Card Scanner app.³
• Even number of swipes: each worker's swipes in a day must add up to an even number, so every clock-in has a matching clock-out.³ The circular gives zero, two or four swipes a day as the cases.³¹⁶
• Declared schedule: the schedule declared in advance in the "Digital Organisation of Working Time" (Ψηφιακή Οργάνωση του Χρόνου Εργασίας, Psifiaki Organosi tou Chronou Ergasias) section of ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ is taken into account when measuring each worker's total daily working time.³

What are the fines for the digital work card?

The fines are set in Annexes V and VI of ministerial decision 80016/31-08-2022 (ΦΕΚ Β' 4629).¹³⁷ A July 2026 decision, 20844/2026, repealed only Articles 5 and 8 of that decision, not the card annexes.¹⁷

• No activated card: the Labour Ministry said in August 2022 that the fine for this is €10,500.⁸ Mononews reported in 2026 that it is €10,500 per worker, and Politica.gr that it can reach €10,500 per worker.¹²¹³
• Recorded time differs from actual time: the 2022 ministry announcement put the fine at €3,000 for each such case.⁸ Mononews and Politica.gr reported it as €3,000 per worker.¹²¹³

By our calculation, a salon with three staff and no activated card could face €31,500 if the €10,500 fine applies per worker as reported.¹²¹³ We have not read the annex tables themselves.⁷

What should employers do now?

1. Check your main ΚΑΔ in TAXIS against the lists above. The main code decides whether you are covered.¹³
2. Declare your staff's working schedule in the "Digital Organisation of Working Time" on ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ.³
3. Activate the card for every on-site worker covered, including administrative, nursing and cleaning staff at doctors' and dentists' practices.¹³
4. Make sure clock-ins and clock-outs reach ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ within 15 minutes and pair up to an even number each day.³
5. Phase-2 employers (warehousing, consultancy, advertising, office support, repairs, water and waste, gambling) have until 15 November 2026 before fines can be imposed on 16 November 2026.²³⁵

Why is the ministry extending the card?

The Labour Ministry links the card to the recording of overtime.⁵⁶ It says more than 5.7 million overtime hours had already been recorded in the first seven months of 2026 in the sectors covered by the card.⁶¹⁸ It also says 2.7 million more overtime hours were declared in 2025 than in 2024.⁵¹⁴ Greek newspapers reported on 11 October 2026 almost 6.8 million overtime hours in the first eight months of 2026.⁹¹⁰

Key dates

• 2 June 2026: phase-1 sectors must use the card.¹
• 29 June 2026: phase-2 sectors must use the card.²
• 23 September 2026: interpretative circular 25291/2026 issued.³
• 12 October 2026: fines can be imposed on phase-1 sectors.¹
• 16 November 2026: fines can be imposed on phase-2 sectors.²³