Risk of widespread obsolescence social security system country, but also healthy entrepreneurship caused by its constant detour labor and insurance legislation by employers, mainly in the tourism industry, in many cases even with tacit acceptance of this practice and employees. Something that three employees of a hotel in Heraklion, Crete did not do, who, after consulting with the authorities, trapped their employer, who, paying them normally, then demanded that he be returned part of their salary. The businessman was detained on Thursday after receiving 500 euro pre-marked banknotes from a hotel employee.

According to complaints and in view of the obligation to comply with the collective labor agreement, the entrepreneur, as a rule, transferred earnings to the bank accounts of his employees, and then asked them for part of the money back, threatening that otherwise he would not give them back. necessary supporting documents to be submitted to UAED for unemployment benefits at the end of the tourist season.

The event – unprecedented in terms of the arrest of an employer for the Heraklion region – is not a lightning strike in the hotel industry. In fact, a study by the Panhellenic Federation of Hotel Employees (2020) characterizes as a very disturbing case that employees receive part of their salary in the hands, that is, “blacks”, both in the tourism and catering sectors. In fact, the study takes it one step further, indicating that in almost a third of these cases, mainly in the tourism sector, the concealment of the declaration of the amount is carried out with the consent or even with the proposal of the worker.

The study makes it clear that this phenomenon is difficult to analyze one-dimensionally. And this is because the tax and labor insurance legislation, with its very high non-salary costs and anti-social characteristics, wage cuts, the absence of control mechanisms and the gratuitousness of the insurance system create such conditions for labor consent. to the discretion of the employer.

Few believe that subsidizing the period of unemployment for seasonal workers discourages “legal” work.

Accordingly, it seems, according to representatives of hoteliers, how the mandatory conditions for obtaining a seasonal allowance work. There are many who believe that subsidizing the period of unemployment for seasonal workers acts as a deterrent to “legal” work beyond the period that is mandatory as a condition for obtaining it. Compliance can be a tool to pressure employees, as was the case with an employer in Heraklion, Crete, who allegedly extorted employees in order to get back part of their legitimate wages. . This may be the maximum insurance limit that the workers themselves want in order to receive benefits and continue to work after that without appearing in the social security system.

big picture”

According to experts, as well as a study by the federation of hotel workers “Misconduct at work – A matter of public catering and tourism”, the improper functioning of the social protection authorities in our country is one of the main reasons for the increase in delinquency, with the consent of workers in certain cases.

It is significant that 26% of workers agree, because they believe that their deductions do not occur, and about half of the workers are shaky sure that in the future they will have a decent state pension (47%). One in three workers who practiced non-compliance said they agreed because they already had health insurance (32%), and 16% indicated that they already had other (parallel) economic activities. In practice, according to experts, this is a “vicious circle”, which, if not overcome, leads to permanent discredit of the institution of social security.

To this, they note, should be added low wages, which are largely the result of high non-wage costs. Characteristically, of the workers who agreed to the practice of non-compliance, half prefer to evade contributions and taxes in order to increase the direct income of their individual budget (55%), especially since the net percentage they collect is especially low (50%). As for long-term pensions, this is not currently being considered. The financial benefit often—for one in four workers—involves keeping seasonal benefits.