Digital Job Card: Everything you need to know

The Labor Advisor & General Manager of 𝐄𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐑, Vassilis Prassas reveals the latest developments for the Digital Work Card!

From the data received so far by the Epsilon Net group, which currently serves the vast majority of the market in payroll and timekeeping systems, the following conclusions emerge until the end of January:

Industries: The level of preparation is close to 95% and the number is even higher especially for large companies and groups. It is clear that by April the coverage will be close to 100%.

Retail: The level of preparation is <40%, although we are seeing more and more adaptation every day. It is almost impossible to complete the preparation of retail businesses by the beginning of May and it is something that the leadership of the Ministry seems to understand.

THE 5 POINTS OF WORRY OF THE EMPLOYER

1. ORPHAN HIT

What happens when there is no start or end marking in the card system?

• For these employees, the declared digital time is presumed to be the start or end of employment. However, in cases of systematic such omissions, an on-site inspection is carried out and there is a serious risk of a fine.
• In the event of an on-site inspection, if an employee is found without a card marking, the fine may reach up to €10,500

Comment: In some electronic checks by the S.E.P.E., fines have been imposed without an on-site check. Here, the position of the Ministry of Labor is different, as a necessary condition for the imposition of any fine is the proof of the violation, something that can only be proven in an on-site inspection.

2. EXCEEDING START - END HOURS

With the data so far, dozens of checks have been carried out by the S.E.P.E., where minor overtimes, due to entering a few minutes earlier or leaving later, are "charged" as overtime.

How are employee strikes dealt with earlier than the starting time according to the instructions of the S.E.P.E.?

• The time marked on the card must agree with the declared time of starting work and the actual working time must be recorded on the card.
• If the employee arrives a little earlier than the start time, the marking of the card MUST be done at the start time of the employment, as the working time has been declared in the organization. It is clear that, during this time and until the card is marked, the employee must not be employed.

Comment: Dozens of market players have requested the leadership of the Ministry of Labor to provide a practical solution to this major issue, which is a common daily occurrence in businesses. Thus, it is being considered by the Ministry to give a minimum tolerance period (eg 15 minutes – 30 minutes), where this time is not counted as overtime, especially when this time is required to prepare to take up or leave work.

3. WORK OF SHORT DURATION THAN THE STATED HOURS

The audit does not consider (nor does it deal with) whether the duration of employment resulting from card hits is shorter than the declared hours.

• E.g. drivers, salesmen, external employees, distributors, employees with a mixed work system (eg an accounting employee who will come later because he went to the tax office).

Indicative example:

An employee has an external appointment with a client (stated working hours 08:00 to 16:00) and comes to the office at 11:00. It is noted that from 08:00 to 11:00 he has worked outside the employer's office. The work card normally applies to him and for that particular day he will have a knock (entry) at 11:00, he will start work at the premises of the business, after the external appointment with a client, and he will finish his work at the premises of the business having punched the card with an exit (expiration) time of 16:00.

4. WORK WITHOUT PRE-DETERMINED PRESENCE AT THE EMPLOYER'S PREMISES

The obligation to mark a card only exists for the hours or days of physical presence, even if these are not fixed or occur occasionally. When the employee does not come to the physical premises of the employer at all, he will not be required to punch a card.

Comment: According to information received by some employers' organizations from the Ministry of Labour, there may finally be an obligation to use a digital card for workers employed in "shop in a shop" situations.

5. WHO PUTS THE DIGITAL CARD

Is the employer allowed to tap the – digital – cards of his employees?

According to the directive of the Ministry of Labour:

The marking of the digital work card is the sole obligation of the employee and cannot be substituted in any other way by the employer, even though the employer himself is responsible for its correct use.

Comment : We're seeing apps and tools popping up for employers to "tap" their employees' cards. It is clarified that such a thing – as a general guideline – is extremely dangerous and illegal and the fine for such a violation is €10,500/employee. S

THE 3 STEPS FOR THE CORRECT APPLICATION OF THE DIGITAL CARD

Step ¹ : The employer provides the employee with a unique code (qr code) for marking a card (on a watch, tablet, smartphone) and at the same time acquires a working time recording application that is connected to each timekeeping terminal.

Step ² : The employee punches his "card" at each entrance and exit from his workplace and automatically these digital card markings are sent - through the employer's time recording application - to the Ergani Information System.

Step 3 ^o : The employer's time tracking application should communicate online with the payroll application (either with an internal accountant or an external accountant) to send all the card details, so that:

a) to match the card details with the employees' declared hours, because it is forbidden to have any deviations and

b) to calculate the salary of the employees based on the actual (and recorded) work.

THE 2 TOOLS THAT PROVIDE INSURANCE TO THE EMPLOYER

1. THE ACCOUNT STATEMENT OF HOURS & OVERTIME

How and why does the "Accounting Statement" of the digital time protect employers from penalties?

With the new method of submitting digital timetables which - from 1/7/3024 - will be done by the end of the following month from the markings of the digital card.

Thus, the employer will not risk being penalized for cases where the initial declared hours of the employees do not match the markings on the card. At the same time, he will not be obliged to report every overtime that he often knows about, nor can he predetermine its time. He will also not be required to demonstrate any need for extraordinary additional employment.

2. THE EMPLOYER-ACCOUNTANT CONNECTION AS A "WAY" TO ENSURE CORRECT USE

The key point for the correct operation of any business in terms of the digital card, but also the digital time sheets, overtime and leaves that are usually submitted by the accountant is the connection of the company's time recording application with the payroll application (the accountant's or the internal accounting).

So, to the question of whether a stand-alone time tracking application can cover the digital card, the answer is YES, but it is definitely not a safe and appropriate solution.

• The stand-alone application does not cover the Digital Timesheet Statement, which is an extremely critical action for the convenience of the accountant and the security of the employer, given the obligation to match the Digital Timesheet with the Digital Card.
• The stand-alone application does not draw data from the payroll application and therefore the data it can draw directly from PS ERGANI for card hits may be incomplete. E.g. in split hours the P.S. TOOL stores only the last entry and the last exit of the worker. Also, it is noted that there is no certified automatic interconnection procedure with the P.S. TOOL, as no API is provided.
• An automated process of correct and legal payroll calculation cannot occur, as the job entry process (by the accountant) will be done manually with a number of different files.
• The stand-alone application does not receive any online information about hiring / leaving employees, while no automated information about any changes in their hours is generated.
• Finally, it is emphasized that the autonomous process of collecting card markings very soon (within 2025) will not be able to provide all the necessary information to the payroll application, which will be highly necessary for the correct control of the pre-filled A.P.D. which will result from the Ministry of Labour.