With the passage of time, like other countries, Greece is also improving its efforts to attract more seasonal workers. Usually, seasonal work in Greece means a job for 6 months per year in agriculture, fisheries, hospitality, or hotel work. It is a temporary employment and dependent on the year’s season.
The most popular seasonal work visa in Greece belongs to the agriculture sector. In Greece, the seasonal work visa is also called an unskilled worker visa. The name of the visa describes the whole picture that seasonal work visas are only issued for a specific time period in the calendar year. The purpose of these visas is to manage the harvest or to cover food processing for specific fields like fruit picking and work on farms.
It is important that normally a seasonal visa does not provide permission to the workers to do another job at the same time or before or after their remaining time in Greece.
The holders of seasonal worker visas are provided a short time stay before the work is going to start and after its completion.
Seasonal work visa and employment contracts
One must keep in mind that the length of a seasonal work visa in Greece is only 6 months per year. Authorities also describe that they will provide seasonal work visas for seasonal jobs which are equal to the employment contract. The length of the contract is also 6 months.
The candidate should choose the employment very carefully because once they select they will not be able to change their job even after landing in Greece. All the employees and employers are arranged in specific categories, so the whole program is working in a proper system, job or employer will not be changed once selected.
Seasonal work visa job categories in Greece
Following are the famous industries in which seasonal work visas are provided in Greece:
- Agriculture,
- Fisheries,
- hospitality and,
- hotel work.
If you work in fishing, you can get a seasonal work visa for up to ten months each year. Here again, your visa will be linked to your employer and the work you are being invited to do. Though it is tough to find seasonal worker jobs online in Greece, but still the following portals could help:
- Economic and Social Council of Greece
- Greek Manpower Employment organization
- Greek regions for local employment on their territory
- Ministry of Shipping and Island policy
- Greek National Tourism Organization GNTO
- Refugee.info in Greece suggests these portals to look for jobs in Greece:
- Generation 2.0 Red (in English and Greek)
- Skywalker (in Greek)
- Kariera (in Greek)
- Vacancies in Greece (in English)
Where you can find jobs at NGOs in Greece
Greece’s agreement with different countries
According to “Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi”, Greece has announced seasonal visa agreements with Bangladesh, Egypt, and Albania. About 4,000 Bangladeshis each year when it was announced in 2022. Around 15,000 unregistered Bangladeshis already working in Greece were set to have their status legalized under the scheme, which was due to begin last year.
According to the agreement Bangladeshi seasonal workers in Greece will be permitted to work for 5 years, in this period, they are allowed to work for 9 months each year. For the remaining
3 months they have to exit Greece and re-enter the country for the next nine months of work. The employee must be aware of their workplace, and the employer has the right to offer training. The worker is expected to leave Greece at the end of 5 years.
Number of permits issued by Greece
Authorities announced the number of permits every 2 years and managed a number of employements for seasonal jobs country-wise and sector-wise.
The numbers vary by year. In some seasons more than 15,000 employments have been issued, sometimes only 5000, other times near 60000.
Requirements
Leaving the country for the required length of time every single year is very important and the visa of the applicant can be canceled if they overstay in Greece. The non-EU workers required certain visas to land in other EU countries from Greece, so the procedure is that the worker returns to his home country for the period he is not allowed to work. This is possible for those specific workers who do not wish to spend their money on a trip home.
The procedure for applying for a seasonal work visa
The seasonal work visa functions as under:
- The candidate will apply for his seasonal work visa at the Greek embassy/consulate in his home country. He will be required to apply for an employment visa to work in Greece.
- The administrative fees cost 150 euros but under the Bangladeshi scheme, it’s 120 euro for each applicant.
- The candidate will provide an ITA invitation letter to apply, which he will get from their employer. He will also provide a document of an Inland Revenue Declaration nothing the territory and owner of any livestock he will be working with.
- He will give 2 copies of the job contract signed and approved by the labor inspectorate. These contracts are required to describe the type and time length of the job as well as the applicant’s wages, which must not be less than the minimum salary for unskilled workers.
- He will provide proof of accommodation that will be given to him for a period of his contract and a social security deposit equivalent to 8 8-week contributions. In fisheries case, the employer has to pay a fee of 15 euros on the candidate’s behalf, as well as detailed personal information of the applicant, a certificate from the competent port authority mentioning where his boat is documented, the number of people permitted on the boat and the updates about the ship.
- The candidate will be issued a visa as the employer’s request is approved.
Unions and services
The candidate should know that benefits and health services in Greece are provided through the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY) based on the Unified Regulation of Health Benefits(EKPY).
When an applicant gets a job and insurance in Greece, he has to pay fifty days of insurance in the previous year of illness or in the previous 15 months prior he falling ill in order to select.
The owner should pay the employee wages if, after at least 10 days of work, he/she is prevented from working for a good reason that is not his/her mistake.
There are 2 main trade unions which function in Greece:
- GSEE
- ADEDY
What are the rights of a worker in Greece?
The candidate will require a complete contract to get his seasonal work visa in Greece.
The employers need by regulation to provide their and the applicant’s name, job category, and tasks, the date of the 1st day of the job, and the length of employment in the contract.
Everything must be neat and cleanly written in the contract describing points if the candidate or employer decides to terminate the employment early.
Employers must have a genuine justification for doing so and are needed to outline the premature termination process as well as the notification time and any payment that would be due. The candidate’s salary, part-time earnings, daily and weekly hours, and any common agreements must be included in the contract.
The length of legal working hours is 40 per week. In a 5-day working week. In the case of a 6-day working week, the worker must not be working more than 6 hours per day and he is entitled to a break of 40 minutes each day. If the worker works longer than the legal working hours, he is entitled to overtime. Employers can expect a worker to work up to 5 hours of overtime in 7 days or 8 hours if he is on a six-day per week. The hourly payment of a worker for the extra work should be increased by 20%. If he works over 45 hours per week for a 5-day week, or over 48 hours per week for a 6-day week, his hourly payment for those extra time periods should be increased by 40%.
Overtime and wages are only considered genuine if documented by the employer prior to a worker being asked to do it. Employees must get a break lasting not less than 30 minutes at least every 4 hours. Employers have no right to amass your breaks at the start or completion of his work. However break period is not a working time, so he will not be paid for the time he is on the break.
Expected salaries on a seasonal work visa in Greece
Salaries for seasonal jobs are not fixed in advance and are generally subject to consensus. in some cases, housing and food are provided as “non-wage benefits”. Salaries are considered from at least €620 to €4500 each month. Just like an employee working as a dishwasher in a restaurant or hotel might expect to get nearly €570 per month, while a worker doing a job as a barista might get €900 per month, and a cook may earn up to €1300 per month. The monthly income of a waiter may be €720. The salary of the workers should be issued into bank accounts.
Employers are required to make sure that workers are safe on the job and any equipment and training must be issued free of cost. Greece will provide pension and medical facilities if the worker has a complete and genuine agreement/contract. In the agriculture sector, some people still require insurance from their home country. These candidates must apply for an A1 PD and a European Health Insurance Card prior to departure. Authorities ensure to protection of seasonal employees in the tourism sector. They are allowed to reemployment the below given season if they apply for it and the specific time. Throughout the “dead period” when there is no maximum seasonal work, employees must be entitled to some kind of unemployment benefit issued by the Greek PES (OAED).
Files from infomigrant.net, visa-guru.com, and Umer Rasib.