The Hellenic Labour Inspectorate is an independent administrative authority aiming to ensure the application of labour legislation, inspecting for, on the one hand, the labour rights and, on the other hand, the safety and health of the workers. In addition, the Labour Inspectorate is responsible for investigating, alongside and independently of the social security institutions, the statutory insurance coverage of the employees, playing a significant role in tackling undeclared work in Greece.
The Hellenic Labour Inspectorate is mainly focusing on the following objectives:
- To improve the labour relations, and the safety and health conditions at work, through inspections regarding the labour law provisions application.
- To reconcile employers with employees in cases of disputes.
- To inform employees and employers regarding the labour provisions.
- To investigate the employees’ insurance coverage and the legality of their employment.
- To impose the prescribed sanctions in the context of its repressive action.
The Hellenic Labour Inspectorate was re-established as Independent Authority by Law 4808/2021, PART V “Establishment of Labour Inspectorate Independent Authority” (Α΄101). The commencement of its operation was defined by the no. 67759/2022 Decision of Labour and Social Affairs Minister (Β΄3795), per the provisions of article 85 of Law 4954/2022 (Α΄136).
The Hellenic Labour Inspectorate is functionally independent with administrative and financial autonomy and is subject only to parliamentary supervision, per the provisions of the Parliament Procedure Rules. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, in exceptional circumstances, may provide strategic proposals and instructions to the Labour Inspectorate regarding the implementation of governmental policies in matters within the competence of the Labour Inspectorate without, however, exercising hierarchical control or supervision. In parallel, the Labour Inspectorate, through its Governor, recommends to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs legislative provisions on issues that fall within the scope of its competencies and periodically provides information with aggregated data about its work.
The management bodies of the Labour Inspectorate are the Governor and the Management Council, enjoy personal and operational independence in performing their duties, and are not subject to hierarchical control or administrative supervision by government bodies or other administrative authorities. The Management Council members and the Governor of the Labour Inspectorate inform the Institutions and Transparency Committee of the Parliament, per the provisions of the Parliament Procedure Rules, on issues related to the competencies of the Labour Inspectorate.
According to article 85 of Law 4954/2022 (Α΄136), upon the commencement of its operation, the organizational structure of the Labour Inspectorate remains the one defined by the PD 134/2017 “Organization of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity” (A’ 168) foreseeing two fields of operation, the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection (OSH) and the Labour Relations Inspection (LR). Its territorial competence extends throughout the whole Greek territory, and its substantive responsibilities are exercised by its Central and Regional Offices.
