Employment

General Information

Employment Law is a niche area of Kommatas & Associates. Given that, particularly in times of crisis, compliance with employment legislation is vital for every business, we have developed a highly experienced employment team able to address effectively all issues arising between an employer and an employee, on both a litigious and non-litigious basis.

In this context we regularly advise our employer-oriented client base on compliance with the laws and regulations in effect and assist them in finding practical solutions to problems they may face on an everyday basis as well as those arising from structural changes to their business.

Our legal services span from the initial engagement of all levels of employees to the termination of employment contracts. We also regularly undertake negotiations with trade unions, assist in the drafting of collective labour agreements and working regulations and advise our clients in the implementation of labour cost reduction programs, including collective redundancies and voluntary early retirement schemes. Finally, we have extensive experience in representing our clients before the Organization of Mediation & Arbitration, the Labour Inspectorate and courts of all degrees in employment related litigation.

In acknowledgment of our expertise in the area of Employment Law, we have been awarded the title of  “Greek Employment Law Firm” of the year 2010 by Corporate International Magazine and  of the year 2012 by Acquisition International Magazine.

• Work Highlights in the area of Employment Law

  Our recent work in the area of Employment Law includes the following:

  Union strike
  We acted on behalf of a large industrial company on a long lasting union strike. Our work included, inter alia, negotiating with the employees’ union and the Ministry of Labour and taking action to declare the strike illegal and abusive.

  Conclusion of a Collective Labour Agreement
  Our firm represented an association of international companies operating in Greece in the conclusion of a Collective Labour Agreement regulating the terms and conditions of employment of their approximately 500 employees. Our work for the matter included negotiating with the competent federation, advising on the legal framework of collective bargaining in Greece and drafting the text of the Collective Labour Agreement.

  Implementation of a labour cost reduction program
  Kommatas & Associates advised a bank in relation to the implementation of a labour cost reduction program, including the closing of branches, amendment and termination of employment contracts and a Voluntary Early Retirement (“VER”) program. Our VER work involved, inter alia, negotiating with the trade union, structuring the program and preparing the relevant documentation, as well as dealing with the issues which came up at the implementation stage thereof.

  Updating of conditions of service
  We advised two foreign embassies in Greece in updating and redrafting the terms and conditions of service of its locally engaged staff.

  Group insurance program litigation
  Our firm represented a foreign bank which no longer operates in Greece in a case brought against it by approximately 120 of its former employees. The case involved claims relating to a group insurance program which the bank abolished when it transferred its activities in Greece to another bank. Our most recent work involved successfully defending the case before the Supreme Court.

  Transfer of workforce
  We advised an international airline in the transfer of the entire workforce of its local branch to the local branch of another airline in the context of a merger between the two airlines.

  Labour Accident litigation
  Kommatas & Associates successfully represented a major Greek industrial company before the first degree Civil Courts in a 7 million Euro action for damages brought against our client by the family of a former employee who lost his life in a labour accident at the company’s premises.

  Transfer of Undertakings litigation
  Our firm defended a major Greek bank in a lawsuit filed against it by approximately 150 employees of one of its major contractors, who claimed that they had been transferred to the bank by virtue of the Transfer of Undertakings legislation. Our recent work on the matter involved successfully defending the case before the Supreme Court.

  Liquidation Lawyers
  We act as the liquidation lawyers of a large insurance company in relation to employment law claims brought against it by a number of its former officials.

  Ongoing co-operation with English Law firms and CEO association
  We co-operate on an ongoing basis with a number of English law firms as regards the Greek employment law matters which their clients face and we act as one of the three panel law firms advising members of an association of Chief Executive Officers of Greek companies in relation to employment law issues.