Labor Minister approves direct deposit of layoff compensation by employers

Private sector employers laying off staff must deposit compensation directly in their employees' bank accounts, following an order signed on Wednesday by Minister of Labor Effie Achtsioglou.

A 2016 law had obliged employers to pay their staff wages through direct deposits. The new order obliges them to extend the regulation to redundancy payments, and includes the same obligation by the employer to list what the payment is for and the time period it covers.

"This legislation contributes to the protection of workers' fundamental rights and to the fullest control of employers' obligations in terms of wage payments and social security contributions," a ministry statement noted.