Planning for summer vacations in the private sector is in full swing, with employees and businesses implementing on a large scale for the first time the changes introduced by the Kerameos Law regarding the granting of annual leave.
Although the right to leave and the number of days each employee is entitled to remain unchanged, the new framework substantially alters how leave can be allocated throughout the year.
The key innovation concerns the possibility of dividing annual leave into up to four different periods, following an agreement between the employee and the employer. This is a significant change from the previous system, where leave was generally granted as a single block and splitting it up was an exception that required specific conditions.
New Framework
The new regulation aims to adapt the labor market to the modern needs of employees and businesses. An employee can now choose to take a large portion of their leave in the summer and save the remainder for other times of the year, such as the fall, the Christmas holidays, or even periods of increased family obligations.
A typical example is an employee entitled to 20 days of leave, who can take ten days in August, five days in October, and another five during the December holiday season. In this way, leave is transformed from an exclusively summer entitlement into a tool for better work-life balance throughout the year.
However, this flexibility is not unlimited. The legislature has maintained safeguards to protect the purpose of the leave, namely the employee’s actual rest. For this reason, each portion of the leave must have a minimum duration of five consecutive working days for those working a five-day week and six consecutive working days for those working a six-day week.
This means that regular leave may not be taken in the form of individual days, such as one day each week or consecutive Fridays during the summer season. The rationale behind this regulation is that leave should ensure a meaningful break from work and not serve as a tool for sporadic absences.
The labor market
In the labor market, of course, concerns are already being raised about whether the new option to split up leave will work exclusively to the benefit of employees or whether, in certain cases, it will be utilized primarily by businesses to meet operational needs.
Especially in sectors with increased activity during the summer months, such as tourism, hospitality, and retail, market executives estimate that there may be pressure for employees to take only the minimum consecutive period required by law during the summer—five days in a five-day workweek or six days in a six-day workweek —and to spread the remainder of their leave over later periods of the year.
Although the law stipulates that vacation scheduling is based on an agreement between the employee and the employer, this summer is expected to reveal whether the increased flexibility will translate into more options for employees or serve as an additional personnel management tool for businesses.
It should be noted, however, that despite the changes, the fundamental principle of mutual agreement between employer and employee remains unchanged. The timing of leave continues to be determined by mutual agreement between the two parties, taking into account both the operational needs of the business and the personal needs of the employee.
One of the most important provisions of labor law also remains in effect: at least 50% of the employees of every company must take their leave between May 1 and September 30. This provision applies to all private-sector companies and is particularly significant in sectors with increased seasonal demand, such as tourism, hospitality, retail, and transportation.
The system linking the number of vacation days to an employee’s years of service also remains unchanged. At the same time, the fundamental principle remains in effect that regular leave cannot be replaced with monetary compensation, except in the event of termination of employment.
The Ergani System
The changes also extend to the administrative obligations of businesses. As of 2026, the requirement to pre-notify regular leave through the Ergani information system has been abolished—a process that for years placed a significant burden on human resources and accounting departments, particularly during the summer months.
Now, leave must be reported retrospectively, after it has been granted, and must be submitted within the following month. This change is expected to reduce administrative compliance costs for businesses and simplify personnel management.