The Digital Work Card is entering a new expanded phase, as its full implementation is being extended in two phases to an additional 500,000 employees, raising the total number of private sector salaried workers covered by the measure to approximately 2.5 million.
The expansion is accompanied by the new clarifying circular signed by the General Secretary of Labor Relations Nikos Milapidis, attempting to close critical pending issues in the practical implementation of the system, especially in sectors where work is not provided exclusively in one fixed location.
In fact, in order for the particularities of each sector to be taken into account, throughout the previous period there was extensive dialogue between the Ministry of Labor and representatives of the sectors to be included.
The data, of course, from the Ergani II system show that in the sectors that have joined the use of the digital card, there was a large increase in declared – legal overtime, on the order of 37% on average, with wholesale trade, administrative services, food service, and industry being among the top positions.
And as social security experts point out, there is still significant room for compliance. It is indicative that the +37% comes after a corresponding +80% between January – July 2025 and the same period in 2024.
The declaration of more overtime, whether due to the increase in employment or to employers' compliance, resulting in part of black, underdeclared, or undeclared work being brought into the open, also resulted in the increase of EFKA revenues by at least 500 million euros.
Part of these, according to the competent Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Thanos Petralias, was channeled into financing some of the measures announced at the beginning of the month by Prime Minister K. Mitsotakis from the podium of the 90th TIF.
The first phase of the digital card expansion, which started on a pilot basis on June 2 and is completed on October 11, concerns telecommunications, human health activities, excluding doctors, employment support, cleaning services, hair salons, beauty centers, and dry cleaners. Full implementation begins on October 12.
The second phase, which started on a pilot basis on June 29, moves to full implementation on November 16 and includes consulting and advertising services, repairs, logistics, water and wastewater management, and gambling.
The circular places particular emphasis on what exactly the Card records and clarifies that at the present stage it concerns working time with physical presence at the employer's premises or in a space that has been granted to the business for exclusive use.
The marking corresponds to the actual entry and exit and is linked to the declared and scheduled working hours in Ergani II. For employees who work exclusively remotely or are outside the premises for a justified reason, no “clocking” is required. On the contrary, when the employee is at the employer's premises, the obligation returns.
Also important is the clarification of responsibility. The employer is responsible for the proper operation and transmission of the markings to Ergani II, with a maximum delay of 15 minutes. The marking itself, however, is the employee's obligation and cannot be done by the business on their behalf. In continuous working hours, two clockings are provided for, and in split shifts four.
At the same time, up to three single clockings per month can be accepted as negligence, without this meaning that the employer may unilaterally impose leave or a reduction in pay.
Included in the same framework is also the option to choose a retrospective system for schedule changes and overtime. Businesses may choose to record changes after the fact, on the condition that the choice is made before the start of the month and the relevant entries are completed by the end of the following month. The system cannot be changed within the same month.
The expansion comes while the data from the implementation to date record a large increase in declared overtime, during the 7-month period January – July 2026, by approximately 1.5 million additional hours, compared to the corresponding period of 2025. It is, moreover, impressive that in the 7-month period of 2025 compared to the 7-month period of 2024, the corresponding data from the Ministry of Labor also showed an increase of 80% (or 1.5 million additional hours), within one year.
Overall, between January and July of the current year 5.7 million hours of overtime work were declared in the included sectors, approximately 1.54 million more than in the corresponding period of 2025, that is, an increase of 36.8%.
Wholesale trade shows an increase of 212.8% and is in first place. According to the data of the Ministry of Labor, from approximately 280,000 hours in 2025 to approximately 880,000 hours in 2026. The difference reaches 600,000 hours, constituting the largest absolute increase among the sectors examined.
They are followed by administrative and support activities, with an increase of 173%, from 27,769 to 75,760 hours, while in food service overtime increased by 67%, reaching 803,989 hours from 480,940 hours a year earlier.
A significant increase is also recorded in financial services, with an increase of 50%, in supermarkets by 48%, while tourism and retail trade show an increase of 20%.
Indeed, in tourism, the +20% comes after an exceptionally high rate in the period between the 7-month period of 2025 and the 7-month period of 2024, on the order of +728%. At that time, it was followed by the food service sector, with an increase of +301% on a seven-month basis.