Filenews 2 August 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
Finally, the disruption in the middle of the summer season regarding the employment of asylum seekers is avoided, as the change that would have been in force since yesterday, August 1st, is finally extended and will take effect on October 1st, as repeatedly requested by employers' organizations, mainly OEB.
According to a previous decree of the former Minister of the Interior, in order for an asylum seeker to be legally employed, nine months should have passed (with effect from August '23) from the date of submission of his asylum application.
As a result, even asylum seekers who were already working could be considered working illegally if the nine months had not passed.
We note that the practice that has been in force for some years gives the right to employ asylum seekers, in the areas that are of course allowed and which are determined by another decree, just one month after the submission of the asylum application.
In order to avoid disruption but also not to increase the need for labor during the summer, as employers were worried, with a new decree issued by the Minister of the Interior just last Friday, that is, at the last five minutes of the implementation of the changes, the provision for nine months has been extended and will finally be implemented on October 1. instead of 1 August.
The decree was issued after consultation with the Minister of Labour.
OEB informed its members about the issue already on Friday, since the access of asylum seekers to the labor market was of great concern to the business world.
According to a relevant circular of OEB, while with a previous decision of the Minister of Interior, asylum seekers from 1/8/2023 would have access to the labor market 9 months from the date of submission of their application for international protection, with the Decision date. July 28, 2023, the Minister of Interior postpones the effective date of the above change to 1/10/2023.
"As a result, asylum seekers will have access to the labor market 9 months from the date of submission of their application for international protection from 1/10/2023," informs OEB, which had initially requested that the changes take effect in the new year.
Asylum seekers can only be employed in areas listed in the ministerial decree of date. 4/10/2021.
These sectors concern, among others, agriculture, processing, trade, the provision of services as distributors of advertising / information material and distributors of ready meals, as well as in hotels and the food industry as kitchen assistants and cleaners, but also as distributors of ready meals.
