Filenews 27 August 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic and immediately after the ongoing war in Ukraine, which led to a sharp rise in inflation and especially energy costs, were paid last year with their jobs by 3,519 workers, who were put out of the labour market.
Of these, however, only 2,529 saw their applications approved by the competent authorities, for a sum of €30.5 million. for damages.
Due to the adverse economic conditions recorded last year in many companies, mainly due to the increase in operating expenses but also the cost of borrowing, many of them chose to reduce labour costs, through the redundancy of part of their staff, in order to be able to get back on their feet.
And many purges
Besides, according to data from the Insolvency Department, dozens of businesses closed last year due to the difficulties they faced. Specifically, 1,772 companies proceeded to voluntary liquidation. It is possible that some of the redundancies made in 2022 are linked to the liquidation of the businesses in which they worked.
Not like then...
Although in 2022 staff redundancies did not reach the very high levels of 2013 and 2014, when thousands of workers paid the bride of the deep economic crisis, the number of those deemed redundant last year is the second highest number since 2017. That year, the cost of surpluses for the state was lower, reaching €28 million. In 2022 the state (the Redundancy Fund, to be precise) paid more in compensation (€30.5 million), as the maximum amount paid increased to €56,232, from €52,662 in 2017.
Each year the maximum amount of redundancy payment paid is differentiated. It is recalled that the maximum payment amount is calculated as the maximum number of weeks of compensation, which is 75.5, multiplied by the maximum amount of weekly remuneration taken into account for payment, which is four times the weekly amount of basic insurable earnings.
The sectors affected
According to data from the Ministry of Labor, most of the redundancies in 2022 occurred in the wholesale and retail trade sectors, as well as construction. In detail, the redundancies were made as follows:
– 713 workers have been made redundant by the wholesale and retail trade sector, in particular by the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Of these, 556 have been approved for compensation, while the rest have been rejected. The total payments made by the state for this category reached €6.1 million. The average amount transferred to each applicant's bank account was €11,017.
Another 661 construction workers were considered redundant by their employers. Of these, however, only 520 will receive redundancy compensation, as 141 persons had their applications rejected. The total expenditure paid by the state last year to the 520 surpluses from the construction sector was €3.8 million. The average amount corresponding to each applicant was €7.352.
– A total of 497 employees from the accommodation and services activities have been made redundant in 2022. The redundancy application was approved for 398 of them, with the state paying them total compensation of €5.7 million. The average amount corresponding to each applicant was €14.392.
– From the manufacturing sector, 295 employees have been surplused, of which 225 have been redundant. The Redundancy Fund paid total damages of €4.3 million. It is worth noting that the average amount for each applicant corresponded to €19.416. This is the largest amount of compensation per applicant, of all professional categories.
Another 287 workers employed in scientific and technical activities were left without work in 2022. The applications of 199 employees were approved, who received total compensation of €2.1 million. That is, the average amount corresponding to each employee from this professional category was €10.718
234 persons working in the transport and storage sectors were also considered redundant last year. However, only 135 applications were approved. The state paid a total amount of €1.4 million, with the average amount per employee reaching €10,559.
– In the field of information and communication, a total of 131 employees have been surplus with employers' decisions in 202 2, but 106 of them have beenapproved so far. The total compensation paid to them by the state amounted to €1.8 million. The average amount corresponding to each employee in this sector was €17,211.
– From financial and insurance activities, 121 employees have been redundant and 99 have been approved for compensation. Total compensation paid was just under €1 million. The average amount per employee was 10,218.
90 workers from service activities went out of work through redundancy in '22. Of these, 75 have already received compensation from the state. The total cost of compensation was €1.3 million. The average amount of redundancy for each employee in this category was €17,483.
– 186 employees have been redundant from administrative and support activities. What is striking is that not even half of the redundancy applications have been approved, at least for the time being. Just 67 applications have been approved by the Ministry of Labor. The total expenditure for the state was €517 thousand, while the average amount corresponding to each employee was €7,720.
At €700 million the reserve of the Redundancy Fund
According to data from the Ministry of Labour, on December 31, 2022, the reserve of the Redundancy Fund had reached €691.7 million. From the beginning of 2023, the reserve increased by approximately €70 million.
The reserve is created through the contribution paid by employers. The contribution is 1.2% of the remuneration received by each employee, up to a ceiling set each year.
Within ten years, that is, from 2012 to 2022, the state paid to about 50,000 employee redundancy compensation, amounting to €480.5 million
Specifically:
– In 2022, 2,529 employees have been redundant, receiving an amount of €30.5 million.
– In 2021, the state granted an amount of €22 million. in redundancy, for 2,220 persons. – In 2020, an amount of €18.2 million was paid. 1,681 employees have been given €2019.19 million in 9. for a redundancy of 1,994 employees and in 2018 the state paid €17.4 million. to 1,930 employees.
– In 2017, 2,583 redundancy applications were approved, at a cost of €28.1 million. and in 2016 an amount of €52 million was paid. to 4,558 employees. In 2015, €49 million was donated. In 2015, an amount of €411.2014 million was paid to 99,5 persons. In 2012 an amount of €54.4 million was paid. to 5,219 employees.
