Filenews 18 October 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The Ministry of Finance has revised the bill on teleworking in the public sector, in order to remove the reservations in relation to the responsibility for safety and health in the event of an accident during teleworking.
In the previous discussion of the bill in the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, the issue of who will be responsible in relation to the safety and health of the employee during teleworking, that is, either the employer or the employee, was raised as a pending issue.
According to the revision of the bill, the employee will ensure that his teleworking space is suitable for the unhindered and efficient performance of his duties, as required by the guidelines that will be issued.
Also, the provision was removed from the bill according to which the appropriate instructions will be given to employees and employees to take preventive and protective measures to reduce or even eliminate the risks during teleworking.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance will issue guidelines for the purposes of effective implementation of teleworking, which include instructions to employees and employees to take preventive and protective measures to reduce and eliminate risks.
As it was said in Parliament, the employee should have a suitable space for teleworking, adding that a text will be given with instructions in relation to safety and health to prevent accidents.
In addition, in a letter to the members of the Finance Committee, the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Maria Christofidou, agreed with the revision of the bill.
He also emphasizes that the consultation with the Department of Public Administration and Personnel in relation to the manual for the regulation of teleworking has also proceeded, while the submission of the data protection impact assessment to the European regulation has also been launched.
On Monday, the regulations for the extension of flexible working hours and the reduction of working hours for specific civil servants will also be brought before the Finance Committee.
The three issues fall under flexible forms of work which aim to balance work and family life. The reduced hours are reduced and will vary between one and a half to two hours a day and essentially the beneficiaries will have to meet specific criteria.
Among other things, it will concern employees who are parents of children up to 15 years old, caregivers who provide personal care or support to a relative or a person who lives in the same household and is in need of care due to health problems, but also employees with disabilities or serious health problems. It is noted that the beneficiaries work part-time, the amount of the salary and the 13th salary will be reduced proportionally.
Finally, the flexible working hours are extended from the current one and a half hours to two hours and the configuration of the working hours to 7:00 a.m./9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. The legislation is expected to be brought to the Plenary Session within the month, as they are included in the prerequisites of the Recovery Plan for the disbursement of the next instalment.
