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European Employment Insights – October 2025

27 October 2025 | Insights

Professionals from Andersen, representing more than 18 different jurisdictions, have published the latest issue of Employment Insights, featuring the most significant updates in the field of Labor and Employment Law.

In a system that is constantly evolving and shaped by the comparison between different legal frameworks, understanding the rules governing employment relationships is essential. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the main provisions and the latest developments in employment law across various countries. It is a clear and concise tool designed to help companies navigate with ease through the ongoing changes in labor legislation.

Greece: A New Era with the Digital Labor Card

Magdalena Patryas, Partner at Andersen Poland, spoke this month with Anastasios Triantafyllos, Managing Partner at Andersen Greece, about the new challenges in labor law — specifically, the monitoring of working hours and the role of the new Digital Labor Card.

To address the issues related to the monitoring of employees’ working hours, the Greek government introduced the Digital Labor Card: an electronic tool integrated with the Ministry of Labor’s platform, allowing for accurate, real-time recording of working hours, including clock-ins, clock-outs, overtime, breaks, and leaves. Through this new system, employees can clock in using card readers installed in the workplace or through a mobile app that generates a QR code to be scanned by the employer’s system.

However, the adoption of this new system presents some challenges. Smaller companies must upgrade their technological infrastructure, while employers are required to monitor the proper use of the card to prevent misuse or technical issues, under penalty of administrative sanctions.

Despite some doubts and setbacks, the Digital Labor Card has already been introduced in several sectors, with encouraging results. Between January and July 2025, recorded overtime hours in the sectors where the system is active increased by 80% compared to the same period in 2024, exceeding 3.5 million hours. The largest increases have been observed in the tourism, hospitality, and retail sectors.

According to Anastasios Triantafyllos, these figures clearly demonstrate how much undeclared work existed before the introduction of the Digital Labor Card and how this system is helping to promote transparency, fair pay, and fair competition among businesses.

You can find the full contribution on page 6 of the newsletter.

Employment Law Updates in Italy

Uberto Percivalle, Partner at Andersen Italy and Head of the Employment and Labor Service Line for the country, discussed the most recent developments, including the law on the use of AI in certain sectors, the prospect of fair remuneration through collective bargaining agreements, leave entitlements for employees affected by cancer or chronic illnesses, the prohibition on collecting information from personal emails, and the latest updates on social security and pensions for workers in the sports sector.

Artificial Intelligence in Italian Law

On September 23, the Italian Parliament approved Law No. 132, aimed at transposing and aligning national legislation with EU Regulation 2024/1689, which promotes the use of artificial intelligence across various sectors, including labor and healthcare. Specifically regarding labor law, the legislation establishes an Observatory on the adoption of AI systems in the workplace, designed to promote training for both employees and employers on the use of AI.

The law also designates the AgID (Agency for Digital Italy) and the ACN (National Cybersecurity Agency) as the national competent authorities, responsible for overseeing and coordinating activities related to the implementation of the new rules.

Fair Wages through Collective Agreements

On September 26, 2025, the Italian Parliament approved Law No. 144, which defines the objectives to be pursued and the government’s delegated authorities for the implementation of substantive laws in the matter.

Among the objectives set out are: the identification of the most widely applied collective agreements for each category of workers; the establishment of an obligation, for suppliers and subcontractors in outsourcing relationships, to pay the minimum wage provided for in the most widely applied collective agreements; and the attribution to the Ministry of Labour of the power to intervene in cases where collective agreements are not renewed in a timely manner.

Leave entitlements for workers affected by cancer or serious chronic illnesses

Law No. 106/2025 grants workers affected by cancer or by disabling or chronic illnesses with a disability level of at least 74% the right to unpaid leave, in addition to the leave already provided for by the various national collective labour agreements (CCNL) and existing regulations, for a maximum duration of 24 months, which may be taken in shorter periods.

In addition to this measure, the law guarantees workers affected by cancer or disabling conditions the right to up to 10 hours of paid annual leave for medical appointments, examinations, or treatments.

The employer cannot access employees’ personal emails to prove a breach of the duty of loyalty

The Court of Cassation, in judgment no. 24204/2025, clarified that in cases concerning the legitimacy of an employee’s dismissal based on a breach of the duty of loyalty, any evidence collected in violation of the privacy of personal accounts — even if accessed through the company’s email system — is invalid.

This applies even when the investigation aims to demonstrate unfair competition: if there is no authorization, the employees have not been informed, or no agreement has been made with the works council, the employee’s email remains private.

Social security and pensions for sports workers

On September 22, 2025, the Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS) issued a set of guidelines concerning the implementation of the sports labor reform for both professional and amateur athletes.

The INPS also provided clarifications and guidance regarding pension funds for sports workers, the transition to the new regulatory framework, applicable contribution limits, the possibility of combining social security contributions paid into different funds, coordination with contributions paid to foreign social security institutions, and the various types of retirement.

European Employment Insights – October 2025

Greece: A New Era with the Digital Labor Card

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