Greece Sets Unemployment Aid Terms for Thomas Cook-affected Staff

The Greek government announced this week, the requirements for unemployment benefits covering staff working at tourism enterprises impacted by the collapse of Thomas Cook last year.

In this direction, a joint decision signed by the ministers of tourism, labor, and finance was published in the government’s Diavgeia open data system revising the terms for OAED (Hellenic Manpower Employment Organization) unemployment benefits.

More specifically, employees who were otherwise eligible under OAED’s 100-day rule for subsidy, can now apply with 80 days of work.

Other terms include working in 2019 for companies or enterprises affiliated with Thomas Cook Group PLC, or who were employed in 2019 in companies whose value of taxable output in the 1 January 2019 – 30 September 2019 period exceeded 25 percent of the total value of output over the same period and their fixed contract expired or they were dismissed after 23 September 2019.

According to the decision, eligible parties will also receive benefits for an additional month, for a period of four months and five days. The extension also applies to those who have already applied for unemployment or are currently receiving OAED benefits.

The decision also sets the total sum allocated at no more than 4,050,000 euros: 50,000 euros for 2019 and 4 million euros for 2020.

The joint ministerial decision was signed by Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis, Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis and Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis.