Overtime

Bulgaria, part of the EU for nearly two decades, showcases a unique work-rest balance. Despite working more than the EU average, Bulgarians enjoy an average of 36 days off when national holidays are factored in, akin to Austria and Finland.

Due to the coincidence of December 25 and 26, 2021 with Saturday and Sunday, and January 1, 2022 with Saturday, the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays will be a total of three additional days.

Employers are required to pay a minimum double remuneration to employees who work on an official holiday, such as today's December 25, recalled by the Executive agency "General Labor Inspectorate".

The holidays are December 24, 25, and 26, and January 1, 2020 for New Year's Eve.

Greece's Labor Ministry is planning to crack down on employers using old and new tricks in order to dodge inspections and get away with breaking labor regulations.
The ministry will not only target employers who haven't registered their employees but also those under-report the hours they work.

The Sofia Municipal Council has adopted a three-year programme to increase the wages of public transport drivers by 10% annually, Focus News Agency reports. This has been agreed by Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, the trade unions and the directors of all Sofia public transport companies. The programme will start running in 2020.

For the tenth consecutive year, Bulgaria is the last in the European Union in pay of overtime work. In 2018 an average of 5.5 euros was paid for an extra hour of work, according to data from the European Statistics Agency Eurostat.

Olympiakos remained on top of the Euroleague with an overtime home win over Real Madrid, while Panathinaikos succumbed to a Zalgiris coached by its former star, Sarunas Jasikevicius.

The Reds triumphed 92-83 in 45 minutes on Friday, for their ninth win in 11 games.

There will be no ferryboat services to or from Corfu from Tuesday through 6 a.m. on Thursday as dockworkers on the Ionian island hold a 48-hour strike.

The members of the Aghios Spyridonas union said the action will be the first of several strikes being planned if their demands are not met.

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) will insist on a salary of at least BGN 700 for a young people who graduated university, and who are working in their specialty. Decent pay for overtime is also part of the demands of the unions for which they will fight during the national  protest on Friday, October 27.

A Labor Ministry bill expected to be voted into law next week will result in new obligations and binding timetables for all enterprises.

The majority of employer associations noted at the parliamentary committee meetings that the bill's provisions will increase rather than reduce the bureaucratic obstacles which hamper enterprises' everyday operations.