Greece is preparing to use remote work as a tool for regional employment, with Labour and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus announcing a new programme designed to help people living in mountainous, island and other isolated areas find jobs without having to leave their communities.
Under the planned scheme, the state will subsidise 90% of salary and social-security contributions for 12 monthswhen a company hires an eligible unemployed resident for a job that can be performed remotely.
The programme has been announced but has not yet opened for applications, with Kerameus saying its launch is a matter of weeks.
90% of Labour Costs Covered for One Year
Kerameus said the initiative is specifically designed to support areas where access to employment remains more difficult despite the broader decline in unemployment.
“We want to support regions that are mountainous, hard to reach and remote,” she said.
If a business hires an eligible unemployed person living in one of those areas for a remote position, “the subsidy will cover 90% of the salary and contributions for one year.”
The aim is to give employers a strong incentive to hire workers whose geographical location would otherwise restrict their employment opportunities.
Taking the Job to the Worker
The underlying idea is that a digital job does not necessarily require a worker to relocate to Athens, Thessaloniki or another major urban centre.
Kerameus used call centres as a simple example.
“Think about call centres. Does it matter whether you work from Kallithea or from Agrafa in Evrytania?”
The objective, she explained, is for someone living in a remote area such as Agrafa to have an employment opportunity while remaining in their home community.
The company could be located hundreds of kilometres away; the employee would work remotely.
Not Just for Technology Companies
Kerameus stressed that the programme is not designed exclusively for IT companies.
The key requirement is that the job itself can be performed remotely.
“It is for anyone who can employ someone remotely,” she said.
This could potentially include customer service, call centres, administrative support, back-office operations, digital services and other occupations that do not require a physical presence at the employer’s premises.
The final list of eligible areas and detailed conditions will be determined when the programme is formally launched.
Who Will Be Eligible?
Kerameus also made an important clarification: this is not a general relocation subsidy for someone who currently lives in Athens or Thessaloniki and wants to move to the countryside.
The worker must be unemployed and registered with Greece’s Public Employment Service, DYPA, in the relevant area.
“They must be registered with the employment promotion centre — DYPA — of that area, be unemployed and be registered there,” she said.
The policy is therefore targeted at people who already face employment constraints because they live in more isolated parts of the country.
Why the Subsidy Lasts 12 Months
The 90% subsidy is not intended to become a permanent state-funded wage.
It will run for one year, providing an initial incentive for the company to recruit the worker.
“Why for one year? To give them a push, and afterwards, obviously, if that employee has demonstrated their value, the employer will retain them,” Kerameus said.
The policy is designed to lower the initial cost and risk of recruitment while creating a path toward regular employment after the subsidy ends.
“I Am Interested in the People Behind the Records”
Kerameus linked the new targeted programmes to the substantial decline in Greek unemployment.
She cited unemployment falling from around 18% to 7.4%, close to the historical low referenced during the interview.
But she deliberately shifted the emphasis away from the headline number.
“I am not interested in records. I am interested in the people behind the records,” she said.
Her argument is that, as overall unemployment falls, employment policy can increasingly target the groups and regions where the remaining gaps are concentrated.
The Next Target: Women’s Employment
One such area is female employment.
Kerameus said that although female unemployment has fallen significantly, there is still room for improvement.
The government has therefore introduced a subsidised employment programme targeting 10,000 unemployed women, with particular emphasis on mothers.
For an eligible unemployed woman, the subsidy can cover up to 70% of wage and non-wage costs.
For a long-term unemployed woman or a mother with a child aged up to 15, the subsidy can rise to 80%.
A Message to Mothers Returning to Work
Kerameus placed particular emphasis on women who temporarily left employment to raise their children and now want to return.
“We want to send a very clear message to all those women listening to us who stayed at home to raise their children and who want to take the step of returning to the labour market: we are here to support them.”
The programme does not impose a specific age limit on the woman beyond the general eligibility conditions. The enhanced subsidy for mothers applies where there is a child aged up to 15.
Up to 15 Months of Support
The subsidy under the women’s employment programme initially runs for 12 months, with the possibility of a further three-month extension.
Support can therefore last for as long as 15 months.
The programme covers both full-time and part-time employment, with the higher subsidy designed to make recruitment of women facing greater barriers to employment more attractive to employers.
What Happens When the Subsidy Ends?
One of the key questions surrounding subsidised employment programmes is whether jobs survive once government support ends.
Kerameus said the ministry tracks that outcome.
“Approximately two out of three are in employment one year later,” she said.
That figure was cited by the minister during the interview and should be treated as her description of programme outcomes unless accompanied by a detailed programme-by-programme evaluation.
Employment Support for the Over-55s
Kerameus also highlighted employment policies targeting older unemployed people.
The 55+ programme, unlike the private-sector schemes discussed above, creates subsidised positions through municipalities, regions and other public bodies.
According to the minister, around 40,000 people have benefited from the programme, while a new round has recently been introduced for approximately 8,000–8,500 additional positions.
From Falling Unemployment to Targeted Intervention
The broader policy shift outlined by Kerameus is significant.
As Greece’s overall unemployment rate declines, government employment policy is increasingly moving toward targeted intervention rather than relying only on broad-based schemes.
The focus is on groups where employment gaps remain: women returning to work, older unemployed people and residents of geographically isolated communities.
The planned 90% remote-work subsidy adds a new dimension.
Instead of requiring people in remote Greece to move to where the jobs are, the government wants to use technology to help bring the job to them.
For mountainous villages and isolated islands, that could turn remote work from a post-pandemic workplace practice into an instrument of regional employment policy.
Source: pagenews.gr