The European Commission has referred Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), concluding that the country has failed to bring its legislation into full compliance with EU rules prohibiting discrimination against fixed-term workers.
In a decision announced Wednesday, the Commission said Greek law continues to provide less favorable employment conditions for fixed-term teachers in public schools than for their permanent counterparts, particularly regarding maternity leave and sick leave. It argues that the differences violate the EU’s Fixed-Term Work Directive (Council Directive 1999/70/EC), which requires equal treatment unless objectively justified.
The infringement procedure began in July 2024 with a formal notice to the Greek state, followed by a reasoned opinion in May 2025. According to the Commission, the explanations submitted by the Greek authorities failed to address its concerns, prompting the referral to the EU’s highest court.
The directive establishes a common framework across the European Union to prevent the abuse of successive fixed-term contracts and to ensure that employees on temporary contracts are not treated less favorably than permanent staff performing comparable work without objective justification.
The case centers specifically on employment rights for substitute and other fixed-term teachers in Greece’s public education system, an issue that has generated repeated criticism from teachers’ unions, which have argued that temporary educators perform the same duties as permanent staff while receiving fewer employment protections. The Commission concluded that Greece’s legal framework remains incompatible with EU law despite the government’s response during the infringement process.
The referral follows a two-year dispute between Brussels and Athens over the treatment of temporary teachers. When the Commission opened infringement proceedings in 2024, the Greek government defended the existing framework, arguing that the differences in employment conditions were justified by the nature of fixed-term appointments and the structure of the public education system.
However, after reviewing Greece’s response and subsequent explanations following its reasoned opinion in 2025, the Commission determined that those arguments did not objectively justify the unequal treatment and proceeded with the referral to the CJEU.
