Unvaccinated healthcare worker will receive a 50% salary refund

The Tripoli Court of Appeal ruled that an unvaccinated health worker who was removed from his position under a law passed in 2021 should receive 50% of the salary for the period when he was not working.

The new decision was issued by the court, albeit only for 50% of the salary so far, and concerns an unvaccinated medical worker who was sent on forced leave without pay because he wanted to exercise his constitutional right to refuse vaccination. The Tripoli Administrative Court of Appeal ruled that the complainant should receive half of her net earnings during the suspension.

The Mitsotakis government has suspended almost 7,000 healthcare workers who refused to accept government-imposed mandatory vaccinations at a time of severe shortages of healthcare workers (especially low-level ones) in the country.

The paramedic’s lawyer, Alexandros Gouriotis, explained: “This is the decision of the Tripoli Administrative Court of Appeal, according to which an employee of the Corinth General Hospital, who has been suspended from work since 1/9/2021, due to a petition for temporary protection, will receive half of her net salary until as long as she is suspended from work. The law provides that while she is suspended from work, she will not receive a single euro, as is the case with all other medical workers who are suspended from work.”

Referring to the court’s findings, Guriotis said: “We are talking about interim relief, given the irreparable harm caused to this worker. She is an employee, a mother of four minor children with serious financial problems. The court considers that pending the outcome of her application for suspension from work, she is currently suffering irreparable financial damage as she is unable to meet her basic needs for the entire period while her application is being decided.

On the TV channel open also featured host Michalis Giannakos, who noted that, according to the Discipline Law on Civil Servants, “those who are suspended from work, even for criminal offenses, receive 50% of their salary”.

He noted that the legislators did not provide for them a single euro, and as a result they had a serious problem with their livelihoods. “And now a court decision has been made that justifies the health worker. The Ministry of Health must show courage,” he noted and repeated that the suspension of the work of medical workers should be canceled now that there are no restrictive measures. “Now that there are no measures, the ministry must take law to lift the suspension. It serves no purpose.”

This decision, if it is not overturned by higher judicial authorities, could become a big problem for the Mitsotakis government, as now the courts will be flooded with lawsuits from injured medical workers. It is worth noting that the Supreme Administrative Council of Greece (Supreme Court) is considering several lawsuits under these laws, which directly indicate violations of the Constitution and other previously adopted laws of Greece by laws adopted during the 2020-2022 coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, the Supreme Administrative Council of Greece has already rejected such claims several times or recognized the effect of laws as constitutional. The applicants then submitted their applications to the European Court.

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