Digital Work Card: extension to 500,000 workers

The Ministry of Labor announced on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the extension of the full implementation of the Digital Work Card to approximately 500,000 additional employees through two successive phases. The first phase takes effect on October 12, 2026, and covers human health activities, employment support activities, telecommunications, hairdressing and beauty and dry cleaning services, as well as building and outdoor space maintenance services. The second phase begins on November 16, 2026, and concerns consulting and advertising activities, repairs, storage and transport/logistics, water supply and wastewater treatment, as well as gambling. According to the ministry, “This extension covers approximately 500,000 additional employees.”

The Digital Work Card is an electronic work schedule recording system, through which the start and end of employment are reported in real time, as well as any overtime work. Its implementation has been gradually extended in recent years to successive economic sectors, with the aim of unified electronic monitoring of work time for employees. With the new extension announced on September 23, 2026, the system will now cover sectors that until now had not been included in its full implementation, expanding its field of application to new categories of businesses and employees. Alongside developments in the Digital Work Card, the ministry has recently undertaken other interventions affecting employees and retirees, as recorded in the article EFKA-DYPA: payments of 1.39 billion euros.

For first-phase businesses, namely human health units, employment support businesses, telecommunications companies, hairdressing and beauty and dry cleaning businesses, as well as building and outdoor space maintenance companies, inclusion in the Digital Work Card from October 12, 2026, entails an obligation to electronically report the working hours of their employees. Similarly, consulting and advertising businesses, repair businesses, storage and transport/logistics companies, water supply and wastewater treatment businesses, as well as gambling businesses are included from November 16, 2026, in the second phase of the extension. These are sectors with different employment characteristics, from health and services to transport, advertising, and gambling, which are now added to the overall sectors that fully implement the system, according to the ministry’s announcement.

Ahead of October 12, 2026, first-phase businesses are called upon to have adapted their procedures so they are able to electronically report the working hours of their employees from the first day of implementation. Corresponding preparation should be completed by second-phase businesses by November 16, 2026, so that the transition to full implementation of the Digital Work Card is completed without problems in the new sectors. The ministry has not announced, beyond these two dates, additional details on how implementation will work per sector. During the same period, other administrative developments affecting a large number of citizens are also recorded, as in the case of students, with the article Transfers: student applications opened recording the opening of related applications.