Annulment of Fines for “Undeclared Employment” by the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens

The Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, by its judgment no. A9187/2025, upheld an action lodged on behalf of our client, a hotel enterprise, and annulled two fines in the total amount of EUR 12,000.

The fines had been imposed following an on-site inspection by the competent Labor Inspectorate, on the grounds that a foreign national was allegedly employed as a waiter at the hotel without having been duly registered in the company’s personnel list and without possessing the requisite legal documentation authorizing employment in Greece.

The Court held that the inspection findings did not sufficiently substantiate the existence of an employment relationship between the enterprise and the person alleged to be an employee. It emphasized that the Labor Inspectors’ finding of employment constituted merely an assessment which was not supported by specific factual circumstances capable of corroborating that conclusion.

In particular, the Court found that the inspection report drafted by the Inspectors contained no clear references to specific tasks actually being performed at the time of the inspection which would be characteristic of the alleged capacity of an employee—such as, for example, serving customers, setting tables, or providing other services while wearing the appropriate work attire. Under these circumstances, it ruled that no infringement had been established and, accordingly, fines annulled.

According to the judgment, the mere presence of an individual at the workplace is not sufficient to establish a violation; a specific and adequately reasoned justification is required regarding the circumstances that demonstrate the provision of dependent employment.

This development highlights the importance of judicial protection against administrative sanctions that are not grounded in adequately substantiated factual findings.

As legal counsels to the enterprise, we consider this judgment to constitute a substantial vindication of our client and a confirmation of the correct application of the law by the Administrative Judiciary.