The Social Cooperative Enterprise in Greece: A Vehicle for the Social and Solidarity Economy

The Social Cooperative Enterprise (SCE) was introduced in Greece by Law 4019/2011 as a particular form of civil cooperative with an explicit social purpose. One issue that need to be addressed is that the necessity of a distinct management organ such as the executive board is not always obvious and could prove to be even counterproductive. Also, since a Social Enterprise is not a wealth maximizing vehicle for its members it is clear that the profits should not be distributed to them. Nevertheless the Greek law provides for the possibility to distribute up to 35% of the surplus to the workers, regardless of their member status.