Minimum Wage

General

In Greece, the minimum wage is 663.00 EUR per month effective from 1/1/2022, however, it is reported to increase again in May 2022.

Payroll

Payroll Cycle

The payroll cycle in Greece is generally monthly, and payments must be made on the same day of the month and no later than the last working day of the month.

13th Salary

According to Greek law, all employees in the private sector are entitled to two additional monthly salaries divided into 3 payments – Christmas (1 full monthly salary), Easter (half a monthly salary), and Vacation Bonus (half a monthly salary) and all the above bonus payments must be paid only in cash and not be paid in kind.
The payment of the Christmas Bonus must be made by December 21st. If the Christmas Bonus is not paid on time, the employees should apply to the relevant Labor Inspectorate. The Labor Inspectors of SEPE are responsible for the imposition of the relevant fines.

Working Hours

General

The standard working week in Greece consists of 40 hours a week, typically 8 hours a day for a five-day working week. The working week can be increased to 48 hours a week if agreed upon by the employer or employee.

Overtime

All work above standard weekly working hours is overtime regulated by employment contract or collective agreements. When an employee is requested to work overtime or work on holidays, the maximum is 48 hours per week inclusive of overtime over four months; there are also different maximum working hours for minors.

Overtime hours more than 40 hours a week and one additional hour per working day are paid at 120.00% of the employee’s basic salary rate for daytime hours and 125.00% of the employee’s basic salary for night-time work.

Working Week

Monday-Friday

Leave

Paid Time Off

Within the first year of employment, the employee is entitled to two days of holiday for each month of employment (20 days for the year for a five-day working week, 24 for a 6-day week).  Following completion of one year of employment, the holiday entitlement increases by one day for the second and third years of service to a maximum of 22 days for a 5-day working week and 26 days for a 6-day working week.

The holiday entitlement remains the same for each year until the employee has completed ten years of service when the number of days holidays increases to 25 days and 30 days, respectively.  This increases by one day once 25 years of service has been completed, to 26 days for a five-day week and 31 days for a six-day week.

Public Holidays

7 public holidays and 4 optional holidays.

Sick Days

Employees who provide a professional medical certificate within 48 hours are entitled to an amount of paid sick leave dependent on the number of years’ service completed.

• Employees who have completed between one and four years of service are entitled to one month paid sick leave.
• Employees who have completed between four and ten years of service are entitled to three months paid sick leave.
• Employees who have completed between ten and fifteen years of service are entitled to four months paid sick leave.
• Employees who have completed more than fifteen years of service are entitled to six months paid sick leave.
• Employees that are in the first year of employment are entitled to one month of paid sick leave, paid at 50% of the regular monthly salary.

Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to a maternity leave of 119 calendar days; this benefit is paid on the condition that the employee is not working during the 56 days before the due date and the 63 days following the birth of the child.

The employer pays the first month of the maternity benefit at 100% of the employee’s regular salary rate. From the second month onwards, the employer and e-EFKA pay the benefit at a rate of 50.00% each of the regular salary rate (corresponding to the insurance contribution class of the insured person), plus payment of child benefit for each child.  There is also a Supplementary maternity allowance payable from the second month of an amount equal to the difference (if there is any) between the salary rate paid by the employer and the maternity benefit.

For any employees that are not insured, a standard maternity benefit of 220.10 EUR is paid.

Paternity Leave

In Greece, an employee is entitled to 2 days of paid paternity leave.

Parental Leave

Parental leave is available to any parent having completed one year of service, equal to four months (continuously or intermittently, as agreed with the employer) until the child reaches eight years old.

Childcare leave is available for 30 months after birth or adoption, entitling an employee to a reduction in the daily working hours by 1 hour (paid) or 18 months of a reduction of 2 hours in the daily working hours during the first 12 months. This reduces to 1 less working hour in the remaining six months or 3.5 months of paid leave taken in one period.

Other Leave

Depending on the Collective Agreement/Employment Contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, on approved between the employer and employee, for the following:

• Marriage Leave: employees are entitled to up to five paid days when getting married.
• Bereavement Leave: employees are entitled to paid leave of 2 days due to the death of a member of the immediate family.
• Caretaker Leave: Each employee having completed six months of employment with the employer is entitled to 5 days paid leave for taking care of a relative or other person living in the same home with the employee
• School Leave: For every child up to 18 years of age that attends school, both parents (full time or part-time employees) may be absent from work (without any deductions from their salaries and upon their employers’ permission) for some hours or a full day and up to four working days per year.
• Leave in case of sickness of dependent family members: Employees are entitled to a maximum of six days’ unpaid leave per year (used continuously or intermittently) if a child or other dependent member of their family is sick. The days are increased to eight if the employee has two children and 14 if the employee has three or more children.

Termination

Termination Process

The termination process varies according to the employment agreement and collective agreement in place and based on the type of contract and reason for termination.  To terminate an employee on an indefinite contract, an employer must provide a written notice of termination, and the employee must have been registered with the Unified Social Security Fund (EFKA).

Notice Period

Collective agreements may contain provisions on notice periods. If the notice periods in the collective agreement differ from the statutory periods of notice. In that case, the employer and the employee must observe the periods of notice laid down in the collective agreement.

The amount of notice is dependent on the length of service and reason for termination.  If the contract is terminated by the employer, the notice period is as follows.

• Employees with between 1- and 2-yearsyears’ service -1-month notice period
• Employees with between 2- and 5-yearsyears’ service – 2 months’ notice period
• Employees with between 5- and 10-yearsyears’ service -3 months’ notice period
• Employees with more than 10 years’ service – 4 months’ notice period

Severance Pay

The amount of severance is based on the length of the employee’s service and ranges from one to six months of wages. The severance payment is doubled if the employer does not provide the required notice.

Probation Period

In Greece, the first year of an indefinite contract is considered a probation period.

VISA

VISA

Non-EU employees must acquire a Type D visa before arriving in Greece, allowing employees to stay in Greece for over 90 days to work.   Once an employee has arrived in Greece, they must apply for a residence/work permit within 30 days at the local municipal office or police station. Work permits typically last one year, and any work permit renewal must be done at least 60 days before its expiration.

Business visitors to Greece typically use a local version of the Schengen C Visa unless they are visa-exempt. The Schengen Area limits stay to 90 days in 180 days. Business visits must generally be limited to a few days; Greek authorities determine the exact duration of stay on a case-by-case basis.

The main work authorization categories are the Installation of Equipment Visa, suitable for short-term installation, testing, and maintenance of supplied items by technical staff under a service agreement; the Work and Residence Permit for Senior Employees, suitable for long-term work and residence under a local employment contract; the EU Blue Card, suitable for highly skilled local hires; and the EU Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) Permit, ​suitable for intra-company transfers of managers, specialists or trainees from outside the European Union.​

VAT

General

The standard rate of VAT in Greece is 24%.