COUNTRY

Written Agreements

According to Greece's labor law, only part-time contracts must be written. However, the employer is required to inform the employee of the following information in writing within 1 week from the beginning of the work:

• Names of the employer and employee
• Address (or principal place of business) of the employer
• Employment start date
• Place of work
• Job title and description for which the employee is hired
• Duration of any temporary or fixed-term contract
• Terms or conditions related to paid leave (other than sick leave)
• Notice period required
• The rate or method of calculation of remuneration concerning the relevant collective agreements affecting the terms and conditions of employment
• Frequency of wage payments
• Terms and conditions related to normal daily and weekly hours of work

As per Greek case law, restrictive contract covenants are valid if reasonable, and employers have a justified and unprotected professional interest. Such restrictions must be limited in duration, geographical area, and type of activity. Reasonable time is considered 1 to 2 years. The clause must apply to a specific kind of activity. Employees must be compensated for their commitment to avoid engaging in a particular activity.

Oral Agreements

In Greece, written employment contracts are not mandatory. The agreement of both parties is sufficient to establish an employment relationship. A contract can a written or verbal agreement based on which a certain person, called an employee, undertakes the obligation to provide their services for a certain or indefinite period of time to an employer, against an agreed monthly salary or daily wage.

Implied Agreements

Greece's labor law offers no provisions or guidance on implied contracts. The industry's best practice is to be cautious of implied contracts by frequently utilizing or adapting written agreements.

Greece's legal weekly working hours were set at 45 hours on a 5-day work week and 48 hours on a 6-day working week system. The legal daily hours were set at 9 hours, while during the 6-day period, it remained at 8 hours. Employees working greater than this number of hours are eligible for overtime. In 2023, the Greek parliament passed Law 5053/2023 that allows employers of companies operating 24 hours to unilaterally decide whether a worker should work for a 6th day. The law requires the employee to be paid 40% overtime for the 6th day.

Including overtime, an employee's working hours must not exceed 45 hours per week for employees on a 5-day workweek and 48 hours per week for employees on a 6-day workweek. The weekly working time of the employees may not exceed 48 hours on average over 4 months, including overtime. Minors under 16 or still at school cannot be employed for more than 6 hours per day or 30 hours a week. Persons between the ages of 16 and 17 cannot work for more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.

The minimum rest period in any 24-hour period must be at least 11 uninterrupted hours. Employees are entitled to a minimum uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours per 7-day period.

Telework must be agreed upon between employer and employee upon hiring or by amending the employment contract. Telework can also apply for public health protection or upon the employee's request in case of a documented health risk.

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In Greece, every employee on a fixed-term or a permanent contract is entitled to annual paid leave from the beginning of their employment. This leave is to be granted by the employer on a pro-rata basis, depending on how long that employer has employed the employee. The proportion is calculated based on 20 working days’ leave for a 5-working-day week or 24 working days’ leave for a 6-working-day week, corresponding to 12 months’ continuous employment.

The employer must grant the employee the correct proportion of the above regular leave by the end of the first calendar year in which the employee was hired. During the second calendar year, the employee is entitled to take regular paid annual leave in portions, according to the length of service. During leave, the employee is entitled to their normal pay and benefits. Leave is increased by 1 working day for each year of employment, beyond the first year, up to 26 working days or up to 22 days if the employee operates on a 5-working-day week basis.

During the third and subsequent calendar years, the employee is entitled to take all their annual leave at any time during the year.

Greece's labor law grants employees monthly, long-term sick leave for a maximum of 6 months, as follows:

• 1 month for employees who have worked for up to 4 years
• 3 months for employees who have worked for more than 4 years but less than 10 years
• 4 months for employees who have worked for more than 10 years but less than 15 years
• 6 months for employees who have worked for more than 15 years

In addition, employees are entitled to short-term unpaid sick leave for up to 8 days per year. An employee must have a medical certificate to take more than 2 continuous leave days.

The sickness benefit is 50% of the employees' salaries. The employer must pay at least half the wages for the first three days of sick leave. The Social Security Institute of Greece pays the rest of the benefits.

According to Greek labor law, the duration of maternity leave is set at 17 weeks for private-sector employees. Of this 17 week period, 8 weeks must be granted to the worker before confinement and 9 weeks after confinement. If the worker gives birth prematurely, the remaining maternity leave is to be granted after confinement, so that the maternity leave amounts to a total of 17 weeks.

During maternity leave, employees are paid 100% of earnings by the state social insurance fund, up to a cap set by the social insurance fund. To receive full maternity benefits, the mother must have worked 200 working days during the previous 2 years. After the basic maternity leave, mothers are entitled to another special leave of 6 months, during which time the state will provide a benefit equal to the statutory minimum wage.

Greek labor law grants male employees a paid paternity leave of 14 days upon their child's birth. This leave is granted in whole or in part according to the employee's request as follows: either a) the employee receives 2 days leave before the expected date of delivery, in order to meet the needs associated with pregnancy and childbirth, in which case in this case, the remaining 12 days are granted, in whole or in part, directly due to the birth of the child, within 30 days from the date of birth, or b) all the days of leave after the date of birth are granted. Every working father is entitled to leave, without any conditions and regardless of his marital status.

Minimum Wage

Effective April 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Greece is EUR 880 (euros) per month for white-collar workers and EUR 39.30 per day for blue-collar workers.

The law states that salary must be paid regularly, determined by individual employment contracts.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

According to Greece's labor law, work done beyond 40 hours a week is considered overtime. It is paid as follows:

• The first 5 hours of overtime for employees working a 5-day week (first 8 hours for employees working 6 days a week) is paid at 120% of the standard hourly rate
• Overtime beyond the first 5 hours (beyond the first 8 hours for employees working 6 days a week) is paid at 140% of the standard hourly rate and is only allowed for urgent and exceptional activities.

Overtime is limited to a daily maximum of 3 hours per day and an annual maximum of 150 hours per year. If urgent and exceptional activities require the employee to work for more than 150 hours of overtime in a year, they are entitled to 140% of their normal wage rate. In the event that we have overtime work without meeting the formal and substantive conditions of the relevant provisions mentioned above or in excess of the overtime ceiling, then it is illegal. In this case, employees are entitled to 220% of their normal wage rate as compensation.

In the case of work performed during Sundays and the days established by law as non-working holidays, the daily wage must be at least 175% of the normal daily wage.

Employees are to be paid their normal wages when they take annual leave.

Notice Period

According to Greek labor law, the first 12 months of an indefinite employment agreement, counted from the date on which the agreement comes into force, are considered to be a probationary period. During this period, either party may terminate the employment relationship without notice and without severance pay, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

After the first 12 months, the employer must give the following notice period before the termination of the employment contract:

• 1 month's notice period to employees paid monthly with 1 year to 2 years of service
• 2 months' notice period to those with 2 to 5 years of service
• 3 months' notice period to those with 5 to 10 years of service
• 4 months' notice period to those with more than 10 years of service

An employer who gives an employee written notice according to the above pays only half of the statutory severance pay due to the dismissed employee.

A notice period is not required for fixed-term contracts.

Severance Benefits

According to Greek labor law, an employer can terminate an indefinite employment agreement of more than 12 months by giving the employee prior written notice. Specific notice periods between 1 and 4 months are required, depending on the employee's length of service with the employer (see the "Notice of Dismissal" section for more information). In the case of indefinite employment agreements terminated by the employer, the severance pay is calculated depending on the length of service with the employer. For employees who complete 17 years in service with the same employer, additional compensation is paid that increases by 1 monthly salary for each additional year of service up to 12 monthly salaries, provided the monthly salary does not exceed EUR 2,000.

In case of dismissal (for any reason, including redundancies) of a blue-collar worker, severance pay varies according to the length of service, from 5 days to 165 days' wages, regardless of whether the employer complies with the statutory notice period.

Pension

The legal retirement age in Greece is:

• 62 years for full pension with at least 40 years (12,000 days) of insurance
• 62 years for reduced pension with 15 years (4,500 days)
• 67 years old for full pension with at least 15 years (4,500 days) of insurance

The monthly pension is a sum of national pension and contributory pension. The state budget finances the national pension, while the contributory pension corresponds to the payment of insurance contributions and is calculated based on pensionable earnings, insurance period, and replacement rate.

The full amount of the national pension is EUR 426.17 (euros) (when at least 20 years of insurance and 40 years of permanent and legal residence in Greece have been completed before applying for a retirement pension), reduced in proportion to the years of contribution and residence.

Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum monthly earnings for contributions are EUR 7,373.53.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

Greece's social security insurance scheme covers benefits for survivors of a deceased insured person, including the widow, widower, or children of the insured individual. The following conditions must be met to be eligible for this pension:

• The insured person must have had at least 1,500 insurance days, of which 300 occurred during the last 5 years prior to their death; or
• The insured person must have completed the insurance days which would entitle them to a disability pension; or
• The insured person must have been entitled to an old-age pension.

The widow must have been married to the deceased for at least 6 months before their death unless the death was caused by an accident at work or an occupational disease, there is a minor child, or if the widow was pregnant before the death. The amount of pension paid to a widow/er of a deceased is 50% of the pension. If the surviving spouse is working, the amount of pension is reduced by 50% after three years.

Children are entitled to receive a pension until they reach the age of 24 years, provided they are unmarried. The amount of pension for the children is 25% of the pension the deceased parent was entitled to. If both parents have died, the child is entitled to 50% of the pension.

Invalidity Benefits

Greece's Social Security Institute provides disability benefits to insured employees. Disability is certified if the insured person can no longer earn more than 50% of the average earnings of a worker in their profession. The amount of the disability pension depends on the degree of disability as follows:

• Full pension is granted in the case of 80% disability (considered severely disabled).
• Full pension is granted in the event of incapacity of at least 66.6% if the insured person has completed at least 6,000 insurance days or the disability is mainly caused by mental illness.
• 75% of the full pension is granted in the case of incapacity of at least 67% (but the insured person has not completed at least 6,000 insurance days, and the disability is not mainly caused by mental illness).
• 50% of the full pension is payable in the case of 50% - 66.99% incapacity (75% of the full pension if the disability is caused mainly by mental illness).

Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum amount of disability pension is EUR 852.34 per month.