The 2026 Greece employment guide covers Greece minimum wage rates, Greece payroll, the statutory “14-salary” structure, social insurance, working time, annual leave and termination. From 1 April 2026, the minimum is EUR 920 monthly for white-collar employees and EUR 41.09 daily for blue-collar workers.

For Chinese companies hiring employees in Greece, annual cost cannot be calculated from 12 monthly salaries alone. Christmas, Easter and holiday allowances are statutory payments for eligible private-sector employees.

1. Greece Employment Compliance at a Glance in 2026

2. Three Employment and Payroll Changes Requiring Action in 2026

3. Greece’s Employment Law and Regulatory Framework

Greek employment is governed by labour legislation, minimum-wage decisions, collective agreements, ERGANI II, e-EFKA, AADE, occupational safety rules and GDPR.

A collective agreement may provide higher wages, allowances, shorter hours or better termination terms. The contractual employer remains responsible for payroll, time records, leave, discipline and termination.

4. Recruitment, Offers and Onboarding

Before issuing an offer, determine white- or blue-collar status, the applicable collective agreement, recognized seniority, minimum pay and insurance category.

Offers should separately state:

• base salary and fixed allowances;
• bonus or commission;
• overtime;
• Christmas allowance;
• Easter allowance; and
• holiday allowance.

Complete ERGANI, e-EFKA, AADE and payroll setup before work begins. Work authorization must be verified independently.

5. Employment Contracts, Contract Types and Probation

Indefinite contracts suit continuing positions. Fixed-term contracts need an objective term, project or replacement requirement. Repeated fixed terms covering permanent work may be treated as indefinite employment.

Written probation for indefinite employment is normally limited to six months. Fixed-term probation should be proportionate, normally no more than one-quarter of the contract and no more than six months.

Probation termination still requires written handling, ERGANI reporting and settlement of salary, leave and proportional statutory allowances.

6. Wages, Minimum Wage and Gross-to-Net Payroll

Recognized three-year seniority increments may apply to minimum-wage employees. White-collar increments are generally 10% per period and blue-collar increments 5%, both capped at 30%.

EUR 3,000 monthly salary illustration:

7. Working Time, Overtime and Records

Standard full-time work is generally 40 hours weekly: eight hours daily over five days or six hours 40 minutes over six days.

Additional work, statutory overtime, nights, Sundays and holidays have different reporting and premium rules. Employers should record starts, finishes, breaks, schedule changes and overtime through ERGANI II and the digital work card where applicable.

A managerial title alone does not create a time-recording exemption.

8. Public Holidays, Annual Leave and Other Statutory Leave

Five-day employees normally accrue leave from a 20-day first-year basis, commonly rising to 21 days in the second calendar year and 22 days from the third.

Holiday status and pay can vary by sector. Public holidays should not be deducted from annual leave.

Maternity leave is normally 17 weeks, paternity leave 14 working days, and eligible mothers may receive nine months of special maternity protection leave.

9. Employer Social Security, Mandatory Benefits and Tax

EUR 3,000 monthly annual-cost illustration:

Employee insurance is EUR 5,825.40. Tax, bonus, overtime, benefits, sickness and termination costs are excluded.

10. Local Employees and Foreign Employees

Foreign employees generally receive the same minimum employment protections, but work authorization, tax residence and social-insurance coverage may differ.

Verify nationality, workplace, residence or work permit, AFM, AMKA and any A1 or bilateral certificate before onboarding. EOR does not automatically create work authorization.

11. Remote Work, Data Privacy and Record Retention

Remote-work agreements should cover workplace, office frequency, equipment, expenses, working time, security, occupational safety and cross-border approval.

Before an employee moves abroad, reassess labour law, tax residence, social insurance, permanent establishment, work authorization and data transfers.

Retain contracts, ERGANI records, payslips, APD, tax filings, work-card data, leave, performance, warnings, incidents and termination documents.

12. Termination, Severance and Final Settlement

Indefinite employment termination should be written, reported through ERGANI and accompanied by correct compensation.

Common employer notice periods after one year are one month for one–two years, two months for two–five years, three months for five–ten years and four months after ten years.

Illustrative six-year redundancy:

13. Hiring Model: Entity, EOR or Payroll Outsourcing

Clients may set objectives and provide facts, but salary, time exceptions, warnings, leave refusal, suspension and termination should be reviewed and issued by the contractual employer.

14. Common Greece Employment Risks for Chinese Companies