Employment Law in Greece

Greek employment law is among the most protective in the European Union, combining a dense statutory framework with strong trade union influence and active judicial oversight. Employers who underestimate local rules face significant financial exposure: wrongful dismissal claims, unpaid overtime liability, and collective redundancy penalties can each exceed the original cost of the employment relationship. This article covers the legal architecture of Greek labour law, the mechanics of individual and collective termination, mandatory compensation rules, working-time obligations, and the practical risks that international businesses encounter most often.

The primary source of Greek employment law is Law 4808/2021 (Νόμος 4808/2021), which modernised the Labour Relations Act and transposed several EU directives. It operates alongside the Civil Code (Αστικός Κώδικας), specifically Articles 648-680 governing employment contracts, and the Presidential Decree 80/2022 (Προεδρικό Διάταγμα 80/2022) on transparent and predictable working conditions. Sector-specific collective agreements (Συλλογικές Συμβάσεις Εργασίας, SSE) add a further layer of obligations that override individual contracts where they are more favourable to the employee.

The competent authority for labour inspections is SEPE (Σώμα Επιθεώρησης Εργασίας, Labour Inspectorate), which has broad powers to audit payroll records, working-time registers, and health and safety compliance. EFKA (Ηλεκτρονικός Φορέας Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Electronic Social Insurance Fund) administers social contributions and cross-checks employer declarations electronically. The Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) oversees employee data processing, an area that has generated enforcement actions against employers in recent years.

Greek courts resolve individual employment disputes through the Single-Member Court of First Instance (Μονομελές Πρωτοδικείο) for claims up to a threshold value, and the Multi-Member Court of First Instance (Πολυμελές Πρωτοδικείο) for higher-value or more complex matters. Interim injunctions - particularly reinstatement orders - are available through the urgent procedure (ασφαλιστικά μέτρα) and can be granted within days of filing.

A non-obvious risk for foreign groups is the interaction between Greek statutory minima and any applicable collective agreement. Even where no sector-wide SSE is in force, a company-level agreement signed before the 2012 reforms may still bind the employer. Many international clients discover this obligation only during a due diligence exercise or after a labour inspection.

Under Presidential Decree 80/2022, employers must provide each employee with a written statement of employment terms within seven days of the start of employment. For certain elements - including the identity of the employer, the place of work, the job description, the basic salary, and the working-time pattern - the deadline is the first day of work. Failure to comply exposes the employer to administrative fines starting from several hundred euros per employee and creates a rebuttable presumption of indefinite full-time employment.

Greek law recognises three main contract types:

• Indefinite-term contracts (αορίστου χρόνου), which are the default and attract the strongest dismissal protections.
• Fixed-term contracts (ορισμένου χρόνου), permitted for objectively justified temporary needs; successive renewals without justification convert the contract to indefinite-term by operation of law under Article 8 of Law 2112/1920.
• Part-time and rotating-shift contracts, which must be registered in the ERGANI II information system (Πληροφοριακό Σύστημα ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ) before the employee begins work.

ERGANI II is the digital backbone of Greek labour compliance. Every employment event - hiring, termination, change of hours, overtime declaration - must be recorded in the system, often before the fact rather than after. A common mistake made by international employers is treating ERGANI II as a reporting tool rather than a prior-authorisation mechanism. Late or missing entries trigger automatic fines and can invalidate a dismissal.

Probationary periods are permitted up to twelve months for indefinite-term contracts under Law 4808/2021. During this period, either party may terminate without notice or compensation, provided the probationary clause is expressly included in the written contract and registered in ERGANI II. After the probationary period expires, full statutory protections apply immediately.

Practical scenario one: a technology company based in Germany hires a software engineer in Athens on a fixed-term contract for a twelve-month project. At month eleven, the company extends the contract for a further six months without documenting a new objective justification. Under Article 8 of Law 2112/1920, the contract converts to indefinite-term. When the project ends at month eighteen and the company terminates, it owes severance calculated on the basis of an indefinite-term relationship - a materially higher amount than anticipated.

To receive a checklist on employment contract compliance in Greece, send a request to info@vlo.com.

Greek law distinguishes sharply between ordinary dismissal (τακτική καταγγελία) and dismissal for cause (έκτακτη καταγγελία). Ordinary dismissal requires written notice, payment of statutory severance, and registration of the termination in ERGANI II on the same day. Dismissal for cause - reserved for serious misconduct - requires no notice or severance but must be exercised within a strict limitation period and is subject to close judicial scrutiny.

Notice periods for ordinary dismissal depend on length of service and are set out in Article 67 of Law 4808/2021:

• Up to one year of service: no statutory notice period, but severance is still payable.
• One to two years: one month's notice.
• Two to five years: two months' notice.
• Five to ten years: three months' notice.
• Over ten years: four months' notice.

The employer may pay in lieu of notice (αποζημίωση αντί προειδοποίησης), which halves the severance obligation. This option is frequently used in practice because it allows immediate separation while reducing total cost.

Statutory severance (αποζημίωση απόλυσης) is calculated under Law 4808/2021 on the basis of the employee's average monthly earnings over the preceding twelve months, multiplied by a coefficient that increases with seniority. For employees with up to one year of service, severance equals two months' salary. The coefficient rises progressively, reaching a cap equivalent to twenty-four months' salary for very long-serving employees. Severance must be paid on the day of termination; late payment attracts interest and can expose the employer to additional claims.

A non-obvious risk concerns the definition of 'monthly earnings' for severance purposes. Greek courts consistently include regular bonuses, allowances, and benefits-in-kind that have been paid consistently over time, even where the employment contract labels them discretionary. Employers who structure compensation with large variable components to reduce the severance base often find that courts recharacterise those components as regular remuneration.

Certain categories of employees enjoy enhanced protection and cannot be dismissed without prior authorisation or subject to specific procedural requirements:

• Pregnant employees and those on maternity leave, protected under Law 3896/2010 and Article 54 of Law 4808/2021.
• Employee representatives and trade union members during their term of office.
• Employees on sick leave, where dismissal during the sick-leave period is void.

Practical scenario two: a retail chain dismisses a store manager who has been on certified sick leave for three weeks. The dismissal letter is issued and registered in ERGANI II. Under established Greek case law, the dismissal is void, and the employee is entitled to reinstatement plus back pay for the entire period of unlawful exclusion from work. The employer's failure to check the sick-leave status before issuing the letter results in a liability several times larger than the original severance cost.

Collective redundancies (ομαδικές απολύσεις) in Greece are governed by Law 1387/1983 as amended, which implements the EU Collective Redundancies Directive. The thresholds that trigger the collective procedure are:

• Employers with 20-150 employees: more than 6 dismissals per month.
• Employers with over 150 employees: dismissals exceeding 5% of the workforce per month, with a minimum of 30.

The procedure is mandatory and sequential. First, the employer must notify and consult with employee representatives (works council or trade union) for a minimum of thirty days. The consultation must be genuine and documented; a formal meeting with pre-determined outcomes does not satisfy the requirement. Second, the employer must simultaneously notify SEPE and the Supreme Labour Council (Ανώτατο Συμβούλιο Εργασίας, ASE). Third, if no agreement is reached within thirty days, the employer may proceed with the redundancies, but must wait an additional twenty days before the dismissals take effect.

The total minimum timeline from first notification to effective termination is therefore fifty days in the absence of agreement. In practice, SEPE frequently requests additional information, extending the process. A common mistake is treating the thirty-day consultation as a formality and issuing termination letters before the procedure is complete. Such dismissals are void under Article 6 of Law 1387/1983, and the employer must reinstate or pay compensation equivalent to full salary for the unlawful period.

The cost of a collective redundancy in Greece is substantial. In addition to statutory severance for each affected employee, the employer bears the administrative cost of the procedure, potential legal fees if disputes arise, and the reputational impact in a labour market where word travels quickly within sectors. Lawyers' fees for managing a mid-size collective redundancy process typically start from the low thousands of euros and rise with complexity.

Practical scenario three: a manufacturing group decides to close a production facility employing eighty workers. It engages local counsel, initiates the thirty-day consultation, and notifies SEPE and ASE simultaneously. The works council rejects the employer's proposal. After thirty days without agreement, the employer waits the additional twenty days and then issues individual termination letters with full severance payments. The procedure takes approximately three months from decision to completion, which the group had not factored into its restructuring timeline.

To receive a checklist on collective redundancy procedures in Greece, send a request to info@vlo.com.

Greek working-time law is governed by Presidential Decree 88/1999 (implementing the EU Working Time Directive) and Law 4808/2021. The standard working week is forty hours over five days. Employees may work up to forty-eight hours per week on average, calculated over a reference period of four months, including overtime.

Law 4808/2021 introduced a significant change: employers in sectors where continuous operation is justified may implement a six-day working week, provided they notify SEPE in advance and pay a premium for the sixth day. This option is available only for specific business needs and is not a general derogation from the five-day norm.

Overtime is regulated strictly. Ordinary overtime (υπερεργασία) covers hours worked between the contractual limit and forty hours per week and is compensated at a premium of 20% above the hourly rate. Overtime beyond forty hours per week (υπερωρία) attracts a premium of 40% for the first 120 hours per year and 60% thereafter. All overtime must be declared in ERGANI II before the employee begins the additional hours. Failure to pre-declare is treated as undeclared work and attracts fines from SEPE starting from several hundred euros per instance.

Annual leave entitlements under Law 539/1945 are:

• Twenty working days per year for employees working a five-day week, rising to twenty-one days after the first year.
• Twenty-four working days for employees working a six-day week.

Unused leave cannot be forfeited; it must be carried over or compensated in cash on termination. Many international employers assume that a 'use it or lose it' policy is enforceable in Greece. It is not. Courts consistently award compensation for accrued but untaken leave, including leave from prior years where the employer failed to schedule it.

Special leave categories include maternity leave (seventeen weeks under Law 1483/1984 as amended), paternity leave (fourteen days under Law 4808/2021), parental leave (four months per parent under Law 4808/2021 implementing the EU Work-Life Balance Directive), and care leave (five days per year). Each category has specific notification requirements and ERGANI II registration obligations.

Many underappreciate the cost of working-time non-compliance. SEPE inspections routinely identify employers who have not registered overtime, have not maintained working-time records, or have applied incorrect premium rates. The resulting fines, combined with back-pay claims from employees, can accumulate to amounts that dwarf the original payroll saving.

Social insurance contributions in Greece are administered by EFKA. Both employer and employee contributions are calculated on gross salary. The employer's contribution covers pension, health, unemployment, and auxiliary insurance, with the combined employer rate representing a significant addition to gross payroll cost. The employee's contribution is withheld at source. Contributions are declared and paid monthly through the EFKA electronic portal.

Law 4808/2021 introduced mandatory digital payslips (ηλεκτρονικά εκκαθαριστικά σημειώματα). Employers must issue payslips electronically and retain records for a minimum of five years. SEPE inspectors have direct access to ERGANI II and EFKA data, enabling cross-referencing of declared hours, declared salaries, and actual payments. Discrepancies trigger automatic audit flags.

The minimum wage (κατώτατος μισθός) is set by ministerial decision and applies to all employees regardless of sector, unless a more favourable collective agreement applies. Employers must ensure that the total package - including any allowances - meets or exceeds the statutory minimum. A common mistake is calculating compliance against the base salary alone while excluding allowances that Greek law treats as part of the minimum wage calculation.

For foreign companies employing staff in Greece without a local legal entity, the question of employer-of-record (EOR) arrangements arises. Greek law does not have a specific EOR statute, but SEPE and EFKA treat the economic employer as the responsible party for compliance purposes. International groups using EOR structures must ensure that the contractual allocation of responsibility is clearly documented and that the EOR is genuinely registered and compliant in Greece.

A non-obvious risk in the digital compliance environment is the interaction between ERGANI II real-time reporting and internal HR systems. Where a multinational uses a global HRIS that does not integrate with ERGANI II, local HR staff often enter data manually and belatedly. This creates a systematic compliance gap that becomes visible only during an inspection or litigation.

We can help build a strategy for structuring your Greek employment compliance framework. Contact info@vlo.com to discuss your specific situation.

What are the main risks of dismissing an employee in Greece without following the correct procedure?

A dismissal that does not comply with Greek procedural requirements - written form, ERGANI II registration on the day of termination, and full severance payment - is void rather than merely irregular. A void dismissal means the employment relationship is treated as continuing, and the employee is entitled to full back pay for the period of unlawful exclusion from work. Courts can also order reinstatement. The financial exposure from a procedurally defective dismissal can therefore significantly exceed the cost of a correctly executed termination. Employers should treat procedural compliance as a precondition, not an afterthought.

How long does a collective redundancy process take in Greece, and what does it cost?

The statutory minimum timeline is fifty days from the first notification to SEPE and employee representatives to the effective date of dismissal, assuming no agreement is reached during the thirty-day consultation period. In practice, SEPE requests for additional documentation and the complexity of negotiations with employee representatives often extend the process to three or four months. The direct costs include statutory severance for each affected employee, administrative fees, and legal support. For a restructuring involving twenty or more employees, total costs including severance typically run to the mid-to-high tens of thousands of euros at minimum, depending on seniority profiles.

When should an employer in Greece use a fixed-term contract rather than an indefinite-term contract?

Fixed-term contracts are appropriate only where there is a genuine, documented objective justification for the temporary nature of the work - a specific project, a seasonal need, or a replacement for an absent employee. They are not a tool for reducing dismissal costs on a permanent role. Greek courts apply a strict test: if the work performed is structurally part of the employer's regular activity, the fixed-term label will not prevent conversion to indefinite-term status. The practical consequence is that an employer who uses fixed-term contracts without proper justification ends up with indefinite-term employees and a larger severance liability than if the contracts had been correctly structured from the outset.

Greek employment law combines strong statutory protections, mandatory digital compliance through ERGANI II, and active enforcement by SEPE and EFKA. For international businesses, the key risks are procedural: missing a registration deadline, misclassifying a contract type, or underestimating the scope of collective redundancy obligations. Each of these errors carries a financial cost that typically exceeds the cost of proper legal advice at the outset.

To receive a checklist on employment law compliance and termination procedures in Greece, send a request to info@vlo.com.

Our law firm Vetrov & Partners has experience supporting clients in Greece on employment and labour law matters. We can assist with employment contract drafting, ERGANI II compliance, individual and collective termination procedures, and labour dispute resolution. To receive a consultation, contact: info@vlo.com.