Forums For Adjudicating Employment Disputes
Employment disputes are brought before the One-Member Court of First Instance (Employment Tribunal). There are specific rules that apply to employment disputes which simplify the procedure before the court (e.g. shorter deadlines, the right of the parties to represent themselves without lawyers in court, reduced court duties etc.).
The Main Sources Of Employment Law
The main sources of employment law are the following:
- The Greek Constitution.
- International Treaties.
- EU Regulations and Directives.
- The Greek Civil Code.
- Employment legislation (primarily Presidential Decree 80/2022 which has by and large codified employment legislation)
- Collective Labour Agreements and decisions of arbitral tribunals related to such collective agreements.
- Customary practices.
- Case law.
National Law And Employees Working For Foreign Companies
Greek labour legislation applies to non-nationals working in Greece. However, the parties have the contractual autonomy to choose the applicable law to the employment agreement provided that Greek mandatory rules (i.e. working days and hours, minimum wage, compensation for overtime work, employee leaves, the employees’ equal treatment, the prohibition of juvenile work, the protection of maternity and pregnancy etc.) are observed. Therefore, party autonomy is limited by the overriding mandatory provisions of Greek law, which also are applied to foreign workers in Greece.
Foreign companies not having permanent establishment in Greece may hire employees in Greece who will be subject to Greek employment law. If employees' activities are not likely to give rise to a permanent establishment for a foreign company, the latter is not obligated to set up a subsidiary company or a branch in Greece. Tax and social security obligations must comply with Regulation (EC) 987/2009 (and the ministerial decisions implementing it) and the Greek Income Tax Code (art. 59 of Law 4172/2013).
National Law And Employees Of National Companies Working In Another Jurisdiction
Greek legislation applies only to employees working in the Greek territory. Greek employment law is not applied to Greek nationals working in another jurisdiction (art. 5 of the Brussels Convention). Exceptionally, Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers (Posted Workers Directive) is relevant to employees working in a member state other than the member state of the employee’s origin.
Data privacy
Data privacy in Greece is mainly regulated by:
- Arts. 9A, 19 (1) of the Greek Constitution
- The EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679);
- Law 4624/2019, which sets out implementation measures on the GDPR and transposes Directive (EU) 2016/680 into Greek law;
- Law 3471/2006, which transposes the Directive 2002/58/EC into Greek Law.
According to art. 27.1 of Law 4624/2019, processing of employees' personal data is allowed for purposes of the employment agreement and when this is strictly necessary for a hiring decision, or for the management of the employment relationship. Employees’ consent is required as a lawful basis for processing the employees’ personal data, and such consent must be in writing and separate from the employment contract.
Legal Requirements As To The Form Of Agreement
Employment contracts are not required to be in writing, except for contracts of certain employers (Greek State, hotels etc.), part-time contracts and renewals of fixed-term contracts. No matter what form the contract takes (writing, oral or implied contract) its terms will depend on what the employer and employee have agreed on (or, in the case of an implied contract, what each side expressed by words and actions). However, the employer is obliged to notify the main employment terms in writing to the Employment Authority.
Mandatory Requirements
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Trial Period
Pursuant to art. 1A of the Greek Labour Law Code (Presidential Decree 80/2022), as amended by art. 4 of Law 5053/2023, if the duration of the employment agreement is indefinite, the employer and the employee may agree on a probationary period of up to six months. In case the employer chooses to continue the employment relationship with the employee after the probationary period, the employment contract is deemed to have commenced from the initial hiring date. If the employer deems that the probationary period is unsuccessful, the employment contract can be automatically terminated. Law 5053/2023 also introduces the possibility to include a probationary period in fixed-term contracts, provided this does not exceed ¼ of the total duration of the contract and a maximum of six (6) months. In any case, the requirement for at least twelve (12) months of service, including the probationary period, for entitlement to severance pay remains in force.
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Hours Of Work
Pursuant to art. 6 of the National General Collective Labour Agreement of 14.02.1984, as amended, and art. 55 of Law 4808/2021, employees may not work more than 40 hours per week and more than eight (8) hours daily on a five (5) day working week. However, pursuant to arts 182C and 182B of the Greek Labour Law Code, as amended by arts 25 and 26 of Law 5053/2023, businesses of continuous operation (i.e. 24/7) with a system of alternating shifts as well as businesses that are not by their nature of continuous operation but may operate between Monday to Saturday on a 24-hours basis on alternating shifts, may be allowed to employ workers on a 6th day of the week. Such employment may not exceed eight (8) hours and is paid with the daily wage increased by 40%. These provisions do not apply to hotel and restaurant businesses.
Overwork is the working time that exceeds the contractually agreed weekly working hours, as follows::
- up to 45 hours for a five (5)-day working week (i.e. 41 – 45 hours); and
- up to 48 hours for a six (6)-day working week (i.e. 41 – 48 hours).
Overwork is calculated on a weekly basis. The five (5) hours of overwork on a 5-day working week (from 41 to 45 hours) or 8 hours of overwork on a 6-day working basis (from 41 to 48 hours) must be paid at the hourly rate of pay increased by 20%.
Legal and illegal overtime: Overtime is the working time that exceeds the abovementioned thresholds. Pursuant to art. 58 of Law 4808/2021, overtime work for up to 3 hours per day and 150 hours per year (which are the maximum limits allowed) is remunerated by an increase of the hourly wage by 40%. Every hour of overtime for which the legal requirements are not met are treated as “illegal” overtime, for which the employee is entitled to the contractual hourly rate increased by 120%. The maximum limits of lawful overtime as set out above may be extended upon permission provided through a decision of the Ministry of Employment; in such case of extension, employees are entitled to the contractual hourly rate increased by 60%.
Work on Sunday: Law 4808/2021 (art 63) has amended Decree 748/66 regarding work on Sundays and has widened the scope of businesses allowed to operate on Sundays. The new provisions now accommodate currency exchange offices, cleaning services and facility maintenance, examination centres, extracurricular activities at schools, such as workshops, seminars, conferences, and training, school building maintenance, and IT. More recently, pursuant to art. 200 of the Greek Labour Law Code (as amended by art. 27 of Law 5053/2023), the list of employees allowed to work on Sundays and public holidays was expanded to include, amongst others, training centers for pilots, crews and aircraft engineers, aircraft and passenger ground handling training facilities, the food industry, enterprises engaged in the bottling of natural mineral water and soft drinks and those engaged in organising conferences. It should also be noted that employees employed in businesses that legally operate on Sundays are entitled to an increase of 75%. If they work more than five hours on a Sunday, they are entitled to an additional rest (day off) in another working day of the week.
Night Work: Night work is work provided at night between 22h00 to 06h00 the following day. Night employees are entitled to a 25% increase in their hourly wage. The following categories of employees are not entitled to receive a 25% increase in their hourly wage :
- Employees not covered by the pay system under the Collective Labour Agreement, which sets minimum wages and wage levels, such as agricultural workers, home workers etc.
- Managing directors; and
- Employees who are on a standby status.
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Special Rules For Part-time Work
Employees whose working hours, calculated on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, are less than the comparable full-time employees, are considered part-time employees. The employment agreement for part-time work must be in writing and must include the days and hours of work in detail. Furthermore, the employment contract must be notified by any means to the Labour Inspection Office within eight (8) days. In case the employment agreement is not in writing, or the agreement is not notified to the Labour Inspection Office, the work is considered full-time. According to Greek employment law, minimum wages are set out as follows:
- the minimum daily gross wage for workers is €34,84 per day; and
- the minimum monthly gross salary for employees is €780,00 per month.
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Earnings
Both the minimum daily gross wage for workers and the monthly gross salary for employees are increased depending on their work experience as follows:
EMPLOYEES
Work experience |
Minimum monthly gross salary |
Increment due to work experience |
Total monthly gross salary |
0-3 years |
780.00 |
_ |
780.00 |
3-6 years |
780.00 |
78.00 |
858.00 |
6-9 years |
780.00 |
156.00 |
936.00 |
More than 9 years |
780.00 |
234.00 |
1014.00 |
WORKERS
Work experience |
Minimum daily gross wage |
Increment due to work experience |
Total daily gross wage |
0-3 years |
34.84 |
_ |
34.84 |
3-6 years |
34.84 |
1.74 |
36.58 |
6-9 years |
34.84 |
3.48 |
38.32 |
9-12 years |
34.84 |
5.22 |
40.06 |
12-15 |
34.84 |
6.96 |
41.80 |
15-18 |
34.84 |
8.71 |
43.55 |
More than 18 years |
34.84 |
10.45 |
45.29 |
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Holidays/Rest Periods
Employees working a 5-day working week who have completed at least two (2) months of employment with the same employer are entitled to receive 1,6667 day of paid leave for every month of employment (e.g. if the employee has worked for 3 months, he is entitled to 5 days of leave (3x1,6667). The days of leave to which employees are entitled depend on the duration (months) they have worked as follows:
- First calendar year (begins from the recruitment day and ends 31.12 of the same year) with the same employer: 20 working days of vacation leave;
- Second calendar year of employment: 21 working days of vacation leave;
- Third calendar year and the following years: 22 working days of vacation leave;
- 10 years with the same employer or 12 with any employer: 25 workings days of vacation leave; and
- Up to 25 years with the same employer or with any employer: 26 workings days of vacation leave.
The employer is obliged to grant the annual legal vacation to the employee before the 31st of March of the year following the one to which the leave relates, irrespectively if the employee has asked for it.
Employees working on a 6-day working week who have completed at least two (2) months of employment with the same employer are entitled to receive two (2) days of paid leave for every month of employment. As above, the days of leave employees are entitled depend on the duration (months) they have worked with the same employer.
- First calendar year (begins from the recruitment day and ends 31.12 of the same year) with the same employer: 24 days of vacation leave
- Second calendar year of employment: 25 days of vacation leave
- Third calendar year and the following years: 26 days of vacation leave
- 10 years with the same employer or 12 with any employer: 30 working days of vacation leave
- Up to 25 years with the same employer or with any employer: 31 workings days of vacation leave.
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Minimum/Maximum Age
According to art. 2 of Law 1837/1989 and art. 127 of the Greek Civil Code, the minimum working age is eighteen (18). However, if the parents or guardians give consent to their child working, employees younger than eighteen (18) but older than fifteen (15) may be employed.
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Illness/Disability
In case of illness or disability, an employee is entitled to sick leave, which is paid time off from work and is met both by the employer and the social security organisation, according to the provisions of the social security legislation.
The duration of paid illness or disability leave depends on the duration of the employment relationship. In particular, the law provides for the following:
- Employees who have worked for less than four (4) years can take a maximum of one (1) month off;
- Employees who have worked for more than four (4) years but for less than 10 years can take a maximum of four months off; and
- Employees who have worked for more than 15 years can take a maximum of six (6) months off.
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Location Of Work/Mobility
The employment contract should contain information on the place of work. Otherwise, the employer must notify each new employee in writing of the place of work. In the event of doubt, it may be agreed orally, or it may be implied. It can also be agreed that the employee is employed at various places (in the same city or in different cities), in which case the employer must cover the employee’s travel expenses.
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Pension Plans
Greek employers do not participate in pension schemes as pensions are funded by the Greek State. However, two (2) kinds of supplementary pensions exist in Greece which the employer may adopt:
- Auxiliary pension which complements the main pension and is built by saving part of the salary in the form of contributions; and
- In companies occupying more than 100 employees, the employer may provide employees with access to occupational pensions (Law 3029/2002). These pensions are voluntary and result from mutual contributions made by both the employer and the employee.
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Parental Rights (Pregnancy/ Maternity/ Paternity/ Adoption)
According to art. 221 of the Greek Labour Law Code on “Parental Leave”, parents and adoptive parents have the right to ask for and receive leave without pay. The leave can be for up to four (4) months (given all at once or in increments) and may be requested from the parent until the child reaches the age of eight (8) years old. During the course of the employee’s leave, the employee has full insurance coverage from his/her social security under the condition that both the employer and employee contributions are paid in full during this period. The leave for school visits, which is normally paid, can be granted for a maximum of four (4) days per year to parents of children not older than 16 years old (art. 38 of Law 4808/2021).Moreover, Greek law provides for a protection scheme for pregnant women, mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents. Pregnant women are entitled to a total of 17 weeks’ paid maternity leave (art. 11 of Law 2874/2000, of which eight (8) weeks before expected labour and nine (9) weeks after birth (art. 7, National General Collective Labour Agreement of 2000/2001). According to art. 37 of Law 4808/2021, new mothers, after the end of maternity leave, are entitled to work one (1) hour less each day with no decrease in regular pay for a period of thirty (30) months from the date of giving birth. Alternatively, provided that the employer agrees, new mothers may work two (2) hours less each day for a period of twelve (12) months and one (1) hour for the following six (6) months, with no decrease in regular pay.
Another option is for the new mother to receive the abovementioned hours as paid leave, following the prior consent of her employer. In addition, the new mother may “gather the hourly entitlements” and take the leave as days off, following the prior agreement of the employer. In addition, according to art. 142 of Law 3655/2008, as amended by art. 43 of Law 4997/2022, mothers are entitled to an additional nine (9) months leave after the end of the above 17-week maternity leave which they can take either before or after exercising their right for reduced working hours for a period of thirty (30) months. A father is entitled to special paid leave of fourteen (14) days of due to the birth of his child (art. 220 of the Greek Labour Law Code). He also has the right to reduced working hours provided that the mother is also an employee and does not make use of her respective rights (art. 229 of the Greek Labour Law Code)
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Compulsory Terms
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Non-Compulsory Terms
Types Of Agreement
The most common types of employment agreements are:
- full-time/part-time employment agreement of an indefinite duration;
- full-time/part-time employment agreement of a definite duration; and
- collective, as opposed to individual, employment agreements.
There are several types of collective employment agreements – i.e. the National General Collective Labour Agreements (applicable to all employees), the National Occupational Agreements (applicable to employees of the same occupation in Greece), the Regional Occupational Agreements (applicable to employees of the same occupation in a certain city or district), Branch Collective Agreements (applicable to employees of a certain occupational subsector) and Company Agreements (applicable to employees of a certain company).
In addition to the above, Greek Labour Law provides the following flexible types of employment:
- Employer’s suspension right: Pursuant to art. 10 of Law 3198/1955, as in force, the employer has the right to place employees on suspension. Businesses and undertakings, if their economic activity is reduced, may, instead of terminating employment agreements, suspend their employees in writing, and such suspension may not exceed a total of three (3) months per year. If the employer has previously consulted with union representatives of employees in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree 240/2006 and the provisions of Law 1767/1988, such suspension will be valid. If there are no employee representatives in the company, all employees must be informed and consulted. Notification may be provided by a notice at a prominent and accessible spot in the company premises. The consultation must take place at the location and time specified by the employer. During the suspension period, the employees receive half of the average of the last two months’ full-time salary of full-time employment. After the lapse of three months, at least three (3) months must pass before the same employee can be suspended again. The employer must inform the relevant services of the Labour Inspectorate and the social security organisation.
- Rotating employment: According to art. 38 of Law 1892/1990, as amended by art. 59 of Law 4635/2019, if the business is facing financial difficulties, the employer may, instead of terminating employment contracts, impose a system of rotating employment, after having previously informed and consulted with the employees' representatives. Rotating employment is considered to be employment for fewer days a week, or fewer weeks a month, or fewer months a year, or a combination thereof. Τhe duration of any rotating employment scheme cannot exceed nine (9) months in the same calendar year. In addition, employer should enter into new employment agreements with their employees, which must include the new working schedule. If this agreement is not drawn up in writing or if the agreement or decision of the employer is not notified within eight (8) days from being drawn up or taken to the Labour Inspectorate, the employee’s full-time employment status stays intact.
- Parallel employment: According to art. 189 of the Greek Labour Law Code, as amended by art. 9 of Law 5053/2023, employees may work for more than one employer, provided that the general legal provisions on working time (minimum daily rest period, weekly working time, etc.) are observed. Any agreement or clause prohibiting the employee from working for other employers outside the working hours agreed with a particular employer will be considered void, unless they are justified by objective reasons such as health and safety, protection of confidentiality, non-compete or avoidance of conflicts of interest.
- On-demand contracts: According to art. 182A of the Greek Labour Law Code, as added with art. 10 of Law 5053/2023, in case that the employee's working hours must vary, the employee is obliged to accept to work, when requested, provided that the following conditions are cumulatively fulfilled: (a) the work is provided within predetermined hours and reference days, notified to the employee; and (b) the employee has been notified by the employer of the assignment in writing by SMS or e-mail or any other appropriate means, within a reasonable time which in principle cannot be less than 24 hours prior to the commencement of work, unless there are conditions justifying a shorter notice period and the employee has been notified of them. If the employer cancels the request after such notice is given and before the commencement of work, employees are entitled to the corresponding wages.
- Transition to another form of employment: Εmployees who have completed their probationary period and have been in continuous service with the same employer for at least six (6) months, may request a form of employment with more predictable and secure working conditions, if possible. Employers are obliged to provide a reasoned written reply to the employee, within 1 to 2 months from the request, depending on the size of the enterprise.
- Telework: remains in principle voluntary both for the employee and the employer. Ηowever, according to art. 67.2 of Law 4808/2021, employees may on grounds of protection of public health and for the duration of such grounds, unilaterally impose remote working on employers. Employers remain obliged to bear the costs incurred by the employee due to telework; that is to provide, install and maintain the necessary equipment, to provide technical support and to compensate the employee for the use of his/her home for work purposes. The law establishes the right of teleworkers to “disconnect”, namely to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails, telephone calls or other messages, outside normal working hours or during vacation time. Employers are explicitly prohibited from monitoring the performance of teleworkers with the use of web cams.
Secrecy/Confidentiality
The confidentiality obligation of an employee is part of the general employee obligation of loyalty to the employer, and the relevant articles of the Greek Civil Code apply (article 652 on the employee obligation to not cause harm to the employer and articles 200 and 288 regarding the general principle of good faith). This includes a duty not to disclose to the public, third parties or competitors to protect the employer’s and its clients’ interests, confidential information, trade secrets and personal data, if obtained during and as a result of, the employment. Employers include confidentiality clauses in employment contracts to specify the non-disclosure obligation, which can protect the employer beyond the time of employment.
Ownership of Inventions/Other Intellectual Property (IP) Rights
According to art. 6 of Law 1733/1987, there are three (3) types of inventions and intellectual property rights:
- Service invention: This invention is made in the framework of a contractual relationship agreed upon between the employee and the employer for conducting research and for developing the involved invention. If the invention is particularly profitable to the employer, the employee-inventor is entitled to request additional fair compensation from him/her.
- Dependent invention: This invention is made by the employee using materials and/or data belonging to the employer. The employee is entitled to a 60% share and the employer to a 40% share of co-ownership of the right to the invention. In such a case, the employer has the right to exploit the invention by priority against compensation to the inventor, which must be proportional to the economic value and to the expected profits of the invention.
- Free invention: This invention is made by the employee during the course of his/her work and belongs to a 100% share to him/her. It does not fall within the scope of the duties in his/her employment nor based to a significant extent on company experience or work.
Pre-Employment Considerations
Greek employment legislation does not indicate any pre-employment consideration.
Hiring Non-Nationals
Given the principle of free movement of persons, foreign nationals originating from EU/European Economic Area (EEA) member states are not required to obtain a work permit to be lawfully employed in Greece.
On the contrary, if the employee is a third-country (non-EU) national, he/she must obtain a work permit, which must always be accompanied by a residence permit and entry permission (visa). Getting such a permit can prove difficult.
Every foreign national working in Greece, including those coming from EU countries, must obtain a tax registration number and a social security card. However, the EU-national employees can present the A1 certificate to prove that they pay social contributions in their countries.
Hiring Specified Categories Of Individuals
There are certain categories of employees enjoying special protection. In particular, there are specific legal provisions which ensure the protection of parents with more than four children, employees on military service, disabled persons, and victims of wars. According to Law 2643/1998, companies employing more than 50 employees must ensure that at least 8% of their workforce is made up of the above categories of employees.
Outsourcing And/Or Sub-Contracting/Temporary Agency Work
According to article 651 of the Civil Code, secondment of employees is allowed, provided that the employee give his/her consent for this transfer. The term ‘secondment’ describes an arrangement under which an employee is temporarily assigned to work either for another part of their employer’s organisation or for a different employer within the same group, or for a different, ‘host’ organisation, such as an employer’s client or business partner. These are known as internal or external secondments respectively. During this period, the original employer retains control over the employment relationship at all times.