Kelemenis & Co.

 
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
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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


  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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)

  • Compulsory Terms
  • 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.

Changes To The Contract

If the employer wants to make changes to the terms of the employment contract, the employee must agree to the proposed changes. Any unilateral amendment of the employment conditions to the employee’s detriment is deemed termination of the employment contract by the employer. According to Greek case law, unilateral changes of the employment contract, such as the transfer of the employee to another office or department or the salary reductions may be deemed as termination of the contract.


Change In Ownership Of The Business

According to art. 350 of the Greek Labour Law Code, the acquirer of a business automatically enters the employer’s position vis-à-vis the employees of the transferred business and is liable to them, provided that the undertaking continues to operate by maintaining its economic unity. In case a part of a business is transferred, the buyer automatically substitutes the transferor only for the employment relationship with the employees of that specific part.


Social Security Contributions

For the employees of the private sector insured in e-EFKA (i.e. the Greek social security organisation), for the primary pension an insurance contribution of 20% is paid, which is shared between the insured and the employer. The insured is charged with a contribution of 6.67% and the employer with a contribution of 13.33%.


Accidents At Work

A work accident, also commonly known as an occupational accident, is an unforeseen incident that occurs on the company's premises, or off it, leading to injury, illness, or death of the employee.

The employer is obliged to compensate the employee (Article 2 of Law 551/1915). This is because (in accordance with Article 662 of the Civil Code): “the employer is responsible for the work and the place it is performed, as well as the residence, facilities and machinery or tools in order to protect the life and health of the employee ”.

Employees have the following rights:

  • Medical and hospital care. If employee is not insured for any reason with the Social Security Organisation, the employer is obliged to pay the cost of medical and hospital care. If the employee is Organisation, the employer is exempted from this costs which are covered by the Social Security Organisation. It is stressed that the insurance of the employees with the Social Security Organisation is obligatory for the employer and the latter runs the risk of severe penalties if he employs uninsured employees.
  • The employee is also entitled to a lump-sum compensation when he/she is not insured with the Social Security Organisation. This is calculated on the basis of the extent of disability and the monthly earnings of the employee. In case of death, such compensation is payable to his/her relatives. No allowance is paid by the Social Security Organisationfor the first 3 days of incapacity for work.
  • If the accident has caused permanent disability, the employee may be granted a disability pension from the Social Security Organisation regardless of previous working time.
  • If the employee suffers an accident at work due to the fraudulent or negligent conduct of the employer or his staff or if the accident is attributable to the breach of special safety measures provided for by law, the employee can claim moral damage from the employer and full (unlimited) compensation. However, if the employee was or had to be insured with the Social Security Organisation, then the employer is liable only for moral damages and only in respect of circumstances for which he or his other employees were in any way responsible for the accident.

Discipline And Grievance

Dismissal must use by an employer as the last resort when an employee has committed a breach of their employment contract.

According to article 1 of Legislative Decree 3789/1957, the employer may establish Internal Labour Regulation regarding the day to day operation of his/her business. By such Regulation certain rules and procedures can be set for matters such as the conduct of employees in workplace, filing of complaints, disciplinary penalties, specific manners in which the services should be provided to the clients etc. If the employee breaches the employment contract, the employer may impose the following sanctions:

  • A complaint can be raised against the employee either orally or in writing;
  • A written reprimand,;
  • A fine of the employee’s wage; or
  • Suspension from work (temporary dismissal) for up to ten (10) days per year.

Employees should be aware of the above penalties through the company’s Regulation. An employee subject to a disciplinary measure has the right to defend himself/herself before the employer. The above penalties must not be exercised capriciously by the employer, which means that the measure chosen in each case must be proportional to the breach.


Harassment/Discrimination/Equal pay

Law 4808/2021 ratified in Greek Convention 190 of the International Labour Organization for the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace. This Law specified the legal framework regarding harassment in the workplace, specified the sanctions and the process of their imposition by the Labour Inspection Body (SEPE), and provided for the rights of the affected persons. Arts 9 to 11 of Law 4808/2021 provide for the obligation of companies employing more than twenty (20) employees to adopt policies to prevent and combat violence and harassment at work, taking a series of measures that includes at least: (a) information actions to prevent, control, limit and deal with these phenomena, (b) to monitor such behaviours, (c) to inform employees of their rights and obligations in the event of such occurrence (d) the appointment of a company-level reference person to be responsible for guiding and informing employees on the prevention and response to violence and harassment, (e) the support of the employees – victims of domestic violence, (f) the treatment of violence and harassment complaints by designating persons, easily accessible to employees, who will receive and examine complaints impartially and in full respect of the principle of confidentiality and protection of the personal data of victims and complainants, (g) the prohibition of retaliation against the affected person and (h) a clear description of the consequences and sanctions that will result from the finding of such behavior within the company. The above policies should be the result of the employer consulting with the representatives of the employees or collective bargaining under the Collective Bargaining Agreement or a Labour Regulation within the company. Especially, in the case of a Labour Regulation within the company, the provision of disciplinary misconduct, procedures and penalties regarding allegations of violence and harassment are mandatory.

Article 12 of Law 4808/2021 provides for the rights of the affected persons, who may seek recourse to the Labour Inspectorate but also to the Ombudsman, who is also under this Law a body of supervision and promotion of the principle of equal treatment. In parallel, any affected persons maintain their rights and claims before the competent civil and criminal courts. The employer, in case of a complaint from an employee, is obliged to receive the necessary and appropriate measures on a case-by-case basis in order to prevent the recurrence of such an incident or behaviour, such as recommending compliance, changing position, hours, place or manner of employment or even terminating employment.

Arts 4 and 22 of the Greek Constitution set the obligation of the employers to treat employees with the same qualifications and working in the same or equal (similar) jobs equal (principle of equal treatment). In addition, Law 4443/2016 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability etc. .

Equal pay for equal work is one (1) of the EU’s founding principles in Labour Law. This means that women and men have the right to receive equal remuneration for work of equal value.


Compulsory Training Obligations

According to art. 70A of the Greek Labour Law Code, as added with art. 12 of Law 5053/2023, where an employer is required by law to provide training to an employee in order to carry out the work for which he/she is employed, such training shall be provided free of cost and is considered as working time. If possible, this training should take place during working hours.


Offsetting Earnings

According to article 664 of the Greek Civil Code, if the salary is necessary for the maintenance of the worker and his family, this cannot be offset or retained against other claims of the employer against the employee. However, if an employee commits fraud and/or acts in a deceitful manner, the employer has the right to offset or retain his/her wage.


Payments For Maternity And Disability Leave

During maternity or disability leave the employee maintains his/her right to salary, which is covered by both the employer and the social security organisation.


Compulsory Insurance

Upon hiring an employee, the employer is obliged to insure him/her with the state social security organisation. If the employer does not insure the employee, he/she is subject to administrative and criminal penalties. For certain occupations (e.g. in the construction sector) employers must also maintain civil liability insurance. Employers are not obliged to provide third party liability insurance or life insurance to the employees.


Absence For Military Or Public Service Duties

Employees who are obliged to fulfil their military services are not entitled to receive military leave. However, if an employee has been employed for up to six (6) months, he cannot be dismissed during the course of this period.


Works Councils or Trade Unions

Work councils may be set up by the employees in companies which employ at least 50 employees and can have three (3) to seven (7) members who are elected by the employees during general assembly convocation. They have an advisory role contributing to the improvement of working conditions and the development of the company. They possess rights relating to information, consultation and participation in decision-making.


Employees’ Right To Strike

The right to strike is established by art. 23 of the Greek Constitution.


Employees On Strike

During the course of a strike the employment relationship is temporarily suspended so the employee cannot be dismissed for participating in a strike unless the strike is illegal.


Employers’ Responsibility For Actions Of Their Employees

Pursuant to articles 334 and 922 of the Greek Civil Code, employers can be held vicariously liable for their employees’ unlawful acts or omissions committed while they are conducting their duties.

Procedures For Terminating the Agreement

Pursuant to Law 2112/1920, the termination of an employment agreement is valid only if made in writing and upon simultaneous payment of the exact amount of the statutory severance due to the employee. Termination must be notified both to the employee and the Greek Public Employment Service within eight (8) days. In the event of an indefinite-term employment contract, the employer has the right to terminate this within the first twelve (12) months without notice or payment of severance for dismissal.


Instant Dismissal

Greek labour law allows employers to terminate the indefinite employment contracts at any time without providing a specific reason. However, employers are subject to certain statutory obligations. This termination is valid only if made in writing and upon simultaneous payment of the exact amount of the statutory severance due. However, the employer is not obliged to give prior notice and pay the statutory severance, if:

  • The employee commits a criminal offence at work and the employer files a criminal lawsuit against him/her;
  • There is a judicial decision against the employee for any kind of indictable offence;
  • Employee is dismissed for gross misconduct; and
  • The employment contract is terminated due to bankruptcy or force-majeure events.

Employee's Resignation

According to art. 337 of the Greek Labour Law Code, the employee may terminate the employment agreement by giving a maximum of three (3) months’ notice to the employer.


Termination On Notice

According to Laws 2112/1920 and 4093/2012, if the employer is obliged to terminate the employment contract with prior written notice, the length of the notice period depends on the length that the employee has been employed. The following table provides the statutory notice periods in case of termination of the employment agreement by the employer:

      Year of Service     Notice Period  
    1-2 year completed 1 Month
    2-5 years completed 2 Months
    5-10 years completed 3 Months
    10 years or more completed 4 Months

The maximum notice period is four (4) months for an employee with over 10 years of employment. However, the parties can agree to a shorter notice period. The date, the notice period will be over, has to be exactly defined. In this case, the employer has the obligation, on the date which has been defined as the contact termination date (dismissal day), to pay half of the legal severance pay (see below relevant section “Severance Payments”). If the employer does not observe the notice period, he will be liable to pay an increased severance payment


Termination By Reason Of The Employee's Age

In Greece, there is no statutory mandatory retirement age from employment. However, employees who have reached the retirement age for full pension are entitled to terminate the employment contract and receive reduced severance amount (40 per cent to 50 per cent). If the employer terminates the employment contract of employer who have reached retirement age, the employee has the same rights as above.


Automatic Termination In Cases Of Force Majeure

Pursuant to art. 675 of the Greek Civil Code, the employment contract is terminated upon the death of the employee. However, the employment contract, does not terminate automatically upon the death of the employer, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.


Collective Dismissals

Under Law 1387/1983, as in force, collective redundancies are those which are effected for reasons that are not related to the individual employees concerned and exceed per calendar month:

  • 6 redundancies, for companies with 20 to 150 employees;
  • 5% of the company’s employees (and up to a maximum of 30 redundancies), for companies with more than 150 employees

Prior to implementing the collective redundancies, the employer is obliged to consult and negotiate with the employees’ legal representatives to find alternative solutions so as to minimise the impact of the dismissals. In any case, the employer must file the information and consultation minutes to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Law 4472/2017, taking also into account the decision of the CJEU on the case of Anonymi Geniki Etairia Tsimenton Iraklis (AGET Iraklis), amended the consultation procedure of collective redundancies as follows:

  • The duration of the consultations was extended from 20 to 30 days.
  • Under the new legal framework, the employer may submit a social plan for the affected employees during the consultations.
  • Upon completion of the consultations, the employer must submit the consultation minutes to the Supreme Labour Council.

Termination By Parties’ Agreement

The parties may decide, by mutually consent, to terminate the employment agreement at any time.


Directors Or Other Senior Officers

There are no specific terms required for the termination of the employment relationship in the case of directors or senior officers. However, the employment status of a director is different from that of ordinary employees and often falls outside the provisions of Greek Labour Law (e.g. provisions for annual leaves, working hours and the payment of overtime work).


Special Rules For Categories Of Employee

Certain categories of employees enjoy a special protection against dismissal. Employment legislation provides protection to employees executing their military service, disabled employees, victims of wars, employees exercising their trade-union rights and pregnant women. According to art. 48.4 of Law 4808/2021, pregnant women cannot be dismissed during the course of their pregnancy or within 18-months after the childbirth. In addition, employees cannot be dismissed by reason of trade-union membership or legitimate trade union activities. Disabled people and war victims can only be dismissed if the company faces financial difficulties, whereas employees having executed their military service may not be dismissed within a year after their discharge.


Specific Rules For Companies in Financial Difficulties

Under Law 4738/2020, the declaration of bankruptcy causes automatic and irrevocable termination of all pending and permanent contracts of the debtor within sixty (60) days from the declaration of bankruptcy, unless the bankruptcy officer deems that they support the smooth running of the business or improve the liquidation value of assets and declare in writing that they wish for their continuation or immediate termination. Regarding contracts with employees, the bankruptcy officer may request, within the above deadline, new contracts to be drawn up with the same working conditions, but this plan must be approved by the judge-rapporteur and the creditors’ assembly.


Restricting Future Activities

Most employment contracts include confidentiality and non-compete clauses to prevent employees to safeguard the employer's business interests; however, such clauses must be specific to the company’s business interests and have a reasonable time limitation. If the employers abuses his/her powers, such restrictions may be deemed as null and void.


Whistleblower Laws

The Greek parliament adopted recently Law 4990/2022, which transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law (whistleblowers), into Greek legislation. This Law primarily affects companies with fifty (50) or more employees, also companies operating in financial sector services, products and markets, transport sector and environment sector regardless of the number of employees; such companies are obliged to put in place appropriate internal reporting channels to enable reporting of EU law violations, protect the confidentiality of the whistleblowers’ identity and ensure that whistleblowers are protected against retaliation.


Special Rules For Garden Leave

The garden leave was introduced in the Greek legislation for the first time by Law 4808/2021, which allows the employer to deny the acceptance of the employees’ services during the period of notice prior to the termination of the employment relationship, subject to the condition that the employer will continue to pay their salary, during said period of notice.


Severance Payments

If the employment contract is terminated without notice, the employee is entitled to be paid the following severance:

      Year of Service      Severance   
    1 – 4 years completed 2 months
    4 – 6 years completed 3 months
    6 – 8 years completed 4 months
    8 – 10 years completed 5 months
    10 years completed 6 months
    11 years completed 7 months
    12 years completed 8 months
    13 years completed 9 months
    14 years completed 10 months
    15 years completed 11 months
    Over 16 years completed 12 months
    Additional severance payments for employees who have completed more than 17 years of work at the same employer on 12.11.2012
    17 years completed 13 months
    18 years completed 14 months
    19 years completed 15 months
    20 years completed 16 months
    21 years completed 17 months
    22 years completed 18 months
    23 years completed 19 months
    24 years completed 20 months
    25 years completed 21 months
    26 years completed 22 months
    27 years completed 23 months
    28 years completed 24 months

Calculation of the above severance pay is made based on the regular remuneration of employees for the last month prior to the dismissal under a full-time employment status.

Entitled to the additional severance pay are only employees who on 12 November 2012, date of publication of Law 4093/2012, had more than 17 full years of service with the same employer, whereas the service with the same employer after 12 November 2012 no longer continues to be counted in the calculation of their severance pay.

Notwithstanding the above, it should be noted that the limitations set out above do not apply in the following two cases:

  • If the employment agreement stipulates that the employee if entitled to statutory severance payment on the basis of the actual gross salary without any limitations stipulated in Greek law; and
  • If the Employer agrees to waive the above limitations at the time of dismissal and pay the statutory severance payment according to the employee’s actual gross regular monthly salary.

Special Tax Provisions And Severance Payments

According to article 15 par. 3 of the Greek Income Tax Code, severance payments are subject to Greek withholding tax as follows:

  • 0% tax for severance payments up to €60,000;
  • 10% tax for severance payments between €60,001 and €100,000;
  • 20% tax for severance payments between €100,001 and €150,000; and
  • 30% tax for severance payments over €150,001.

Allowances Payable To Employees After Termination

Employers are not required to pay allowances to employees after termination.


Time Limits For Claims Following Termination

Claims relating to an unfair dismissal can be raised within a period of three (3) months of the termination. Claims relating to severances can be raised within a period of six (6) months from the event.

Specific Matters Which Are Important Or Unique To This Jurisdiction

No.



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Yannis Kelemenis
Kelemenis & Co.
Greece


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© 2024, Kelemenis & Co. All rights reserved by Kelemenis & Co. as author and the owner of the copyright in this chapter. Kelemenis & Co. has granted to Multilaw non-exclusive worldwide license to use and include this chapter in this guide and to sublicense Lexis Nexis, a division of RELX Inc. and its affiliates certain rights to use and distribute this Guide.

The information in the How to Hire and Fire Guide provides a general overview at the time of publication and is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all legal developments nor should it be taken as opinion or legal advice on the matters covered. It is for general information purposes only and readers should take legal advice from a Multilaw member firm.

Publication Date: February 2024