Employment 2023 Comparisons

Blue-Collar and White-Collar Workers

Greek labour law distinguishes between blue-collar and white-collar workers based on the nature of the work performed. White-collar workers mainly carry out professional, managerial, or administrative work requiring analytical skills, typically in an office environment, and their duties require specific skills and qualifications, whereas blue-collar workers are those who primarily carry out manual work and are mainly managed or guided by a supervisor.

Typically, a white-collar worker is paid a monthly salary while a blue-collar worker is paid a daily wage.

Executive Employees

Executive employees are not subject to standard working hours or working days. Consequently, they are not entitled to overtime, Sunday, or holiday pay, etc.  For an employee to be considered an executive, they must possess certain powers and fall under one of the following categories:

• they must either:
1. exercise managerial rights in relation to the other employees of the company; represent the company in external dealings;
2. be a member of the company’s Board of directors or equivalent management body; or
3. be a shareholder or partner holding more than 0.5% of the employer’s voting rights.
• be in charge of units or departments or other autonomous organisational units of the company specified in its organisational structure, be instructed to supervise part of the company’s essential (and continuous, interrupted or exceptional) operations, and their agreed monthly remuneration is at least six times the prevailing minimum statutory wage; or
• their monthly salary is no less than eight times the prevailing minimum statutory wage (currently EUR780 gross).

Different Types of Employment Contracts

Employment contracts can be either fixed term or indefinite term contracts.

Fixed-term contracts are terminated automatically when the contractually agreed term expires. By way of exception, they may be terminated prior to their contractually agreed term for just cause, without any prior notice or severance payment. In the absence of such just cause, the employer is obliged to pay all remuneration due to the employee until the agreed end date.

A fixed-term contract must be in writing and can be renewed no more than three consecutive times during a total period of three years and cannot exceed a maximum duration of three years. A break of more than forty-five calendar days is required in order to avoid the characterisation of consecutive fixed-term contracts as indefinite contracts.

Additional Requirements and Terms to be Included in the Employment Contracts

In general, the employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing regarding the main employment terms and conditions, within either one week or one month of the beginning of the employment relationship, as set out below.

The Employment terms or conditions to be notified to the employee by the employer within one week of the beginning of the employment relationship are:

• The full details of the contracting parties.
• The place of work.
• The job position or the employee’s specialty, grade, nature or category of work.
• The date of beginning of the employment relationship.
• The date of expiry of fixed term employment contracts or agreed duration.
• The duration and conditions of the probationary period, if any. The parties may agree on a notice period up to six months.
• Any remuneration to which the employee is entitled, the frequency and the method of its payment.
• Daily or weekly working hours, provision regarding the provision of overtime work or additional work and their remuneration and provisions regarding shifts.
• (If the work pattern is entirely or mostly unpredictable), the employer shall inform the employee of:
1. The principle that the work schedule is variable.
2. The number of guaranteed paid hours and the remuneration for work performed in addition to those  guaranteed hours.
3. The reference hours and days within the employee may be required to provide services.
4. The minimum notice period to which the employee is entitled before the start of a work assignment.
5. The deadline for cancellation in which the employer is entitled to cancel a work assignment.

The Employment terms or conditions to be notified to the employee by the employer within one month of the beginning of the employment relationship are:

• The details of indirect employer in the case of temporary agency employees.
• The training entitlement provided by the employer, if any.
• The annual leave entitlement, the way and time of granting.
• The procedure to be followed in case of termination.
• Any collective agreements governing the employee’s conditions of work and the names of joint bodies or institutions within which the agreements were concluded.
• The identity of the social security institutions receiving the social contributions attached to the employment relationship and any protection relating to social security provided by the employer.

The employer is obliged to submit to the ERGANI platform, the employee’s employment contact, duly signed by the employee, before the beginning of employment.

Any changes to the agreed employment terms should be notified to the employee in writing within the timelines analysed above.

Fixed-term, part-time employment contracts and remote work agreements shall be concluded in writing. Additional requirements, including provisions related to the granting of remote work equipment, the payment of remote work costs and the employee’s right to disconnect, shall be notified to employees by the employer in case of a remote work agreement.

Contract Language Requirements

There is no legal requirement for employment contracts to be drawn up in Greek. If the employee has fluent knowledge of a foreign language and is therefore able to fully understand the content of the employment contract, the contract may be drawn up in such foreign language.

Maximum Working Hours

The statutory working time is eight hours per day, five days per week and 40 hours per week, or 6.40 hours per day during a six-day week, except for specific categories of employees (ie, bank employees, electricians, builders, under-aged employees, etc), who are employed for fewer hours.

Overwork/Overtime

Legal working hours may be exceeded by five hours per week (one hour/working day on a five-day work basis) due to increased workload, even without the employee’s consent. This overtime is called “overwork” and is paid at 120% of the hourly wage (unless an employee’s salary is higher than the standard legal wage, and there is an agreement that this excess will cover overwork compensation). For a six-day working week, the 41st to 48th hour is considered overwork and is paid at 120% of the regular hourly wage.

Any work above the 45-hour limit and nine hours daily is considered overtime. An employee can legally work up to 3 hours per day and 150 hours per year of overtime. Every hour of legal overtime is paid at 140% of the hourly wage.

Every hour of overtime that does not comply with the formalities and approval procedures provided for by law is considered “illegal overtime”. For every hour of illegal overtime employees undertake, they are entitled to compensation equal to the current hourly wage plus 120%.

In theory, a special permit to work overtime beyond the 150-hour limit may be requested from the Ministry of Labour, but such a permit is rarely granted and must be justified for very specific reasons and due to extraordinary work. However, if such a permit is granted, this overtime is paid at 160% of the hourly wage.

The provision of paid time off instead of paying the statutory overwork or overtime compensation is not allowed.

The parties may agree in the employment contract that the part of the employee’s salary exceeding the statutory minimum can be offset by the overwork compensation. However, such contractually agreed offsetting is not allowed for overtime compensation. 

Work During Sundays and Public Holidays

Employees are not allowed to work on Sundays or public holidays, unless they are employed by an employer who is exempt by law from such restrictions. The employee’s compensation amounts to 175% of the legal hourly wage.

Furthermore, in case of urgent work necessary to prevent potential damage, employees may work on Sundays or on public holidays if permitted by the competent labour authorities. If this procedure is not followed, Sunday work is considered “illegal”. 

If an employee works for more than five hours on Sunday, he/she is entitled to receive a day off, which the company cannot refuse to grant.

Work During Saturdays

For employees working five days a week, working on Saturdays is considered illegal and employees are entitled to receive 130% of their normal hourly wage.

In order for Saturday work to be considered legal, employees should receive another day off during the same week and said change should be notified to the labour authorities.

Employees of companies that operate on a continuous basis (24/7) through alternative shifts, working under a five-day working week, are entitled to work on the sixth day of the week (ie, Saturday), provided that the employer notifies the ERGANI platform regarding work on the sixth day, before the provision of the employee’s employment.

Work on the sixth day of the week cannot exceed eight hours and the employee is entitled to 140% of their hourly wage.

Employees of companies that do not operate, based on the nature of their services, on a continuous basis (24/7), but can operate 6 days per week (from Monday to Saturday) for 24 hours through alternative shifts, can work on the sixth day of the week only in exceptional cases of severe workload, provided that the employer notifies the competent Labor Authorities prior to the provision of their employment through the Ergani platform.

Work on the sixth day of the week cannot exceed eight hours and the employees are entitled to 140% of their hourly wage.

Night Work

Any work from 22:00 until 06.00 is considered night work and is remunerated at 125% of the hourly wage of the employee.

Part-time Contracts

A part-time employment contract should be concluded in writing and notified to the labour authorities through the ERGANI platform.

Part-time employees enjoy the same employment rights as full-time employees.

If additional work beyond the agreed working hours is required, the part-time employee is obliged to fulfil that requirement if he/she is capable of doing so, and the employee should be remunerated at 112% of his/her hourly wage and up to the completion of eight hours of daily work in total. However, employees may refuse this extra work if such additional working hours become a routine practice rather than an occasional requirement.

Work on a Rotation Basis

Another form of part-time employment is work on a rotation basis. Under this arrangement, employees work their full daily hours but only on specific days of the week. Such flexible working arrangement requires a written agreement by the parties and a notification to the labour authorities.

If the employer faces reduced turnover, they can independently decide to implement a rotational working model. However, this can only last up to nine months in a year. Before imposing this, the employer must:

• consult with the legal representatives of their employees, like the union or works council; and
• notify the labour authorities of their decision.

Other Working Time Arrangements

In the absence of a trade union in the company, or in case of not reaching an agreement with trade union and the employer, the employee may individually agree (in writing) with the employer to work an additional two hours beyond the standard eight-hour daily work period. The extra hours worked in the “increased work period” can be compensated for by reducing the hours in another period, granting days off, or even annual leave. The increased and reduced work period may not exceed a total of six months within a period of twelve months (the reference period). Under this arrangement, employees may legally work four days per week (ie, Monday to Thursday with a day off on Friday).

Statutory Minimum Salary

As of 1 April 2023, the legal minimum wage is set for unmarried white-collar employees without prior working experience at EUR780.00 per month and for unmarried blue-collar employees without prior working experience at EUR34.84 per day.

Holiday Bonuses

Under Greek law, an employee is entitled to 12 monthly salaries per year plus one monthly salary as a Christmas bonus, half a monthly salary as an Easter bonus, and half a monthly salary as a holiday bonus; in total, 14 monthly salaries per year.

The Christmas Bonus is equal to one month’s salary in the case of white-collar workers or to 25 daily wages in the case of blue-collar workers. The Easter bonus is equal to half a monthly salary for white-collar workers or to 15 daily wages for blue-collar workers.

An employee is entitled to receive 100% of the Christmas bonus if he/she continuously worked from 01/05 to 31/12, and 100% of the Easter bonus if he/she continuously worked from 01/01 to 30/04. If an employee has worked fewer days during the above reference periods, he/she is entitled to receive a prorated amount corresponding to the actual days worked.

Voluntary Benefits

Employers sometimes offer voluntary benefits beyond the agreed-upon salary. When there is an explicit provision stating these benefits may not be continuous in the future, they are not considered a part of the regular salary. As confirmed by case law, if the employer has not reserved the right to discontinue the benefit in the future, this benefit is considered an acquired right.

Annual Leave and Payment

All employees are entitled to a fixed number of paid annual leave days, depending on the years of service with the company, or/and other employers.

First calendar year

Upon joining the company and for the remaining months until the end of that calendar year (December), an employee is entitled to two days of leave per month, up to the maximum amount of days they would be entitled should they have worked at the company for one whole year – ie, up to 20 days for employees working a five-day week and 24 days for employees working a six-day week.

Second calendar year

In the second calendar year, an employee working a five-day week is entitled to 20 days of annual leave. After one full year of service, the employee is entitled to one extra day, bringing their annual leave entitlement to 21 days in total. 

Third calendar year

From the third calendar year onwards, an employee is entitled to 22 days of annual leave, which may be taken all at once.

Employees with a minimum of 12 years of experience or who have been working for at least ten years with the same employer are entitled to 25 days of annual leave if they work a five-day week, and 30 days if they work a six-day week.

Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to 17 weeks of maternity leave: eight weeks before the baby is born and nine weeks after.

Special maternity protection leave

New mothers, insured by e-EFKA, following the granting of maternity leave, are entitled to special maternity protection leave. This special leave can extend up to nine months. Beneficiaries of this leave also include mothers who have a child through surrogacy, as well as mothers who adopt a child (from the time of adoption until the child reaches the age of eight).

The employer is not obliged to pay any salary to the employee during such leave, since it is a benefit provided by the Greek Public Employment Service (Dimosia Ipiresia Apasoholisses or DYPA). During this period, the DYPA pays an allowance to the employee rather than the employer, based on the statutory minimum salary (and not the contractual salary). If the employee does not wish to use the totality of that leave, the rest of the days/months cannot be transferred to another period.

Mothers are entitled to transfer up to seven months of the special maternity protection leave to the father if the father is employed under a fixed or permanent employment contract either on a full- or part-time basis.

Childcare Leave – Reduced Daily Working Hours

Any working parent, even if the other parent is not working, is entitled to childcare leave. This leave allows parents of young children to work reduced hours for a period of 30 months after the end of maternity leave or the 9-month special protection maternity leave or parental leave.

This leave can be taken as outlined below.

Option 1

Parents are entitled to work one hour less each day with no decrease in regular pay for a period of 30 months – ie, they can choose to come to work later, leave earlier, or take an hour’s break during the day.

Option 2

Parents can work two hours less each day for a period of 12 months and one hour less each day for the following 6 months with no decrease in regular pay.

Option 3

The above-mentioned entitlement to reduced daily working hours can be converted into an “equal time continuous paid leave”, upon agreement with the employer.

Option 4

Parents can choose to consolidate their entitled reduced hours into complete leave days. These full days off are distributed over weeks.

Other options

This leave can be taken in other ways agreed on by the parties.

Parental Leave

Each working parent who has completed one year of service with the employer and has custody of his/her child is also entitled to parental leave, which can be used until the child reaches eight years old.

Parental leave is granted for a period of four months, either continuously, in part or in another flexible way, upon request of the parent. To avail of this, employees must:

• submit a request to the company, either in writing or electronically, specifying the start and end dates of the proposed leave; and
• ensure the request is made at least a month before the intended start unless there is an urgent need.

The employer shall respond to the request within a month, and shall generally grant the leave request within the requested period, unless this would significantly disrupt the normal operation of the business. In the latter case, the employer shall document in writing the granting of the leave at a different time or suggest alternatives (eg, granting in parts) or other flexible ways of granting (eg, reduced working hours) based on business needs. In any case and in the absence of any other agreement between the parties (eg, a flexible arrangement), the leave needs to be granted by the employer within two months of the request.

Payment during parental leave

Parental leave is not paid by the employer (unless otherwise agreed between the parties).

For the first two months of parental leave, the Greek Public Employment Service (Dimosia Ipiresia Apasoholisses or DYPA) is obliged to pay the employee a monthly parental allowance, the amount of which is equal to the prevailing statutory minimum wage, as well as the proportion of holiday gifts and bonuses calculated on the basis of the above amount.

Special Leave for Antenatal Examinations

Pregnant employees are entitled to paid absence from work to attend antenatal examinations, where such appointments must take place during working hours.

Special Leave for Receiving IVF Treatment

An employee receiving IVF treatment is entitled to seven working days of paid leave, subject to providing the relevant medical certificate.

Marriage Leave

Employees are entitled to paid marriage leave of six working days for employees who work six days per week and five days for employees who work five days per week.

Leave Due to Illness of Child or Other Dependent

Working parents are entitled to up to six days of unpaid leave per calendar year in case of the illness of their child or other dependent family member, upon their request. The entitlement to such special leave is increased to eight working days if the employee is responsible for the protection of two children, and to 14 working days if he/she is responsible for the protection of more than two children. This is an individual and non-transferable right.

Leave Due to Serious Illnesses of Children

Working parents are entitled to a special paid parental leave of ten working days to cater to the needs of their children. This applies to children up to the age of 18 who require blood transfusions, dialysis, have a neoplastic condition, or need a transplant. Additionally, this leave is also available for children of any age diagnosed with severe mental disabilities, Down syndrome, or autism.

Leave due to Hospitalisation of Children

Working parents are entitled to a special unpaid parental leave in case of the hospitalisation of their child, regardless of the latter’s age, due to illness or accident which necessitates the immediate presence of the parent, for as long as the treatment lasts and in any case not more than 30 working days per year.

Leave for Single Parents

Working parents who have been widowed, and unmarried parents who have the sole custody of a child, are entitled to paid leave of six working days per year. An employee with three children or more is entitled to eight working days of such leave per year.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Absence Due to Reasons of Force Majeure

Employees, whether they are parents or caregivers, have the right to take paid leave from work up to two times a year, with each leave not exceeding one working day. This leave is granted for urgent family matters arising from unforeseen events, such as accidents or illnesses that are validated by a medical professional or hospital, where the employee's immediate presence is essential. 

Caregiver Leave

Employees who live with or care for a person in need and have completed six months of service with an employer are entitled to unpaid caregiver’s leave, for up to five working days per calendar year.

Sickness Leave

In case of sickness, an employee is entitled to be remunerated by the employer for the following maximum periods:

• if the employee has been employed by the company for at least one year, he/she is entitled to be remunerated for a maximum of one month of absence due to sickness; after this period, the employer has no obligation to pay the employee any salary for the rest of his/her absence due to sickness; or
• if the employee has been employed by the company for less than a year, he/she is entitled to be remunerated for a maximum of half a month of absence.

The total amount payable by the employer is reduced by the relevant amount paid by the Social Security Fund.

Confidentiality – Non-Disparagement obligations

The employee has a direct legal obligation to treat with confidentiality any information he/she received during his/her employment that may adversely affect the company if it becomes public. The employee is further obliged to abstain from any disparaging declarations or statements against his/her employer.  It is common practice to include similar clauses in the employment contract, determining such obligations in a specific manner.

Employee’s Liability

The employee is liable only for the damages which have been intentionally caused to the employer. In case of negligence, the employee may be acquitted by the court or the court may allocate the damages between the parties.

No specific legal framework exists for non-compete restrictions. Greek courts have ruled that for the employer to enforce a non-compete clause, the following requirements must be met:

• the employer should be able to prove that it has a legitimate business interest to protect the clause;
• the scope of the restrictions must be reasonable – said requirement applies to the job position, the needs of the company to provide for the covenant, its term, its geographical limit, the business activity, etc; and
• the employee must receive consideration for his/her loss caused by agreeing to the non-compete clause.

Greek courts have rules that for a non-compete clause to be valid, the employer must offer “reasonable” compensation to the employee, which must be in relation to the restriction imposed (duration, geographic area, activity/business sector, etc). There is no specific formula or amount provided by law; the only condition, which case law provides for, is that the compensation must be “reasonable”, which is judged on a case-by-case basis. In practice, said compensation varies between 50 and 100 percent of the monthly salary of the employee, multiplied by the number of months the restriction clause lasts.

Usually, such clauses are included in the employment agreements of employees in managerial positions, as well as employees who have access to confidential information of the company or deal with important clients or work in a very sensitive function of the company.

The employer may enforce a non-solicitation clause under which the employee undertakes that he/she will refrain from soliciting a restricted list of clients or other employees.

There is no specific regulation either allowing or prohibiting such clauses, the enforceability of which will be determined by the same principles as those applicable to non-compete clauses. In practice, there is a limited duration for this type of contractual commitment (up to 12 months). It applies to direct and indirect solicitation of former employees.

In the context of employment, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the GDPR) sets forth the requirements for the collection, processing and protection of personal data of employees.

Additionally, Greek Law 4624/2019 enacts supplemental measures for the application of the GDPR, including several derogations from the GDPR related to the processing of employee personal data, specifically regarding consent in the employment context, requirements on the processing of special categories of employee data and requirements on the monitoring of employees through CCTV systems.

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority (the HDPA) has also issued several Directives in relation to Data Protection in the employment sphere, notably Directive 1/2011 on the use of CCTV for the protection of natural persons and goods and Directive 115/2001 on employee monitoring.

Under Greek law there are different provisions applicable depending on whether a foreign national qualifies as an EU/EEA citizen or a non-EU/EEA citizen. In particular,

• EU and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) citizens may freely reside and work in Greece. The only requirement for their lawful residence is the possession of a valid EU citizen passport. EEA/EU nationals, who wish to stay and work in Greece for more than three months are provided with an EU national registration certificate, of indefinite period from the police department of their place of residence.
• Third-country nationals who wish to work in Greece must receive, before travelling to Greece, a visa from the Greek Embassy or the Greek Consulate of their country of residence. Once they enter Greece, they should apply for a residence permit during the validity period of this visa, depending on the category they fall under by law.

A basic requirement for the application for a residence/work permit by a non-EU/EEA national is to have already obtained a D-type Visa.

Applications for residence/work permits are submitted to the local Directorate for Foreigners and Immigration of the Decentralised Administration, based on the applicant’s place of residence in Greece, or to the competent Directorate for Immigration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior. Upon due submission of the residence application, the applicant receives a certificate confirming submission of the application form for the issuance of a residence permit, which is valid for one year and serves as a residence permit until the issuance of the official one.

It should be noted that if a non-EU/EEA citizen signs an employment contract without possessing a residence/work permit, the employment contract is invalid.

In accordance with the current legal framework, remote work (regardless of whether this refers to fully remote work or to a hybrid working model) should be mutually agreed between the employer and the employee, in writing.

By exception, remote working may be implemented unilaterally only in specific cases provided by the law: (i) by the employer only for specific reasons related to public health (eg, a pandemic); or (ii) following an employee’s request due to serious health issues. In addition to that, parents of children of up to twelve years old and caregivers have the right to request to work from home.

In any case, during remote work, the employer undertakes to pay minimum remote work costs, which are as follows:

• EUR13 per month for the use of the employee’s residence as a workplace;
• EUR10 per month for telecommunications costs; and
• EUR5 per month for the maintenance of work equipment.

If telecommunications costs are covered by the employer through a separate contract signed with a telecommunications provider, the employer is released from the payment of the respective cost to the employee. Similarly, if the work-related equipment is already provided by the employer, the latter is not obliged to pay any maintenance costs to the employee.

If an employee works remotely for less than 22 days per month (ie, because he/she may work at the company’s premises, or he/she is on leave, etc), the employee is compensated with a proportion equal to 1/22 of the above costs per working day (ie, for the days working from home).

With regard to the payment procedure of such amounts, it is clarified that they shall be deposited separately into the employee’s bank account and not through normal payroll since they constitute expenses and therefore are not subject to social security contributions and taxes.

Data Privacy Requirements

• In the context of remote work, data protection legislation (ie, the GDPR and Greek Law 4624/2019, as well as relevant decisions, guidelines, directives and other acts of the HDPA) shall apply.
• A Ministerial Decision is expected to be published in Greece regulating specific data privacy matters in relation to remote work, upon the relevant legal opinion of the HDPA. Such Ministerial Decision is also expected to include provisions related to monitoring of working hours and compliance with labour legislation in general during remote work, as well as provisions safeguarding business confidentiality and employees’ personal data.
• Guidelines 2/2020 of the HDPA have established the appropriate technical measures to be included in remote work procedures applied by the employer.
• If the employer wants to hire employees under a bring your own device (BYOD) policy in the context of mobile work, they must establish an official BYOD policy approved by the most senior management. Appropriate measures must apply to distinguish between the private and professional use of a personal device, especially when monitoring software is in place, and the employer may not access private parts of the personal device. In addition, the employer must implement methods for securely transmitting data between the employee’s private device and the employer’s network.

Regarding the occupational safety and health issues during remote work, the employer is obliged to inform remote workers with regards to the company’s policies on health and safety matters including:

• information about organisational and technical issues;
• equipment usage guidelines;
• the procedure to be followed if there is an accident during working hours;
• their right to take adequate breaks; and
• their right to disconnect.

From a Greek social security law perspective, employees are insured and therefore pay social security contributions to the Greek Social Security Fund, e-EFKA.

Sabbatical leave is not provided for under Greek labour law. However, unpaid leave of absence can be agreed in writing between the parties for a specific period (up to one year), which can be renewed upon written agreement of the parties. During that period, the employee has no obligation to work, and the employer is exempted from the obligation to pay a salary or social security contributions.

The above-mentioned agreement shall be notified to the employer through the ERGANI electronic platform and a copy of that must be delivered to e-EFKA (the Social Security Fund).

In the current digital era, there are different kinds of remote work that are considered as ‘‘new work”. Apart from working at home (the typical way of remote working), employees may provide their services through:

• mobile telework – working while commuting or from a cottage or a hotel room;
• satellite centres or call centres – these are independent facilities that are set up by a company to allow employees to work remotely while still being in contact with the main office via telecommunications;
• teleworking centres – these are independent facilities that are set up by a company to allow employees to gather and work using digital means that are provided by the employer; and
• desk sharing – this is a hybrid working model where at least two employees share the same desk at the company’s premises on different days.

As of today, no specific regulations exist with respect to the above-mentioned arrangements.

Union membership is a fundamental right safeguarded under Article 12 of the Greek Constitution, guaranteeing employees the freedom to come together and collectively advocate for their rights and interests. This constitutional provision is clear, ensuring that no barriers are placed in the way of employees wishing to unionise. In the workplace, the employer is bound by this constitutional mandate. As such, any action, especially a dismissal, against an employee on the basis of their union involvement is strictly prohibited.

In Greece there are three levels of unions. First-level unions are established by employees of a business sector or a profession or a company. First-level unions may participate in second-level unions, such as federations or labour centres or, in some cases, with both. The federations and labour centres, in turn, may participate in third-level unions such, as a confederation. There are currently two main confederations in Greece: (i) the General Confederation of Greek Employees (Generalîs Synomospondía Ergáton Elládas or GSEE) for private sector employees and (ii) the Civil Servants Confederation (Anotita Dioikisi Enosison Dimosin Ypallilon or ADEDY), representing public sector employees.

The main rights of unions are their right to collective bargaining and their right to strike. They have statutory information and consultation rights in cases of collective dismissals, transfer of undertakings, employee restructuring projects, corporate changes that might affect employment within the company, changes in the organisation of work, the introduction of new technologies, etc.

Under Greek law, trade unions aim to preserve and promote the labour, financial, insurance, social and collective interests of employees. Firstly, the establishment of a union requires at least 20 employees. Secondly, the members of the union’s administration must file a request for recognition with the relevant court. If the court approves the request for recognition, the members of the union must submit, in accordance with Greek law, a petition accompanied by supporting documents through the ERGANI electronic platform of the Ministry of Labour. After that, the union may participate in the collective bargaining consultation process and exercise the right to strike and sign collective bargaining agreements.

Trade union representatives have information, consultation, and negotiation rights. They should be consulted in advance with regards to issues regarding collective dismissals, changes in the legal form of the business, the possible transfer, expansion or limitation of the company’s operations, the introduction of new technology, annual planning of investments in health and security measures, any restrictions or other changes to employment conditions. They are also entitled to negotiate with the employer for the conclusion of a collective labour agreement.

Greek law provides for further employee representative bodies as outlined below.

Work Councils

Work Councils may be formed in every enterprise that employs at least 50 employees. Work councils are elected from the employees and consist of three, five, or seven members, depending on the number of workers employed in the enterprise. While their primary function is advisory, their influence extends beyond this. They have a right to be informed and consulted on several aspects that can significantly impact the workforce. This includes, but is not limited to:

• the drafting of the internal working regulation;
• the execution of a health and safety regulation;
• the preparation of informational programs regarding new development methods and new technologies;
• the organisation of educational and training programmes for employees;
• the scheduling of annual leave;
• the planning of social and cultural events; and
• collective dismissals (in the absence of a union), transfer of businesses, and employee redundancies.

Works council officials enjoy the same protection provided to trade unions, and employers are not allowed to commit acts or omissions aimed at obstructing the exercise of their rights or interfering in any way with their activities.

However, in practice works council are not very common in Greece. Employees are mainly represented by trade unions.

European Works Councils

For multinational enterprises, European Works Councils (EWCs) are established for the protection of employees’ rights in a broader, multinational form.  Employees from all countries in which the enterprise is engaged participate in an EWC.

The Health and Safety Committee or the Health and Safety Representative(s)

This applies to companies with less than 50 employees. The health and safety committee (or the health and safety representative(s) in companies with less than 50 employees), which is elected every two years, is an employees’ representative body with an advisory role for health and safety matters. If there is a works council within the company, the members of the health and safety committee are appointed by the latter. The purpose of the committee is to advise employers on occupational safety and health measures, but it is not responsible for taking these measures. Health and safety committees identify occupational hazards at the workplace and propose measures for their avoidance. In case of serious accidents at work, they can propose appropriate measures to avoid their reoccurrence. In the event of immediate or serious hazards, they can call on the employer to undertake appropriate measures, which may include shutting down machinery and installations or even suspending the production process.  Health and safety representatives and members of a health and safety committee are protected against dismissal, and they must not suffer adverse consequences due to their occupational health and safety activities.

The types of collective agreements are limited to the following:

• national collective labour agreements (NCLA), which are applicable to all employees in Greece, and currently include only non-monetary terms; such NCLAs include the minimum employment terms for all employees;
• sectoral collective agreements, which are applicable to employees and employers who are members of the respective contracting trade unions; in exceptional cases, a sectoral collective agreement may cover all the employees and employers of the sector even if they are not members of the respective trade union, if it is declared as generally mandatory by a ministerial decision; 
• occupational collective labour agreements, which apply to employees of the same occupation; and
• company-level collective labour agreements, which are applicable to the employees of the same company.

Termination of indefinite employment contracts do not require the existence of a just cause; however, should the matter proceed to litigation, the employer must demonstrate that the termination was both reasonable and the last viable option.

Generally, the formal requirements for the validity of the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract are the following:

• written notification of the employee;
• simultaneous payment of the severance amount; and
• registration of the employee with the competent social security fund.

In exceptional cases, if the employee has committed a criminal offence and the company has filed a criminal complaint against him/her beforehand, he/she may be terminated without the payment of any severance amount. However, if the employee is acquitted by the criminal court for such criminal offence, the company will be obliged to pay the statutory severance amount upon the issuance of the court’s decision.

The statutory termination document should be signed by the person who is legally authorised by the company to sign employee terminations. In practice, the payroll provider extracts the statutory form (ie, E6 form) from the ERGANI platform and prints it in two originals, to be signed by both parties. If the employee refuses to sign the termination document, the employer should serve this at his/her residence through a court bailiff.

The termination document should be notified electronically to the labour authorities (through the ERGANI electronic platform) by the payroll provider of the company within four working days of the termination date.

The employer is entitled to terminate the employment contract during the first 12 months of employment without notice and severance payment.

Calculation of Severance Payment

The statutory severance entitlement in Greece consists of two elements: (i) the basic severance, which is applicable to all employees on indefinite contracts and (ii) the additional severance, which is applicable to employees who, as of 12/11/2012, have completed 17 years of service with the company.

Basic severance

The actual amount of the statutory severance amount (as well as the respective notice periods) depends on the completed years of service. Such basic severance amount is capped at 12 monthly salaries.

The calculation of the basic severance amount is based on the employee’s total regular monthly remuneration of the last month prior to termination. This monthly remuneration is multiplied by 14 (to take into account the Christmas and Easter allowances and the annual leave allowance, as per the Greek legislation), and then divided by 12, in order to produce a monthly average. If the employee receives voluntary benefits (such as a medical plan, pension plan, company car) on a regular basis and without a reservation on behalf of the employer with respect to their discretionary amendment and/or revocation, the respective monthly amounts should also be taken into consideration for the severance calculation.

Additional severance

Employees who completed more than 17 years of service with the same employer as of 12/11/2012 are entitled to an additional severance of one monthly salary per year of service (over the 17 years) and up to 12 monthly salaries. For said additional severance the following factors shall be considered:

• the years of service of the employee until 12/11/2012, irrespective of the actual termination date (with the evaluation period ending on that date regardless of when the actual termination occurs); and
• the employee’s regular earnings of the last month under full employment up to EUR2,000; this cap is not applicable if the employee meets the legal requirements for a full pension.

Redundancies

The elimination of job positions in the context of a restructuring and in general any type of redundancy, is considered as a justified reason for dismissal. However, the employer should be able to prove in a potential litigation that the employee’s position was actually made redundant, and that the employee was legally selected for redundancy in accordance with the selection criteria stipulated by the law. The employer should also consider whether there are any other alternatives available before proceeding with the redundancy (eg, to offer another vacant role to the affected employee).

The selection criteria should be implemented to comparable employees (ie, employees who are in the same department, level, job position, etc,) and relate to the performance of the employee, seniority, age, family burdens, the employee’s financial status and the possibility of finding a new job. Performance is the prevailing criterion, if it is properly documented.

Collective Dismissals

Specific provisions exist for collective dismissals. If an employer employs between 20 and 150 employees in any calendar month, the collective dismissals procedure will apply if it dismisses more than six employees per calendar month and for companies with over 150 employees, more than 5% of the total workforce and in total more than 30 employees per calendar month.

Specific information and consultation requirements exist for collective dismissals and notifications to the Ministry of Labour. In general, the procedure is bureaucratic and very strict. If the employer fails to fully comply with its statutory obligations, the terminations are considered null and void.

The employer’s notice period in case of termination of indefinite term contracts is specifically provided for by the law and depends on the employee’s completed years of service with the company, as follows:

• from the first completed year of employment and up to two years, the notice period is one month;
• from two to five years, the notice period is two months;
• from five to ten years, the notice period is three months; and
• for more than ten years of service the notice period is four months. 

The employer may opt to terminate the employee either with or without prior notice. In case of termination with the statutory notice, the statutory severance requirement is reduced to 50%.

In practice, termination with notice is not commonly used by employers in Greece since the company would still have to pay the employee’s salaries and benefits during the notice period, effectively retaining a disengaged employee for several months.

Indefinite employment contracts might be terminated without cause. However, given that the employee is entitled to challenge the validity of the termination in court within three months, the employer should be able to rebut the employee’s allegations in case of a potential litigation.

In case of dismissal for performance or misconduct, the granting of previous warning(s) to the employee is advisable. The lack of suitable alternatives must be demonstrated in all cases, to prove that the dismissal was the last viable option.

In cases of redundancies, the employer should follow the selection criteria provided by the law, as described above, and be able to prove that there were no opportunities for redeployment within the company.

For a company to avoid the litigation risks related to a dismissal, it may conclude with the employee a separation agreement, which will include specific waivers/releases regarding the validity of the termination, as well as the non-existence of any claim against the company. Usually, in practice, for an employee to agree to sign such separation agreement, the company should offer, as a motivation, an amount which is higher than the statutory severance. This option is mostly used in cases of redundancies, as well as in cases of terminations of senior executive employees.

Further to the separation agreement, the standard termination form should also be signed by both parties and should be duly notified to the labour authorities electronically in the ERGANI platform within four working days.

There are special protection procedures against dismissal for employees such as:

• war veterans and disabled people with a mandatory employment relationship;
• members of the BoD of a union (for the period during their office and one year after their office);
• employees in military service, pregnant employees and new mothers (during the pregnancy and for a period of 18 months from the birth date); and
• fathers (for a period of six months from the birth date).

Employee representatives (ie, trade union/works council officials) can only be terminated for just cause.

A termination can be challenged by the employee within three months of the termination date, on the basis that it was illegal and abusive; alternatively, the employee is entitled to claim an additional severance amount within six months of the termination date, if he/she can prove that the severance amount paid to him/her was not correctly calculated.

If the court rules in favour of the employee, the termination will be judged null and void and the employee should be reinstated to his/her previous position in the company and shall continue to receive all his/her salaries due as of the termination date and until a new valid termination takes place; in addition, the employee may also claim moral damages.

Following a recent legal reform, if the termination is not specifically prohibited by the law, both parties (ie, either the employee or the employer) may petition the court, in lieu of reinstatement and payment of all remuneration due from the termination date (if the termination is considered illegal by the court), to order a fixed additional severance amount, ranging from three monthly salaries to two times the legal severance.

Any direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex, race, national origin, age, disability or chronic disease, religion or belief or sexual orientation in the field of employment is prohibited. Said prohibition is applicable to all employees, including job candidates, to both the private and public sectors, to the conditions for access to employment (including selection criteria and recruitment conditions), to employment terms and conditions (including dismissals and payment), as well as to participation in collective bodies.

Furthermore, “harassment” – namely, conduct that violates the dignity of another person and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, is considered discriminatory conduct.

Any person who has suffered from discriminatory conduct, in violation of the principle of equal treatment, is entitled to seek legal protection even after the termination of the respective employment relationship.

The burden of proof in case of a discrimination claim lies with the respondent and not the claimant. More specifically, the respondent is obliged to prove the non-existence of any discriminatory conduct, provided that the claimant has presented valid evidence that leads to the presumption that discriminatory conduct has taken place. This obligation does not apply in criminal cases.

Any employer who violates the legal provisions regarding the principle of equal treatment shall also be held liable before the Labour Inspection Authority and face administrative sanctions.

A new system of monitoring employees’ working time under Greek labour law has been introduced. In accordance with the relevant provisions, all company employers in Greece are obliged to operate an electronic system directly connected with the ERGANI II platform (the electronic platform of the Ministry of Labour) in real time; working time will be monitored using a digital work card. The digital work card will be implemented gradually in different business sectors, considering the particularities and the operational needs of the relevant sectors and following relevant consultation with the employers’ and the employees’ representatives. At present, it has been rolled out in banks, supermarkets, insurance and security companies.

In general, class actions for employment issues are not a common practice in Greece. However, there have been cases where a company makes a business decision that may directly affect many employees, who therefore decide to file a class action. A typical example of that is a transfer of business. By filing a class action, employees aim to achieve better representation before the courts, reduce court fees and put more pressure on the competent court to issue a decision in their favour.

Under Greek Law, individual labour law disputes cannot be subject to arbitration. Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution option applicable mostly in cases of collective labour agreements.

Under Greek law, unilateral recourse to arbitration is allowed as the ultimate dispute resolution measure for collective labour disputes solely in the following cases:

• if the collective dispute refers to companies whose function is vital for the service of basic public needs (eg, state companies or utility services companies); or
• in case of collective disputes arising from the failure of the negotiations of the parties to conclude a collective labour agreement (CLA), the resolution of which is required by an actual cause of general social or public interest related to the function of the Greek economy.

The legal provisions also determine that negotiations are considered to have broken down when the regulatory effect of the existing CLA has expired and all alternative measures of understanding and union activities have been exhausted, and the party requesting the arbitration procedure has dully participated in the mediation procedure.

The application for unilateral recourse to arbitration should fully state how the above conditions have been met. Similarly, the respective arbitration decision should also be fully justified; otherwise, it will be considered null and void.

The awarding of attorney’s fees to the employee is subject to the relevant request made by the latter in case of litigation. However, the competent judge has discretion in the matter of the allocation of the attorney’s fees between the litigant parties. He/she is also free to determine not to award any amount to them due to the complexity of the legal issues brought before the court.