Statutory notice period
The minimum notice an employer must give. Contracts and collective agreements can lengthen it and only rarely shorten it, and the tenure bands are where cross-border assumptions usually go wrong.
Written notice is required only for indefinite contracts that have lasted more than 12 months, and giving it halves the statutory severance; dismissing without notice is equally valid on payment of the full severance. Extended to manual workers by the 2021 equalisation of dismissal terms.
| Service | Employer notice | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 12 months of service | none | dismissal in the first year also carries no statutory severance |
| 12 completed months to 2 years | 1 month | effective from the day after notification |
| 2 to 5 years | 2 months | effective from the day after notification |
| 5 to 10 years | 3 months | effective from the day after notification |
| From 10 completed years | 4 months | effective from the day after notification |
Notice is a cost lever rather than a duty: with written notice the employer pays half the severance scale, without it the whole. The severance scale itself runs from 2 monthly salaries after a year to 12 at 16 years, with grandfathered additions for service predating late 2012.
Source: Ν. 4093/2012, υποπαρ. ΙΑ.12, αποζημίωση απόλυσης, κείμενο, Lawspot, statutory text; Αποζημίωση απόλυσης, Επιθεώρηση Εργασίας, Hellenic Labour Inspectorate. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Minimum paid annual leave
The statutory floor for paid holiday. The counting basis matters as much as the number, since some laws count a six-day week and others count working days or calendar weeks.
20 working days per year.
On a five-day week; 24 on a six-day week. Accrues from day one at the yearly rate, rises to 21 days in the second calendar year and 22 from the third, with further long-service increases, and must be granted by the end of the first quarter of the following year at the latest.
Source: Τι ισχύει για την ετήσια άδεια αναψυχής των εργαζομένων, ΚΕΠΕΑ/ΓΣΕΕ via Forin.gr; Ημέρες άδειας, Επιθεώρηση Εργασίας, Hellenic Labour Inspectorate. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Probation limit
The longest trial period the law allows an employer to agree, together with the notice that applies while it runs.
6 months at most, with notice of none for either side during it.
An agreed trial of up to 6 months on an indefinite contract, proportionate on fixed terms; if the employer judges the trial unsuccessful the contract under trial dissolves of itself, while a successful trial counts from the original hire date. Protective employment law applies throughout.
Separately, the older rule treating the first 12 months of an indefinite contract as a trial for severance purposes was not repealed, so dismissal below a year of service carries neither notice nor statutory severance whether or not a probation clause was agreed.
Source: Ν. 5053/2023 άρθρο 4, δοκιμαστική περίοδος, κείμενο, Taxheaven, statutory text; Οι εργασιακές ρυθμίσεις του ν. 5053/2023, Ελένη Πάντζου, labour law commentary. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Employer social contributions
What the employer pays on top of gross salary into statutory schemes. Some countries charge a percentage of pay, others charge flat amounts, and a single headline rate hides caps, regional rules and industry-rated items.
Figures apply for 2026.
| Scheme | Rate, per cent of pay | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Social insurance, employer share, standard private-sector package (e-EFKA with supplementary funds)The single package rate for ordinary salaried employment; the exact rate follows the coverage-package code of the role. The ceiling was indexed up by the year's inflation from January 2026. | 21.79 | pay up to 7,761.94 EUR per month |
Arduous and unhealthy occupations carry an employer supplement of a few points. Since November 2025 the statutory premiums for night, overtime, Sunday and holiday work of full-time staff are exempt from contributions, and the customary year runs on fourteen salary payments, so annual employer cost budgets on fourteen, not twelve.
Source: Εγκύκλιος 4/2026, αναπροσαρμογή ανώτατου ορίου ασφαλιστέων αποδοχών, e-ΕΦΚΑ; Εργοδοτικές εισφορές 2026: ποσοστά, πλαφόν, κόστος πρόσληψης, Nerally accountancy, February 2026. Checked on 2026-07-27.