Last updated on January 25, 2024.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Greece

Vacation Quota (Annual Leave)

At least 20 days

Employees in Greece receive at least 20 days of paid vacation. This applies to regular employees who have 5 working days per week. Employees with a 6-day working week are entitled to 24 days of vacation.

An employee’s exact number of days depends, besides the number of working days per week, also on the number of years of employment.

Annual Leave During the First Three Years of Employment

Employees become eligible for annual leave entitlement after 12 months of continuous service. However, employees begin to earn their vacation days already after a month of work, and their enitlement is pro-rated.

Vacation days for regular 5-day workweek employees in the first three years accrue as follows:

• During the calendar year when an employee is hired: an employee earns vacation entitlement pro rata; this means that they accrue days of annual leave proportionally to the number of months they work. The result is always rounded up.

• During the 2nd calendar year: after completing 12 months of service, vacation entitlement increases by 1 day, making a total of 21 vacation days.

• From the third year onwards, employees can take their full vacation entitlement at any time during the year, starting on January 1st. After completing 24 months of service, employees are entitled to 22 days of vacation.

Employees working 6 days a week earn 2 days per month in the first year; during the second calendar year, they are entitled to at least 25 days, and in the third year, 26 days.

Workers with 10 years of service in the same company are eligible for 25 days of leave. Those with a total of 12 years of employment, regardless of whether it’s in one or more companies, receive 30 days of annual leave.

Payment of Unused Vacation Days Upon Termination

When an employer ends an employment contract without giving notice, they are required to pay the full severance amount. However, if the termination occurs with advance notice provided to the employee, the employer is only required to pay half of the severance.

Sick Leave in Greece

Depends on seniority and the duration of the sick leave.

Employees in Greece are entitled to sick leave in relation to their number of years of service.

• Employment for up to 4 years: one month of sick leave.

• Employment from 4 to 10 years: 3 months of sick leave.

• Employment for more than 10 years: 4 months of sick leave.

• Employment for more than 15 years: 6 months of sick leave.

Payout

Sick leave is paid 50% to 100% of regular salary during the first 30 days of absence. The first three days are paid by the employer, and afterwards, an employee receives benefits from social security.

Sick pay depends on many factors, firstly the duration of it. It is paid by different entities and at different rates. The precise amount of sick pay is specified by the calculations of social security. If you want to find out more about payments during sick leave, please follow the link explaining sickness cash benefits provided by the official website of the EU.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave

Up to 43 weeks

An employee who becomes pregnant is entitled to fully-paid basic maternity leave of 17 weeks (119 calendar days).

This leave is broken down into two segments:

• Prenatal leave: 8 weeks (56 days) before the childbirth,
• Postnatal leave: 9 weeks (63 days) after childbirth.

After finishing 17 weeks of basic maternity leave, an employee may continue with special maternity leave for 6 months (26 weeks), for a total of 43 weeks. A mother may also have flexible working arrangements, which involve reduced daily working hours.

All these benefits make Greece one of the countries with the longest maternity leave in the EU.

Payout

The employer pays the first 15 days at a rate of 100% of an employee’s salary (if an employee has worked from 10 days up to 1 year) or 1 month (if an employee has worked more than 1 year). After that, an employee receives benefits from the government.

During a basic maternity leave of 17 weeks, an employee is paid her full salary. During her special leave, she receives compensation equivalent to the legally determined minimum daily wage along with payment of social insurance.

Eligibility

To be eligible for maternity leave, an employee only needs to be employed (with no duration specified), but special rules apply if she wants to gain paid leave, and you may read all about maternity and paternity benefits on the website of the European Union.

Paternity Leave

2 days

A father of a newborn child in Greece receives 2 days of fully paid paternity leave. The employer pays this leave at full pay.

Bereavement Leave in Greece

2 days

An employer must provide their employees with two days of paid bereavement leave in case a close relative passes away.

Jury Duty Leave in Greece

Employees who are called for jury duty must be provided with a leave of absence from their work.

Military Leave in Greece

There is no law defining military leave.

Voting Leave in Greece

Up to 3 days

Employees may be entitled to up to 3 paid days of voting leave for fulfilling their civic right and duty if they need to travel to vote. An accurate number of days off is based on the distance they must travel between the workplace and where voting takes place. The days are determined by a decree of a ministry. After voting, an employee is required to present evidence of their participation in the election to their employer.

Marriage leave

5 days

Employees receive up to 5 days of marriage leave for their own wedding.

Public Holidays in Greece for 2024

January 1 - New Year

January 6 - Epiphany

March 18 - Orthodox Ash Monday (Shrove Monday)

March 25 - Greek Independence Day

May 1 - Labor Day

May 3 - Orthodox Good Friday

May 5 - Orthodox Easter Sunday

May 6 - Orthodox Easter Monday

Jun 23 - Orthodox Whit Sunday

Jun 24 - Orthodox Whit Monday

August 15 - Assumption Day

October 28 - Ochi Day (National Anniversary Day)

December 25 - Christmas Day

December 26 - Synaxis of the Mother of God (2nd Day of Christmas)

National holidays that coincide with weekends are generally not moved to the preceding or following working day, as it is in the most leave laws in Europe.

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/greece

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Greece, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/greece/

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Greece, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/Greece

4. Greece - Maternity/Paternity Benefits, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1112&intPageId=4561&langId=en

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.