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🇬🇷Complete Greece hiring guide

Hiring in Greece through an EOR (2026)

Here's what you need to know before you hire in Greece: what it really costs an employer, the employment laws that shape the contract, and how an Employer of Record lets you hire compliantly without opening a local entity. Every figure below is sourced and dated.

21.8%Employer cost on top
€920Minimum wage / mo
20 daysPaid annual leave
Days, not monthsTime to hire via EOR
Robbin Schuchmann
Written by:
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Last updated: April 1, 2026

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Greece puts a 21.79% employer social security contribution on top of every gross salary you pay, and that single figure shapes your total cost more than anything else. For context, the average annual wage sits at around 32,257 EUR, so that contribution adds up fast. What you get in return is access to a labour force of roughly 4.7 million people who work some of the longest hours in Europe, averaging 1,898 hours a year, well above most EU peers.

Hiring through an Employer of Record (EOR) means you skip the need to register a Greek legal entity and still stay fully compliant with Greek labour law. The EOR handles payroll, social contributions, and statutory entitlements on your behalf. Greece has a total tax wedge of 39.3%, so understanding the full cost picture before you make an offer is genuinely important.

Greece at a glance

The statutory facts that drive a hire in Greece. Each row shows where the figure comes from and how current it is, so you can trust the number and check it yourself.

Pay & working time

Minimum wageper month€920CurrentNational government · 2026
Average wageper year32,257DatedOECD · 2024
Statutory work week40 hours/weekCurrentStatutory working time (national labour law) · 2021
13th-month salarymandatoryCurrentNational government · 2026

Employer cost & tax

Employer social securityof gross salary21.8%AgingOECD · 2025
Employee social securitywithheld from pay13.4%AgingOECD · 2025
Total tax wedge39.3%AgingOECD · 2025
Corporate tax rate22%AgingOECD · 2025

Termination

Notice period0 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Employing Workers / B-READY · 2019
Severance pay15.9 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Employing Workers / B-READY · 2019
Employment protectionOECD EPL, scale 0–62.5DatedOECD · 2019

Leave & time off

Paid annual leave20 daysCurrentNational government · 2026
Public holidays9 daysCurrentNational government · 2026
Maternity leave56 weeksDatedOECD Family Database · 2024
Paternity leave11.1 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Women, Business and the Law · 2026
Parental leave8.7 weeksDatedOECD Family Database · 2024

Labour market

Retirement age62DatedOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
Unemployment rate9.7%AgingOECD · 2025
GDP per capita$24,626DatedWorld Bank Open Data · 2024
Union density13.4%DatedOECD/AIAS ICTWSS · 2020
Collective bargaining coverage13.1%DatedOECD/AIAS ICTWSS · 2017

What it costs to hire in Greece

Salary is only part of the bill. On top of gross pay you owe employer social security and statutory contributions. Here's what an example salary of $32,000 a year actually costs you as the employer.

Gross annual salary$32,000
Employer contributions≈ 21.8% of gross+ $6,973
Total employment cost$38,973
Your EOR handles the filings

Illustrative, based on the employer social-security rate above. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of this total and runs the income-tax withholding and statutory filings, which are withheld from the employee's pay, not paid by you.

The employer cost in Greece is driven primarily by the 21.79% social security contribution applied on top of gross wages. Employees also contribute 13.37% from their own side, but that is their cost, not yours. Together these contributions fund pensions, healthcare, and unemployment insurance under the Greek social insurance system. There are no additional statutory employer contributions listed beyond the 21.79%, so that percentage is the main lever to watch when modelling your true cost per hire.

Income tax in Greece

The average effective income-tax rate is about . This is withheld from the employee's salary; an EOR runs the withholding and filing.

Employer contributions
Social security21.8%
Employee contributions
Social security13.4%

Employment-law essentials

The rules an EOR enforces in your contracts, and the ones most likely to trip you up if you tried to hire in Greece on your own.

Working time
Statutory work week40 hours/week
Pay & 13th salary
Minimum wage€920
13th-month salarymandatory
Leave
Paid annual leave20 days
Public holidays9 days
Maternity leave56 weeks
Paternity leave11.1 weeks
Termination
Notice period0 weeks
Severance pay15.9 weeks

Statutory minimums shown. Collective agreements or contracts can be more generous; an EOR applies whichever is correct for the role.

Things to watch in Greece

A few Greece-specific details are worth keeping front of mind before you commit to headcount.

  • Employer social security is substantial. At 21.79% of gross salary, it is one of the higher rates in Southern Europe. Budget for it from day one so your offer letter reflects the real total cost.
  • Maternity leave runs for 56 weeks. That is over a year, which is a long cover period to plan around. Make sure your resourcing plan accounts for extended absences.
  • Severance can reach 15.9 weeks. Greece has a moderately strict employment protection framework, with an overall EPL score of 2.5. Ending a contract is not cheap, so think carefully before hiring on a permanent basis if your project timeline is short.
  • Collective bargaining coverage is low at 13.1%. Most workers are not covered by a sector agreement, which means statutory minimums and individual contracts carry more weight. The monthly minimum wage is 920 EUR, so any offer needs to clear that floor.

EOR vs. opening your own entity in Greece

Use an EOR when…
You're hiring one to a handful of people in Greece.
You want someone working in weeks, not months.
You'd rather not own local payroll, tax and compliance.
You're testing the market before committing.
Open your own entity when…
You're scaling to a large local team long-term.
Per-employee EOR fees outweigh the cost of an entity.
You need full control of local employment and IP.

Choosing an EOR for Greece

Providers with strong Greece coverage onboard faster and carry less risk. A shortlist to start from:

Compare all EOR providers in Greece

Common questions about hiring in Greece

Common questions about hiring in Greece through an EOR.

Do I need a legal entity to hire someone in Greece? +
No. An Employer of Record (EOR) already has a legal entity in Greece and employs the person on your behalf, so you can hire compliantly without opening your own entity. You manage the day-to-day work; the EOR handles the local contract, payroll, taxes and statutory benefits.
How much does it cost to employ someone in Greece? +
On top of gross salary, employers in Greece contribute roughly 21.8% in social security and statutory costs. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of that total employment cost.
What is the minimum wage in Greece? +
The statutory minimum wage in Greece is €920. Pay below this is not permitted, and an EOR will hold contracts to at least this floor.
How hard is it to terminate an employee in Greece? +
Ending employment in Greece generally requires a notice period of around 0 weeks and severance of about 15.9 weeks, subject to the reason for termination and the employee's tenure. An EOR runs the offboarding in line with local law to limit your risk.
How much paid leave do employees get in Greece? +
Employees in Greece are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave, in addition to public holidays. Statutory leave is one of the entitlements your EOR administers automatically.
About the author
Robbin Schuchmann
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Robbin is the co-founder of EOR Overview, an independent research site for Employer of Record services. He has been in the international hiring space for over a decade.
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