Hiring in Greece

The terms set out role, salary in EUR, working time, leave, notice and any restrictive covenants. The EOR is the counterparty to the employee, which is what removes the need for your own entity.

Contracts are usually issued in Greek or as a bilingual Greek and English document, since filings and any dispute run in Greek.

Fixed-term contracts are permitted, but repeated renewals can convert them into indefinite contracts and most EORs default to indefinite terms.

Set probation from day one in the written terms. The 12-month window applies whether or not probation was agreed, so it is the protection that matters most.

Some EORs shorten probation as policy because they, not you, carry the dismissal risk. Ask before you agree a start date.

Hours 41 to 45 count as overwork at 1.2 times the hourly rate. Legal overtime beyond that is paid at 1.4 times, up to 150 hours a year, and overtime worked outside the legal formalities costs 2.2 times.

Most professional hires are covered, because the managerial exemption is reserved for genuine senior roles. Put the position in writing either way.

Leave comes with a holiday allowance of up to half a month's salary on top of leave pay, so include it when you budget. Leave for one year must be used by the end of the following March, and leave the employer fails to grant is paid at double.

Sick pay is shared: the employer pays half wages for the first 3 days, then the e-EFKA sickness benefit applies and the employer tops up for a period that grows with service. Maternity leave is largely state funded while 14 working days of paternity leave are employer paid, so confirm which side the EOR carries.

No notice or severance is owed in the first 12 months. After that the employer either serves notice or dismisses immediately, and serving full notice halves the statutory severance, which otherwise runs from 2 months' pay to a cap of 12. Severance is calculated on monthly salary plus a sixth for the statutory bonuses.

The EOR runs the process as the legal employer and will want the paperwork in order, including the written termination notice, severance (or its first instalment) paid at dismissal, the ERGANI filing, final pay and unused leave. A dismissal without severance is invalid and abusive dismissal claims exist, so keep a documented reason.

Private medical cover, group life and pension schemes are common for professional roles even though they are not mandatory.

EORs often bundle benefits through a group scheme. Ask what is included in the fee and what is billed on top.

Employer contributions add 21.79% on top of gross salary, bonuses included, up to a monthly earnings ceiling of 7,761.94 EUR in 2026. That is before the EOR fee.

ERGANI is the trap. The hire must be declared on the ERGANI II platform before the employee starts work, and undeclared work is fined at 10,500 EUR per person, so confirm the filing before day one.

Ask whether the EOR sponsors directly or refers to a partner. A partner-model EOR often cannot sponsor at all, and the quota for non-EU hires and the Blue Card salary threshold apply to the sponsor and the role, not to you.

Set start dates after approval, not before.

Get the data processing terms in the service agreement, not just the privacy notice. Transfers outside the EEA need a lawful basis.

Ask where payroll data is hosted and who in the partner chain can see it.

Incorporation is reasonably quick through the GEMI one-stop shop, but the running cost is the point: a licensed accountant, monthly payroll and e-EFKA filings, audit thresholds and payroll software set an annual floor.

Permanent establishment risk is about what people do, not where payroll sits. Revenue-generating activity can create exposure regardless of the employment route.