How to hire and pay remote workers in Greece

If you’re looking for the right location to hire remote workers, Greece is an excellent choice. Greece has an educated workforce that’s ready and able to work for foreign companies remotely.

However, hiring employees in Greece takes some preparation.

Greece is part of the European Union (EU), which has its benefits and drawbacks. EU member countries are easier to do business with, but they also require foreign companies to navigate some bureaucracy to hire and pay workers properly.

It’s easy to make costly legal mistakes if you don’t follow the correct procedures for employing Greek workers.

Luckily, you don’t need to navigate the hiring process by yourself. In this article, you’ll learn the best way to hire employees in Greece, how to pay them correctly, and all the financial details you need to know to make better hiring and payment decisions.

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in.

Why hire employees in Greece?

Greece is a beautiful country that is still recovering from economic struggles. In 2015, the government defaulted on its debts, and the job market in the country is still working to reach previous levels.

The country also has a long history of valuing education. Higher education is free to Greek citizens, so more than half of the women and a third of the men in the country have at least one college degree. However, the educated people of Greece remain underemployed on the whole. Further, the country’s significant tourism industry has resulted in a population with a deep familiarity with English; more than half of the country speaks it.

When combined, these three factors make Greece a tempting talent market for foreign businesses. By choosing to hire employees in Greece, you can connect with talented, educated workers who speak English and are ready to contribute right away.

Fast facts:

• Time zone: EET/EEST (UTC+2)

• Currency: Euro

• Languages: Greek, English, German, and French

• Population: 10,461,091

• Education level: High

How to hire employees in Greece

Before you can successfully hire employees in Greece, you need to:

• Understand local labor and employment laws in Greece

• Identify mandatory benefits

• Know how to pay employees correctly

• Make sense of employee taxes

• Be aware of termination requirements and notice periods

Let’s look at these in more detail.

What are the local employment laws in Greece?

Hiring employees in Greece requires compliance with local employment laws like standard working hours, employment contracts, and so on. Failing to follow these regulations could land you with a hefty fine or penalty, so it’s best to understand the rules thoroughly before starting the hiring process in this country.

Working hours and overtime

Greece follows the Western standard of a 40-hour workweek. In a five-day workweek, this leads to eight-hour days. In a six-day workweek, a workday is six hours and 40 minutes. It must be made clear in the employment agreement whether a worker is on a five-day or six-day schedule.

Employers can’t require workers to work more than 48 hours a week on average, more than three hours of overtime in a day, or more than 150 hours per year. You can find out more about additional work and overtime in Greece on the government website.

Employment contracts

Employment contracts aren’t mandatory in Greece. However, employers are required to inform employees in writing (either by delivering a physical document or electronically) about the terms and conditions of their employment.

This document should include:

• The employee’s personal information

• Their confirmed place of work (whether in the office, at home, or a mix)

• Their position in the company and job description

• The confirmed commencement date of the contract

• The date of expiry or intended duration (if it’s a fixed-term contract)

You must give all of this to each new employee in Greece within one week of hiring them.

But that’s not all! Within one month of hiring a new employee in Greece, you must provide the following:

• The employee’s salary and bonus payment information (including the method of payment)

• The duration and conditions of the employee’s trial period

• Any training that you’ll provide for the employee to perform their job effectively 

• The duration of paid leave, how they’ll receive it, and the time frame in which you’ll pay it

• Details about the termination of the contract

• The employee’s normal daily or weekly working hours, plus the arrangements for both overtime and shift work

• Details about the indirect employer (if work is provided through a temporary employment agency)

Probationary period

Greece has a statutory probation period of 12 months. During this time, employment can be ended immediately with no severance.

Employers can change the probationary period in an employee contract, agreeing to a different probationary timeframe with an employee.

However, employees within their probationary periods who experience unfair dismissal have essentially the same rights as regular workers with more than one year of tenure. This means they can file a complaint with the Labour Inspection Authority to settle the issue or bring a lawsuit against their employer before the competent courts.

We’ll talk more about termination and notice periods later.

What benefits should employees have in Greece?

Like most countries, Greece has mandatory benefits that employees must receive from their employer, whether they’re in the country or not.

Let’s take a look at the benefits you need to be aware of when hiring in Greece.

Annual leave

In Greece, every employee is entitled to paid annual leave. They receive 20 working days of annual leave if they have a five-day workweek and 24 working days if they have a six-day workweek.

An employee is entitled to paid leave on a pro-rata basis, meaning that it depends on how long they’ve been employed.

For example, if an employee works with a company for six months on a five-day workweek, they’re entitled to 10 days of annual leave during that time.

Employees in Greece are also entitled to paid leave on all official public holidays throughout the year.

Social security

Employers who hire in Greece are required to contribute to social security in addition to the employee's own contribution. This provides benefits such as:

• Old age pension

• Healthcare coverage

• Unemployment benefits

• Disability payments upon retirement or other specific situations

Making social security contributions can be tricky, especially if you’re hiring an employee in Greece when you’re not based there yourself.

The good news is that Remote can handle this for you. When you onboard a full-time employee with Remote, they’re automatically covered by the social security program in the country they’re employed in.

Maternity and paternity leave

In Greece, mothers are entitled to 17 weeks of paid maternity leave at full pay. This is followed by an optional period of unpaid leave, which can be up to six months.

Fathers are entitled to 14 days of paid paternity leave.

For employees who feel 14 days of paternity leave isn’t enough, there’s another option available: working parents can share an additional four months of parental leave following the mother’s maternity leave — although it is unpaid.

Pro tip: Use Remote’s global HR platform to handle benefits administration for employees around the world!

How do foreign businesses pay remote workers in Greece?

One of the most important considerations before hiring anyone in Greece is to determine how you’ll pay them.

Paying people overseas has several complications. You’ll need to navigate the bureaucracy of both Greece and the EU to pay your workers appropriately. As a result, there are three ways for foreign businesses to hire remote employees in Greece:

Open a legal entity in Greece

If you want to pay your workers yourself, you must create a legal entity in Greece. This entity acts as a branch of your company in Greece, and you’ll manage all financial and tax concerns for your Greek employees through this entity.

This is the best-known method of paying Greek remote workers, but it’s also the most labor-intensive.

Work with an employer of record

If you want to hire an employee but don’t want to open an entire legal entity, you can work with an employer of record. These organizations have pre-existing legal entities in countries like Greece, allowing them to hire and pay employees on your behalf.

Remote can act as your employer of record in Greece, meaning that you can hire and pay skilled workers without opening new branches yourself.

Pay Greek workers as contractors

If you don’t want to hire Greek workers as employees, you can pay them as contractors instead. When a worker is classified as a contractor, your company doesn’t need to pay them through a legal entity in Greece. Instead, you can send the funds through direct transfer tools like PayPal or more secure solutions like Remote Contractor Management.

Be sure to avoid misclassification if you choose to work with contractors in Greece.

What are the tax rates for tax brackets in Greece?

All of your Greek workers will be required to pay taxes in Greece, so it’s important to understand how Greek taxes work. Like the US, Greek tax brackets are progressive. The tax rate is applied to the amount of income within that bracket:

• €0 - €20,000: 22% tax rate

• €20,001 - €30,000: 28% tax rate

• €30,001 - €40,000: 36% tax rate

• €40,001+: 44% tax rate

For example, if someone in Greece makes €25,000 per year, they pay:

• 22% taxes on their first €20,000

• 28% taxes on their second €5,000.

That leads to taxes of €4,400 and €1,400, or €5,800 overall.

Employers are required to withhold Greek income tax on behalf of their employees but not for contractors.

What currency do companies pay remote workers in Greece?

Greece uses the euro. As a result, most remote workers in Greece prefer receiving payment in euros. While there may be ways to pay in other currencies, like the American dollar, it’s best to assume that you’ll need a way to convert your currency into euros. That way, you can put measures in place to make this possible before you hire a Greek employee.

Which parts of salary in Greece are taxable?

Not every part of an employee’s salary is taxable. Greece offers some salary exemptions, but not many. This is, in part, a response to Greece’s recent financial struggles. The tax requirements in Greece will significantly impact how you choose to hire and pay Greek workers.

Components of Greece salary that incur full taxes

Greece doesn’t offer a tax bracket that’s exempt from taxes. This means that everyone who makes money in Greece is responsible for paying income taxes, as is every company that employs traditional employees. Bonuses and allowances from employers are also taxed in full.

Components of Greece salary that incur partial taxes

Social security contributions are paid before income tax is calculated. As such, the amount of a Greek employee’s salary that goes toward social security isn’t taxed.

Similarly, if they need to pay for medical expenses for their family, those funds are deducted from their taxes. The first 15% of mortgage and rent payments on employees’ first residences are also deducted from their taxes.

Is per diem taxable in Greece?

A per diem payment is a daily allowance that companies grant their employees for different expenses. Many businesses offer per diem payments for business trips, but they also cover other day-to-day costs. Some employers choose to pay their staff daily instead of monthly or weekly, and these payments are known as “per diems” as well.

In Greece, per diems are typically taxed in full. This is true whether a per diem refers to an employee paid daily or an allowance granted by an employer. However, per diem allowances aren’t subject to withholding and are reported by the employee on their personal taxes.

Is there a difference between allowance and reimbursement in Greece?

There’s a fundamental difference between allowances and reimbursements in Greece. An allowance is granted by a company in advance for their employees to use to purchase necessary services, items, and equipment. This is on top of the regular salary.

Reimbursement is a payment that a company gives employees to fund things they need to buy for their jobs. It’s typically paid retrospectively, meaning the employee has already spent their own money and is claiming the amount back from the company.

Essentially, the company buys these items for its employees by reimbursing them for the expenses.

What payroll deductions are employers required to make in Greece?

Greece requires employers to make two significant mandatory payroll deductions on top of taxes:

• Pensions

• Health insurance

These deductions go to one of the multiple “social insurance” foundations in the country. Different industries must submit these deducted funds to the foundation that’s responsible for their activities. The most common is IKA, also known as the Social Insurance Foundation.

IKA covers both pensions and health insurance. The tax rate for IKA is 15.5% for employees and 24.56% for employers.

Want to see a full breakdown of employment costs for new hires in Greece? Check out our free Employee Cost Calculator tool.

What is the minimum wage in Greece?

As of April 2024, the minimum wage in Greece is €830 per calendar month and a €37.07 hourly rate for skilled workers. This update is part of a new initiative from the Greek government, which involves incrementally increasing the minimum wage over five years to €950 per month by 2027.

How much is overtime pay in Greece?

If a five-day employee works six days a week, the sixth day is paid at 130% of their regular rate.

If an employee works more than the allotted hours in a day for their schedule, they receive overtime pay at 120% of their standard hourly rate for those extra hours.

Similarly, if an employee works more than 45 hours a week on a five-day schedule or 48 hours a week on a six-day schedule, they receive 140% of their regular rate for those extra hours.

How to pay contractors in Greece

You can pay contractors with tools like Remote’s contractor management solutions or directly with payment solutions like PayPal. You can pay contractors in multiple currencies, although most contractors in Greece prefer to be paid in euros.

If you choose to hire contractors rather than employees in Greece, be sure to avoid misclassification.

Misclassifying an employee as a contractor can lead to significant legal problems. The Greek government could sue you for back taxes, as could your employee. You may even lose control of your intellectual property if your employee classification is questioned.

If you’ve hired someone as a contractor incorrectly, you may need to convert them to an employee to avoid penalties. You can learn more about why you should convert a contractor to an employee in our helpful article.

In addition to other concerns, working with contractors may involve complications regarding your intellectual property. Be sure to understand the risks and include ownership of work performed in every contractor agreement.

How to pay remote employees in Greece

If you choose to hire employees, you’ll need to do more work to pay them. The two options are:

• Opening your own legal entity

• Working with an employer of record

Opening your own legal entity may be the sensible choice if you have specific plans to open a new office in Greece for the long term. You may also want to open an entity if you have more than a dozen employees in the country and intend to continue hiring indefinitely.

If you don’t already own an entity in Greece, using a global employment partner to act as your employer of record (EOR) is safer, simpler, and easier to scale.

An EOR lets you hire employees outside of your home country without having to manage the bureaucracy yourself. By going through an EOR, you can hire employees in the country quickly and then transfer the employees to your own entity (if you choose to open one) at a later date.

The EOR operates the legal entity in the country you want to hire from and technically hires the employee for you. However, in every other way, the employee works for you. The EOR simply manages financial and legal concerns like payment and taxation.

Whether you’re considering hiring one person or many, an EOR will help you hire who you need, when and where you need them.

What about termination and notice periods in Greece?

In Greek employment law, an employer has a right to terminate an employment contract as long as they do so within the limits of the contract itself and the legal requirements. After the first year of service, an employer can’t dismiss an employee (unless certain circumstances are in play) on an indefinite-term contract without:

• Giving notice

• Making a severance payment

If you don’t observe a statutory notice period, you must make a full statutory severance payment to the employee. If you do observe the notice period, you can make a reduced severance payment.

Find out more about how severance pay is calculated in Greece on the government website.

Pay remote workers in Greece with Remote

Whether you want to hire remote contractors or employees, Remote can help. Our global HR platform, contractor management portal, and local entity in Greece make it easy for companies of all sizes to begin employing workers in Greece right away.

You don’t need to manage payroll or take on the risks of employee misclassification yourself. Remote helps you hire your international workers with ease.

If you’re ready to get started, you can learn more about how Remote can help your company today or sign up now and begin onboarding employees in minutes.

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