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End of Employment in Greece

An indefinite-term employment contract in Greece can end by resignation, mutual agreement, employer termination (καταγγελία), or retirement.

An employer generally doesn’t require a reason for termination. However, the dismissal is not unrestricted: it must not be based on a prohibited ground, such as discrimination, retaliation, protected leave, or pregnancy. The employer must also follow the required termination process, including:

  • Severance
  • Notice, in most cases
  • A written termination
  • A prompt declaration in ERGANI II
  • Make sure the dismissal is not on a prohibited ground, which would make it void. The employer does not have to prove this in advance: if the employee shows facts pointing to a prohibited ground, the employer must then show the dismissal was for other reasons. The only exception is if the employee had asked for or taken leave, in which case the employer must give written reasons.

ERGANI II is the Ministry of Labour’s digital labour-information system. If the employer does not pay the severance due, the dismissal is invalid.

The first twelve months

An employee with less than twelve months’ continuous service can be dismissed without notice and without severance. The employer does not generally need to state a reason, but the dismissal must still not be based on a prohibited ground, such as discrimination, retaliation, protected leave, or pregnancy.

This 12-month threshold is separate from the probationary period (up to six months, see Employment Conditions), although any probation served counts toward the twelve months; it cannot be shortened by contract.

Notice periods

After twelve months, the employer must give written notice before dismissing, scaled by service; notice runs from the day after it is served:

Service: 12 months - 2 years

Employer notice: 1 month

Service: 2 - 5 years

Employer notice: 2 months

Service: 5 - 10 years

Employer notice: 3 months

Service: 10 years and over

Employer notice: 4 months

The employer may instead terminate without notice and pay full severance. When notice is given, severance is halved.

Notice when an employee resigns

The Labour Code sets no general notice period for an employee who resigns. Any notice is a matter of the contract or the collective agreement. A resignation must be declared in ERGANI II, and a late declaration is treated as a dismissal by the employer.

Severance

Severance for salaried employees is calculated on the last month’s regular gross pay (salary plus regular in-kind and other regular benefits) as follows:

Completed service: 1 year completed, up to 4

Severance without notice: 2 months' salary

With full notice: 1 month

Completed service: 4 years completed, up to 6

Severance without notice: 3 months

With full notice: 1½ months

Completed service: 6 years completed, up to 8

Severance without notice: 4 months

With full notice: 2 months

Completed service: 8 years completed, up to 10

Severance without notice: 5 months

With full notice: 2½ months

Completed service: 10 years completed

Severance without notice: 6 months

With full notice: 3 months

Completed service: 11 years completed

Severance without notice: 7 months

With full notice: 3½ months

Completed service: 12 years completed

Severance without notice: 8 months

With full notice: 4 months

Completed service: 13 years completed

Severance without notice: 9 months

With full notice: 4½ months

Completed service: 14 years completed

Severance without notice: 10 months

With full notice: 5 months

Completed service: 15 years completed

Severance without notice: 11 months

With full notice: 5½ months

Completed service: 16 years completed and over

Severance without notice: 12 months (cap)

With full notice: 6 months

The employer increases the severance total by one sixth to reflect the bonuses and holiday allowance.

  • Employees who had already completed more than 17 years with the same employer on 12 November 2012 retain an additional entitlement of one month per year beyond 17, up to 12 extra months, calculated on pay capped at €2,000 per month.
  • Waged (daily-paid) workers use the same scale. Their “monthly salary” for the calculation is 22 daily wages, unless they are already paid monthly.
  • In all cases, the salary counted is capped at €9,861.60 per month, eight times the daily wage of an unskilled worker (€41.09 from April 2026), multiplied by 30.
  • Severance above two months’ salary may be paid in instalments of at least two months’ salary each, with the first instalment due at dismissal.
  • An employee who has qualified for a full state pension and then resigns or is dismissed receives reduced severance: 40% of the ordinary amount, or 50% where the employee is not covered by supplementary insurance.

A dismissal is void where it is based on a prohibited ground. The Labour Code includes:

  • Discrimination: Sex, race, colour, political opinion, religious or philosophical belief, descent, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or characteristics, disability, or union membership or non-membership.
  • Retaliation: For the employee’s exercise of a lawful right.
  • Annual leave: Dismissal during annual leave.
  • Pregnancy and family protection: Dismissal of a pregnant employee or new mother during pregnancy and for 18 months after the birth; this protection extends to mothers adopting a child up to six, and to both the intended mother and surrogate in a surrogacy. A new father is protected for six months after the birth, except where there is a serious ground unrelated to the birth.
  • Statutory family and care leave: Retaliation for requesting or taking parental, carer’s, marriage, school-performance, sick-child, or other statutory leave covered in Leave.
  • Union and works-council activity: Dismissal of union officials and works-council members during their protected term without a serious ground, or dismissal for lawful union activity.
  • Overtime refusal: Since October 2025, dismissal for refusing overtime beyond the 45-hour threshold.

Once an employee shows facts pointing to a prohibited ground, the employer must prove a lawful reason. Remedies include reinstatement with wages accrued since dismissal, or compensation awarded by the court instead of reinstatement.

A dismissal does not generally require the employer to state a reason, but the required termination procedure must still be followed. If the employer doesn’t follow the procedures, the dismissal may be deemed invalid due to a procedural flaw. In case that happens, the court may award additional compensation of between three months’ pay and double the statutory severance.

Employees have three months from termination to challenge a dismissal as invalid and six months to claim unpaid severance.

Collective-dismissal rules apply to employers with more than 20 employees, when dismissals for reasons unrelated to the individuals exceed, in a calendar month:

  • 20-150 employees: More than six dismissals
  • Over 150 employees: More than 5% of staff, capped at 30. The employer consults employee representatives on avoiding or reducing the dismissals, submits the minutes to the Supreme Labour Council (ASE), and, if there is no agreement, the Council has ten days to confirm the employer met its obligations, after which the dismissals take effect twenty days later.

At termination, the employer must:

  • Issue the termination in writing
  • Pay the severance, or its first instalment
  • Pay the wages due up to the last day
  • Pay any accrued but untaken annual leave, with its allowance
  • Declare the dismissal in ERGANI II within four working days

The four days run from the day notice is served, when notice is given. Late or missing declarations expose the employer to Labour Inspectorate fines.

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