Employment contract in Greece: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

How employment contracts work in Greece An employment contract in Greece is a contract of dependent work, where an employee works under the employer's direction and control for pay. It is governed by the Greek Civil Code, by a dense body of labour statutes, and increasingly by digital compliance through the ERGANI information system. Greek labour law is protective of employees, and many terms are set by law or by sector collective agreements rather than left to the parties, so an employer cannot contract below the statutory floor. A contract can be oral or written, but the employer must give the employee the essential terms of the relationship in writing or electronically. This duty was expanded when Greece transposed EU Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions through Law 5053/2023. The information must cover the parties, place of work, job description, start date, pay, working time, leave and notice. Under Law 5239/2025, the newest labour law, employers can notify employees of these key terms, and changes to them, through the MyErgani mobile application, alongside paper and electronic options, and several older filing duties such as submitting scanned contracts to ERGANI have been simplified or repealed. Two further compliance pillars matter in practice. The digital work card (psifiaki karta ergasias) records real time clock in and clock out for covered sectors, and its scope has been extended by later ministerial decisions. Social security runs through EFKA, and registration is mandatory. These systems mean Greek employment is not only about the contract text but about accurate digital reporting. ## Mandatory and key terms Type and duration. State whether the contract is indefinite or fixed term, and whether full time or part time. Indefinite is the default and the norm. Fixed term contracts are allowed but successive renewals are limited by law, and chained fixed terms beyond the statutory ceiling can be deemed indefinite. Probation. Under reforms carried by Law 4808/2021, the first twelve months of an indefinite contract operate as a probationary period, during which the relationship can end more easily, subject to the conditions in the law. Pay. Pay cannot fall below the statutory national minimum wage, which the government sets and revises, or below the applicable sector collective agreement. Greece pays statutory holiday bonuses (Christmas, Easter and holiday allowance) on top of monthly salary for private sector employees. Working time. The standard is 40 hours over a five day week. Overtime and additional hours are regulated and attract premiums, and the digital work card is designed to police actual hours. Leave. Employees earn paid annual leave that increases with service, plus public holidays and statutory sick, maternity and parental leave. Notice and severance. For indefinite contracts, dismissal rules distinguish white collar and other staff. Notice periods and severance (apozimiosi) are set largely by Law 2112/1920 and later amendments and rise with length of service. Severance can be reduced if proper notice is given. Specialist advice is needed because the figures depend on role, tenure and pay. ## A simple employment contract structure you can adapt 1. Parties and start date.

2. Job title, duties and place of work.
3. Contract type (indefinite or fixed term) and probationary period.
4. Working hours and the digital work card, where applicable.
5. Pay, allowances and statutory bonuses.
6. Annual leave and other leave.
7. Social security (EFKA) and tax withholding.
8. Confidentiality and, where lawful, non-compete.
9. Notice and termination.
10. Reference to applicable collective agreement, if any.
11. Governing law (Greek) and jurisdiction.
12. Signatures. Because so many terms come from statute and collective agreements, the contract should reference the statutory floor rather than try to undercut it. This is general information, not legal advice; Greek employment figures change and should be confirmed with a Greek lawyer or accountant. ## Compliance points that catch employers out Three points trip up foreign employers. First, the written statement of terms and the ERGANI and MyErgani filings are not optional, and gaps attract fines. Second, the digital work card must reflect actual hours worked; a mismatch between the declared and worked time carries significant penalties. Third, minimum pay and many conditions come from sector collective agreements, so a lawful salary in one sector may be unlawful in another. Build the contract after checking the applicable collective agreement, not before. Fixed term contracts deserve special care. They are useful but tightly controlled, and repeated renewals beyond the legal limit can convert the relationship into an indefinite one with full protection, which is rarely what the employer intended. ## Keeping employment contracts and their obligations in one place A Greek employment contract is the start of a stream of obligations: the probation window, salary reviews against a moving minimum wage, leave balances, collective agreement changes, digital work card reporting and, eventually, notice and severance calculations. When the signed contract lives in one system, the obligations in another, and the compliance filings in a third, something eventually slips. The idea worth keeping is that drafting a contract, checking it against the current legal floor, editing it when the law or the collective agreement moves, and tracking its dates and duties are one connected job, and it is far easier when the document and its deadlines sit in one place. That single workspace idea is what Adira is built around for business contracts. Adira is India first today, with other jurisdictions on its roadmap, so for Greece specific points such as digital work card rules, severance under Law 2112/1920 or collective agreement minimums you would confirm the detail with Greek counsel. The direction holds anywhere: a contract you can trust is one that stays in one place, in step with the law, with its dates in view.