Your first hire in Greece is a bigger step than it looks from abroad. The salary is the smallest surprise; the 14 payments, the employer contributions, and a digital filing system that fines you €10,500 for one undeclared day are the ones that catch founders out. This guide covers what a sole proprietor or IKE owner has to do and pay in 2026, with a worked example.
The short answer
- Cost: budget about 17 times the monthly gross per year. €1,500 gross a month costs roughly €25,600 a year.
- Why: 14 salaries (Christmas bonus, Easter bonus, leave allowance) plus 21.79% employer EFKA on each. The employee pays 13.37%.
- Minimum wage: €920 gross a month since 1 April 2026.
- Before day one: employer registration with e-EFKA, then the hiring declaration in ERGANI II, accepted by the employee, before the first working hour.
- Digital work card: mandatory for consulting, advertising and other office businesses from 16 November 2026.
- First 12 months: termination without notice or severance; probation up to six months.
1. Register as an employer
Sole proprietor: you register yourself as an employer on e-EFKA through gov.gr and receive an employer number (AME, ΑΜΕ). It is online only, free, and asks for each employee’s AFM (tax number), AMKA (social security number), specialty and start date. You need to be registered with AADE and insured with EFKA yourself first. Details on the setup are in how to register as a freelancer in Greece.
IKE: a company formed through the GEMI one-stop-shop gets its employer number automatically at incorporation. Note that the IKE’s managing partner is insured as self-employed, not as an employee; your first hire is usually the first person on the company’s payroll. The company side is covered in setting up an IKE.
2. ERGANI II: file before the first working hour
ERGANI II, the Ministry of Labour’s employment register, has been fully live since 16 February 2026. Three rules matter for a first hire:
- Hiring declaration before work starts. The digital hiring declaration (which replaced the old E3 form) is filed before the employee’s first working hour, and the employee accepts it in MyErgani, the employee’s ERGANI app, again before starting. A trial day without it counts as undeclared work.
- Contract terms on file. The main terms of employment are posted in ERGANI II before hiring and before any change. Salary changes are declared within 30 days.
- Terminations are declared in ERGANI II as well, including the end of a probation period.
The fine for undeclared work is currently €10,500 per worker, reduced to €7,000, €5,000 or €3,000 if you then hire the person full-time for 3, 6 or 12 months.
The digital work card
The digital work card records each employee’s actual start and end of work in real time. It already covers about 2.5 million workers in sectors such as industry, retail, banking, insurance, tourism and food service. In 2026 it extends further: health, cleaning and telecoms from 12 October 2026, and consulting, advertising, other office activities, repairs and logistics from 16 November 2026. Businesses in the November sectors have been in a pilot phase since 29 June; fines apply from 16 November. If the card does not match the hours actually worked, the same €10,500 fine applies per employee.
3. What you pay: wages and contributions
Minimum wage: €920 gross a month for employees (€41.09 a day for manual workers) from 1 April 2026. A further increase from 1 April 2027 has been announced, with a target of €1,000 by January 2028; the 2027 amount has not been set yet.
Social security (EFKA), standard private-sector rates for 2026:
| Contributor | Rate |
|---|---|
| Employer | 21.79% |
| Employee (withheld from pay) | 13.37% |
| Total | 35.16% |
Contributions are calculated on gross pay up to €7,761.94 a month. The payroll declaration (APD, ΑΠΔ) and payment are due by the last working day of the following month; when the declaration deadline is extended, the payment deadline is not. A further 0.5-point cut on the employee side (unemployment contribution) has been announced from 1 April 2027 but is not yet law.
Income tax withholding follows the 2026 scale (9% to 44%, Law 5246/2025), with lower rates for employees under 30 and for parents. Payroll works out the annual tax, deducts the employee tax credit and withholds one fourteenth each month.
4. Fourteen salaries, not twelve
Greek employees are paid 14 times a year:
- Christmas bonus: about one month’s salary, paid by 21 December.
- Easter bonus: about half a month’s salary, paid by Holy Wednesday.
- Leave allowance: up to half a month’s salary, paid when the leave starts.
With the small leave-related top-ups, the total comes to about 14.06 monthly salaries. Employer EFKA applies to all of them.
Annual leave on a five-day week is 20 working days in the first year, 21 in the second and 22 from the third, rising further with seniority.
5. Worked example: €1,500 gross a month
Employee aged 31 or over, no children, 2026 rates, simplified to 14 equal payments:
| Item | Per year | Per payment |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay (14 × €1,500) | €21,000 | €1,500 |
| Employer EFKA (21.79%) | €4,576 | €327 |
| Total cost to you | ≈ €25,600 | ≈ €1,827 |
| Employee EFKA (13.37%) | €2,808 | €201 |
| Income tax withheld | ≈ €1,885 | ≈ €135 |
| Employee net pay | ≈ €16,300 | ≈ €1,165 |
Rule of thumb: total cost ≈ 17 × monthly gross, net pay ≈ 78% of gross. An employee aged 25 or under pays no income tax on the first €20,000 and takes home about €1,300 per payment on the same salary. Not included: overtime, occupational-risk surcharges, work-card equipment and the accountant’s payroll fee (what accountants charge in Greece).
6. Probation and dismissal
A probation period of up to six months can be agreed. During the first 12 months of an open-ended contract, either side can terminate without notice and without severance, unless agreed otherwise; probation counts towards those 12 months. After that, severance applies, starting at two months’ pay for one to four years of service when dismissed without notice (half that amount with notice). Every termination is declared in ERGANI II.
7. Hiring people from abroad
- EU citizens need no work permit, only an AFM and AMKA.
- Non-EU citizens need a residence permit with the right to work, or an employer-led invitation procedure. Since Law 5275/2026 the minimum contract for invited workers is six months (previously 12), and single residence-and-work permit applications must be decided within 90 days.
- Digital Nomad Visa holders cannot work for a Greek employer; the visa only covers work for employers and clients outside Greece. They are also not eligible for Article 5C (5C vs the Digital Nomad Visa).
- Someone living in another country generally falls under that country’s employment and social security rules; for one or two people abroad, an Employer of Record is often simpler.
Hiring someone under Article 5C
If your new employee moves to Greece and qualifies for Article 5C (not Greek tax resident in 5 of the last 6 years), they give you a copy of their AADE approval decision, and payroll then withholds income tax on only 50% of their salary. EFKA stays on the full gross. That is a real recruiting argument, but only with the approval in hand; the employee side is explained in 5C for employees and remote workers.
Common mistakes
- A “trial day” before the ERGANI declaration. That is undeclared work, at €10,500.
- Budgeting 12 salaries. It is 14, plus about 22% on top.
- Paying late because the APD deadline moved. The payment deadline did not.
- Missing the work card in consulting, advertising or office businesses from 16 November 2026.
- Paying someone full-time on freelance invoices to avoid payroll. That can be reclassified as employment, with back contributions and fines.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an employee cost in Greece in 2026?
Roughly 17 times the monthly gross salary per year. An employee on €1,500 gross a month costs the employer about €25,600 a year: 14 salaries (12 months plus Christmas bonus, Easter bonus and leave allowance) plus 21.79% employer social security on each.
What is the minimum wage in Greece in 2026?
€920 gross per month for employees from 1 April 2026, paid 14 times a year. A further increase from 1 April 2027 has been announced, with a target of €1,000 by January 2028; the 2027 amount has not been set.
What do I have to file before my first employee starts?
As a sole proprietor, register as an employer with e-EFKA to get an employer number (AME); an IKE formed through the GEMI one-stop-shop gets one automatically. Then file the digital hiring declaration in ERGANI II before the first working hour, and the employee accepts it in MyErgani. Starting without it counts as undeclared work.
Can I dismiss an employee during the first year in Greece?
During the first 12 months of an open-ended contract, the employer can terminate without notice and without severance, unless agreed otherwise. Probation can last up to six months and counts towards those 12 months. The termination still has to be declared in ERGANI II.
How taxomade can help
We prepare and file the employer registration where needed, the ERGANI II declarations, monthly payroll, the APD and withholding returns, alongside your ongoing bookkeeping. Bookkeeping for a sole proprietor starts from €89 per month; IKE bookkeeping and payroll are priced separately, depending on your setup and number of employees. Send us a message before your first hire, not after it.
Rules as of October 2026 (Law 5053/2023, Law 5239/2025, Law 5246/2025, Law 5275/2026, e-EFKA circular 4/2026). The worked example is simplified.