Sick leave by country / Greece
Sick leave and sick pay in Greece
Who pays when someone is ill, how much, for how long, and what the certificate rules are — in plain English, whether you run a team in Greece or work on one.
In Greece the employer pays half wages for the first three days of sickness, and e-EFKA pays a sickness benefit from the fourth day for up to 182 days for the same illness. The employer also tops the benefit up to full pay for a limited period each year — half a month’s salary in the first year of service and a month’s salary afterwards — and may deduct whatever e-EFKA pays from that top-up.
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How it works
Greek sick pay is split between two obligations that run at the same time. Under the Civil Code and Laws 2112/1920 and 3198/1955 the employer owes continued pay for a period fixed by length of service: half a month for an employee with less than a year of service, a month from the first anniversary, counted per year. Separately, e-EFKA pays a sickness benefit from the fourth day of incapacity to employees with at least 120 insurance days in the previous calendar year (or in the last 15 months excluding the final quarter), for up to 182 days for the same illness and 360 days a year for different ones. The first three days are the employer’s alone, at half wages. Because the two overlap, the employer is allowed to deduct the e-EFKA benefit from its own obligation, so the employee receives full pay once rather than twice.
Worth knowing: The employer period is per year of service, not per illness, so a second absence in the same year draws on what is left. Dismissal during certified sick leave is not automatically prohibited, but sickness within the statutory pay period cannot be treated as a ground for it.
If you run a team in Greece
Pay half wages for the first three days, then continue pay for the statutory period tied to service, deducting the e-EFKA benefit the employee receives. Record absences in the Ergani system as the labour ministry requires. Sick leave does not consume annual leave and does not reduce the entitlement, and an employee who falls ill before annual leave starts can reschedule it.
If you work in Greece
Get a certificate and notify your employer quickly. Expect half wages for the first three days; from the fourth, claim the e-EFKA benefit — you need 120 insurance days in the previous year. Your employer tops it up to full pay for half a month in your first year of service and a month after that; collective agreements often improve on this.
Sickness and annual leave
Annual leave accrues in full during sickness, and leave that could not be taken because of illness is carried over. Illness that starts before a scheduled holiday postpones it; the days are not deducted from the entitlement.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Greece annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Sick pay rules turn on dates: the day the illness started, the day the certificate was due, the day the employer's obligation ends and the benefit takes over. In Greece those dates decide who pays and how much, and they have to be provable months later — to a payroll auditor, an insurer, or the employee. A shared spreadsheet rarely survives that; a tracker like Leavo records each absence with its dates and approvals alongside annual leave, so the record exists before anyone asks for it. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Sick leave in Greece: common questions
Who pays for the first three days of sickness in Greece?
The employer, at half the normal wage. e-EFKA pays nothing for those days; its benefit starts on the fourth day.
How long does the employer have to keep paying?
Half a month’s salary for an employee with less than one year of service, and one month’s salary from the first anniversary, counted per year of service — with the e-EFKA benefit deductible from that amount.
How long can the e-EFKA sickness benefit last?
Up to 182 days for the same illness, and up to 360 days in a year for different illnesses, provided the insurance-day condition is met.
What happens if I fall ill during my annual leave in Greece?
Annual leave accrues in full during sickness, and leave that could not be taken because of illness is carried over. Illness that starts before a scheduled holiday postpones it; the days are not deducted from the entitlement.
Source
Primary source: Civil Code arts. 657–658 and Laws 2112/1920 and 3198/1955 (employer pay); e-EFKA sickness benefit rules. Rates and caps change — often every January or April — and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme. Confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.