The Greek Ministry of Labour has set new minimum wages for employees and blue-collar workers employed on a full-time basis, without age distinction in Decision No. 38866/21.4.2022.

• The new gross monthly minimum wage is EUR 713.00 for employees.
• The new gross minimum daily wage is EUR 31.85 for manual workers.

This new increase of 7.5% is in addition to the one already granted from 1 January 2022, resulting in an increase of 9.7% or EUR 63 per month within 2022.

In addition, depending on the years of service completed by the employee before 14 February 2012, the minimum monthly wage and the minimum daily wage are increased by up to 30%. This means the monthly gross minimum monthly wage for employees with three years of service can be up to EUR 213 higher (EUR 713 + 30%). In other words, the minimum wage in this case can be EUR 926 plus Christmas and Easter bonus and holiday pay.

In particular, for employees with three to six years’ experience, the gross monthly wage is set at EUR 784.3, from six to nine years at EUR 855.6, and for employees with more than nine years’ experience the wage is EUR 926.9.

The increase in the minimum wage also leads to an increase in unemployment benefit, as the daily benefit and the monthly benefit are adapted to EUR 17.51 and EUR 438 respectively, compared to EUR 16.29 and EUR 407.25 before 1 May 2022.

Various allowances and benefits based on the minimum wage or daily wage are also adjusted. These include:

• unemployment allowance for self-employed individuals;
• monthly wage for new job placement schemes;
• special end-of-unemployment benefit;
• unemployment benefit due to retrenchment;
• special seasonal benefits for employees in the tourism and catering sector, for construction workers, forestry workers, etc;
• special maternity benefit;
• parental leave allowance;
• compensation for unpaid wages due to the insolvency of the employer;
• benefit for those placed on ‘availability to work’ (where their employer’s activity is suspended);
• compensation for students in the Professional Apprenticeship Schools (EPAS) of the Manpower Unemployment Organization (OAED);
• compensation for work experience programmes, etc.

At the same time, the increase in the minimum wage raises the ceiling on severance pay for highly paid employees, since the monthly gross salary based on which the severance pay will be calculated (if employers opt to use the ceiling for calculation), will amount to EUR 7,644 per month gross.

The salary criteria according to which a person is presumed to be a managerial employee are also increased, since according to the Ministerial Decision, a person is considered as a managerial employee, if among other factors, s/he is paid at least six times the minimum wage.