Dismissal notice in Greece 2026: how long it is and what it changes
Written notice under Law 4093/2012, and how it changes the money for an employee dismissed in Greece.
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A Greek employer dismissing an employee on an open-ended contract with more than twelve months of service can give written notice instead of paying full severance at once. The notice is 1 month for twelve months to two years of service, 2 months from two years, 3 from five and 4 from ten years. It runs from the day after the employee receives it; the employee keeps working and being paid, and at the end receives half of the statutory severance. Without written notice the employer owes the full amount on the day of dismissal. On €2,000 a month after two years, that is €4,667 at once without notice, or €4,000 in salary over 2 months plus €2,333 at the end with notice. The employer must file the termination within eight days, counted from the day after the written notice. Employees who resign owe their own notice, half the employer’s and never above three months.
Notice or full severance?
Months of notice
3
| Severance without notice | €7,000 |
| Severance with notice | €3,500 |
| Pay during the notice period | €4,500 |
Notice or no notice: the cash on each side
| Years | Notice | Severance, no notice | Salary during notice + half severance | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 month | €4,667 | €4,333 | −€333 |
| 2 | 2 months | €4,667 | €6,333 | +€1,667 |
| 4 | 2 months | €7,000 | €7,500 | +€500 |
| 5 | 3 months | €7,000 | €9,500 | +€2,500 |
| 8 | 3 months | €11,667 | €11,833 | +€167 |
| 10 | 4 months | €14,000 | €15,000 | +€1,000 |
| 14 | 4 months | €23,333 | €19,667 | −€3,667 |
| 16 | 4 months | €28,000 | €22,000 | −€6,000 |
All figures are gross, at €2,000 a month. The fourth column adds the salary paid while the employee works out the notice to the half severance due at the end; it leaves out any holiday bonus that happens to fall in that period. The last column is the difference between the two routes. For the employee it is positive, since the notice months are paid, but it is earned by working those months rather than being free to start another job straight away.
For the employer the arithmetic runs the other way: notice saves half the severance but keeps the employee on the payroll, with employer social security on every month. Which route a company picks usually depends on whether it still needs the work done.
The scale, and what you owe if you resign
| Completed service | Employer’s notice | Employee’s notice on resignation |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months to under 2 years | 1 month | 0.5 months |
| 2 years to under 5 years | 2 months | 1 month |
| 5 years to under 10 years | 3 months | 1.5 months |
| 10 years or more | 4 months | 2 months |
The left-hand columns come from the Ministry of Labour’s table under Law 4093/2012. The right-hand column applies article 4 of Law 2112/1920, which the Labour Inspectorate summarises this way: a salaried employee who ends an open-ended contract must give notice equal to half the period the law sets for the employer, never more than three months. If the employee walks out without it, the employer’s claim is capped at three months’ pay.
When the clock starts
Notice (proeidopoiisi) starts the day after it is communicated to the employee and ends when the period expires, which is also when the contract ends. The Ministry’s interpretive circular 26352/839 of November 2012 says so, citing article 241 of the Civil Code. The day you receive the letter does not count. Receive it on a Friday and the first day of notice is the Saturday.
The length of the notice depends on completed years on the day it is given. An employee notified a few days before the fifth anniversary of hiring is in the 2-month row, not the 3-month one. Check your hiring date against your contract before you sign an acknowledgement of receipt.
The eight-day filing
The employer must report the termination within eight days under article 9(1) of Law 3198/1955. With notice, those eight days run from the day after the written notice is delivered, not from the end of the notice period. The law refers to filing with OAED, the employment agency now called DYPA. The filing does not shorten the notice; the contract still ends when the months run out.
Where you sit in the table
Months of pay
3
| Severance with 1/6 | €4,550 |
| With one more year | €6,067 |
When the half severance is paid
The Labour Inspectorate distinguishes two cases. In a dismissal without notice, severance is due together with the termination. In a dismissal with notice, it is due when the notice period ends. After ten years at €2,000, the employee works 4 more months and then receives €7,000, rather than €14,000 on day one. Payment must go into a payment account, and amounts above two months’ pay may be split into two-monthly instalments.
Resignations and the ERGANI deadline
Foreign employees moving to a new job often resign rather than wait to be dismissed. The resignation has a formal side that is the employer’s responsibility: it must be registered on ERGANI, the Ministry of Labour’s online system, within four working days, together with a form signed by both parties or an out-of-court statement from the employer informing the employee. If the employer misses the deadline, Law 4488/2017 treats the contract as terminated by the employer without notice. Keep a copy of your resignation letter and of the signed form.
Before you accept the notice letter
Check three things: that it is in writing and dated, that its length matches your completed years, and that the employer has told you when and how the half severance will be paid. Then compare the two routes with the severance calculator, and work out what the notice-period salaries are worth net in the Greek salary calculator. The severance table guide shows where your next anniversary would put you.