Employer cost in Greece 2026: what a salary really costs the company
For anyone hiring in Greece, the gross salary is only the start: employer social security sits on top of each of the fourteen yearly payments.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
An employee on €2,500 gross a month costs a Greek employer €3,045 per payment in 2026: the gross plus €544.75 of employer contributions to e-EFKA, the national social security fund, at 21.79 % under the general private-sector package, code 101. Because Greek salaries are paid fourteen times a year, with a Christmas bonus, an Easter bonus and a leave allowance on top of twelve monthly salaries, the annual cost is €42,627. The employee keeps €1,794 net per payment if over 30 with no children, so each euro of take-home pay costs the company €1.70. At the minimum wage of €920, the cost is €1,120 per payment and €15,687 a year. Contributions stop at a monthly ceiling of €7,761.94, so the employer share never exceeds €1,691.33 per payment. The calculator gives the cost of any salary, over 14 or 12 payments.
Total employer cost per year
€25,576
€1,827 per payment
| Gross salary | €1,500 |
| Employer contributions (21.79 %) | +€327 |
| Cost per payment | €1,827 |
| Employee net pay | €1,165 |
| Net as a share of cost | 63.76 % |
2026 rates from Greek law, e-EFKA and the Ministry of Labour · calculated in your browser, nothing is sent.
Cost of employment by salary level
| Monthly gross | Employer EFKA | Cost per payment | Annual cost (×14) | Cost per €1 net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €920 | €200.47 | €1,120 | €15,687 | €1.45 |
| €1,500 | €326.85 | €1,827 | €25,576 | €1.57 |
| €2,000 | €435.80 | €2,436 | €34,101 | €1.64 |
| €2,500 | €544.75 | €3,045 | €42,627 | €1.70 |
| €3,500 | €762.65 | €4,263 | €59,677 | €1.82 |
| €5,000 | €1,089.50 | €6,090 | €85,253 | €1.95 |
| €7,761.94 (ceiling) | €1,691.33 | €9,453 | €132,346 | €2.12 |
| €12,000 | €1,691.33 | €13,691 | €191,679 | €2.00 |
Net pay in the last column assumes an employee over 30 with no dependent children. The ratio climbs with salary because income tax grows faster than pay, and it bends once the gross passes the ceiling, where contributions stop. For a company used to payroll in another country, the striking figure is usually the annual cost column: fourteen payments, each carrying the full employer rate.
What the 21.79 % pays for
Package code 101 is the general case for private-sector employees. Since 1 January 2025, under e-EFKA circular 38/2024, the rates are 13.37 % for the employee and 21.79 % for the employer, after a half-point cut on each side in the health branch, where the employer now pays 4.05 %. The combined burden on every gross euro is 35.16 %. The rates are unchanged in 2026. The employer share is paid on top of the salary and never appears in the employee’s net, which makes it easy to overlook when comparing offers across countries.
The ceiling
From 1 January 2026, the maximum insurable earnings are €7,761.94 a month, raised in line with the 2025 price index under circular 4/2026. Neither side pays contributions above that. The employer’s maximum is €1,691.33 per payment, so on senior salaries the effective rate falls: 14.09 % on €12,000 gross.
The two extra payments
The thirteenth and fourteenth payments are not a perk the employer can drop. The Christmas bonus (doro Christougennon) is a month’s pay, the Easter bonus (doro Pascha) half a month, and the leave allowance (epidoma adeias) up to half a month, each bearing the same 21.79 % of employer contributions as an ordinary salary. On €2,500 gross they add about €6,090 of cost a year. The Christmas bonus is due by 21 December, so a December payroll in Greece is roughly double a normal month, which a cash-flow plan should reflect.
Budgeting a hire from abroad
A foreign company hiring its first employee in Greece often thinks in an annual all-in figure. Convert it in two steps. Divide by fourteen, not twelve, to get the cost per payment; then, below the ceiling, divide by 1.2179 to get the gross. A budget of €60,000 gives €4,286 per payment and about €3,519 gross, which you would advertise as an annual package of €49,265. Paying 12 salaries instead of 14 leaves the annual cost the same as long as the monthly gross stays under the ceiling, since contributions are proportional; set the payments field to 12 to check a specific case.
What salary your budget allows
Gross salary
€1,642
| Employer contributions | €357.83 |
| Employee net (over 30, no children) | €1,261 |
| Cost per year (14) | €28,000 |
What the result does not include
The figure is the payroll cost: gross salary plus employer contributions under package 101. It leaves out overtime, benefits in kind, group insurance, equipment, recruitment costs and any provision for severance pay. Sectors with hazardous-work rules or special funds use other rates. To see what reaches the employee, use the Greek salary calculator; to start from what a candidate wants in hand, use net to gross; and the minimum wage page shows the floor for full-time staff.