The new minimum statutory wage in Greece

Βy virtue of Decision No. 25058/29.03.2024 of the Ministry of Labour, as of April 1 2024, the statutory minimum monthly wage and the statutory minimum daily wage were increased and determined, for employees and blue-collar workers employed on a full-time basis, without age distinction, as follows:

1. For employees, the new gross monthly minimum wage is set at €830,00.
2. For manual workers, the new gross minimum daily wage is set at €37,07.

This new increase of 6.41% is in addition to the one granted as of April 1 2023, resulting in an increase of €50 per month.

Furthermore, 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%. Therefore, the monthly gross minimum monthly wage for employees with three years of service can be up to €249 higher (€830 + 30%). In other words, the minimum wage in this case can be €1079 plus Christmas and Easter bonus and annual leave allowance.

In particular, for employees with 3 to 6 years of experience, the gross monthly wage is set at €913, from 6 to 9 years at €996, and for employees with more than 9 years’ experience the wage is €1079.

The increase in the minimum wage also leads to an increase in the unemployment benefit, as the daily benefit and the monthly benefit are adapted to €20.39 and €509.75 respectively. Several allowances and benefits based on the minimum wage or daily wage are also adjusted. These include, inter alia, the unemployment allowance for self-employed persons, the unemployment benefit due to retrenchment, special seasonal benefits for employees in the tourism and catering sector, for construction workers, forestry workers, etc, the special maternity benefit, the parental leave allowance, the compensation for students in the Professional Apprenticeship Schools (EPAS) of the Public Employment Agency (DYPA), the compensation for work experience programs, etc. At the same time, the increase of the minimum wage increases the plafond on the severance pay for high-paid employees, since now the monthly gross salary on the basis of which the severance pay will be calculated, if employers opt to use the plafond for its calculation, will amount to 8896,8/month gross. In the same way, 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, among others, if s/he is paid at least six times the minimum wage.

Written by,
Marilia Pavli