Greek sick leave is the product of two legal systems that were never designed to fit together: a Civil Code obligation on the employer to keep paying salary, and a social insurance benefit paid by e-EFKA. The employee gets both — but not cumulatively. The employer’s liability is reduced by whatever e-EFKA pays, and the set-off usually lands two or three months after the absence.

That timing gap, plus a three-day waiting period paid at half rate, is what makes Greek sick leave administration awkward even for employers who understand the headline rules.

Key takeaways

For the first three days of sickness the employer pays half the daily wage — this is the waiting period, and e-EFKA pays nothing.
e-EFKA sickness benefit starts on the fourth day, and requires at least 120 days of insurance in the previous calendar year, or in the last 15 months excluding the final quarter.
The employer’s own salary obligation runs to half a month’s pay for employees with more than 10 days but under one year of service, and one month’s pay after a year — under Civil Code articles 657–658.
e-EFKA pays 50% of the notional daily wage of the employee’s insurance class, +10% per dependent family member, capped at the 8th class notional wage and at 70% of the applicable class wage.
For the first 15 days of absence, the benefit is halved, capped at the 3rd class notional daily wage and at 35% of the class wage.
Duration limits: up to 182 days in a calendar year for one or more conditions, 360 days for the same condition, and up to 720 days in defined circumstances.

The three-day waiting period

Greek law treats the opening three days of a sickness absence differently from everything that follows. e-EFKA pays no benefit for them, and the employer’s obligation is to pay half the daily wage for up to three days. That half-rate liability applies each time the waiting period is triggered, not once a year.

Where an absence is a continuation of an earlier one within the same illness episode, the waiting period is not re-applied — e-EFKA coverage resumes from the first day. The distinction between a new episode and a continuation is therefore a payroll decision with real cash consequences.

The employer’s Civil Code obligation

Separately from insurance, Civil Code articles 657 and 658 require the employer to continue paying an employee who is prevented from working by illness through no fault of their own. The entitlement is banded by length of service:

Service with the employer	Employer’s salary obligation
Under 10 days	None
10 days to 1 year	Half a month’s salary
Over 1 year	One month’s salary

This is a per-year ceiling on the employer’s own liability, not a per-absence one. Once the half-month or full-month allowance is exhausted, the employer’s Civil Code obligation is met and further absence in the same year is covered by e-EFKA alone.

The set-off — where the money actually lands

The Greek mechanism is not “employer pays, then insurance pays”. It is: the employer’s obligation is reduced by the e-EFKA benefit for the same days.

In practice most Greek employers pay the employee their normal salary during the absence, then recover the e-EFKA element once the benefit is paid — typically two to three months later — by deducting it from a subsequent payslip. The employee is made whole throughout; the employer carries the float.

Two things go wrong with this routinely. The employer forgets to apply the set-off at all, and permanently absorbs a cost the insurance scheme was meant to bear. Or it applies the set-off before the benefit is actually received, leaving the employee short while an e-EFKA claim sits in a queue.

How e-EFKA calculates the benefit

The benefit is not a percentage of actual salary. It is 50% of the notional daily wage of the insurance class the employee falls into, based on average earnings over the 30 preceding working days, then adjusted:

+10% for each protected family member.
Capped at the notional daily wage of the 8th insurance class, and at 70% of the daily wage of the class used for the calculation.
First 15 days of absence: the amount, including family increases, is halved, and capped at the 3rd class notional daily wage and at 35% of the class wage.

For anyone earning above the lower insurance classes, the ceilings bite hard. The benefit is best modelled as a floor of income support rather than as wage replacement — which is precisely why the employer’s Civil Code obligation matters so much in the first month.

Eligibility requires at least 120 days of insurance in the previous calendar year, or in the preceding 15 months disregarding the last three months (e-EFKA sickness benefit for employees). Claims must be submitted within eight months of the medical certification.

Duration ceilings

Greek sickness benefit has three separate limits depending on the pattern of illness:

182 days in a calendar year, covering one or more conditions.
360 days for the same condition.
720 days for the same condition in defined circumstances tied to insurance history.

An employer planning cover for a long absence should establish early which ceiling the case will run against — the difference between 182 and 360 days changes whether the role needs a temporary replacement or a structural decision.

Certification and notification

The employee must notify the employer of the illness and produce medical certification stating the period of incapacity. The certification must come from the competent health authority for the e-EFKA claim to succeed; a private doctor’s note may satisfy the employer but will not by itself unlock the benefit.

Employers should not treat a certificate as optional evidence to be second-guessed. What they can and should do is make the e-EFKA claim route clear to employees, because the eight-month submission deadline and the certification-source requirement are where employees most often lose the benefit — and where the cost then falls back on the employer.

Common employer pitfalls

1. Paying full salary for the first three days

The statutory obligation for the waiting period is half the daily wage. Paying full salary is a choice; treating it as the legal minimum leads to inconsistent policy when the same employer later tries to apply the rule strictly.

2. Never applying the set-off

If the employee has been paid full salary and the e-EFKA benefit later arrives, the employer is entitled to recover the benefit element. Employers that skip this permanently absorb a cost the scheme is designed to carry.

3. Treating the half-month/one-month allowance as per absence

It is an annual ceiling on the employer’s Civil Code liability, not a fresh entitlement for each illness.

4. Re-applying the waiting period on a continuing illness

Where an absence continues an earlier episode, the three-day waiting period is not repeated and e-EFKA coverage resumes from day one.

5. Assuming the benefit replaces salary

The 50%-of-notional-class calculation, the class caps, and the halving during the first 15 days mean the benefit typically falls well short of pay. The employer’s Civil Code obligation, not the benefit, is what protects the employee in month one.

6. Missing the 120-day insurance test for new hires

An employee without the required insurance days gets no benefit at all — and the employer’s Civil Code liability is unaffected by that.

Greece sits alongside several neighbours with similar waiting-period designs; see our comparison of sick leave across Europe. For the paid-holiday side, read annual leave in Greece, and for multi-country payroll, our guide to managing leave across Europe.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays sick leave in Greece?

Both. The employer pays half the daily wage for the first three days, and continues to owe salary under Civil Code articles 657–658 up to half a month (10 days to one year of service) or one month (over one year). e-EFKA pays a sickness benefit from the fourth day, and that benefit is set off against the employer’s obligation.

How much is the Greek sickness benefit?

50% of the notional daily wage of the employee’s insurance class, plus 10% for each protected family member, capped at the 8th class notional wage and at 70% of the applicable class wage. For the first 15 days of absence the amount is halved, with lower caps.

What is the waiting period for sick pay in Greece?

Three days. e-EFKA pays from the fourth day. During the waiting period the employer pays half the daily wage. A continuing absence within the same illness episode does not re-trigger the waiting period.

How many insurance days does an employee need?

At least 120 days of insurance in the previous calendar year, or in the last 15 months excluding the final quarter.

How long can sick leave last in Greece?

Up to 182 days in a calendar year for one or more conditions, 360 days for the same condition, and up to 720 days in defined circumstances.

Can an employer deduct the e-EFKA benefit from salary already paid?

Yes. Where the employer has paid full salary during the absence, it may reduce its Civil Code liability by the benefit for the same days — in practice by deducting it from a later payslip once the benefit is received.

Putting it into practice

Code the first three days at half the daily wage, and flag continuation absences so the waiting period is not re-applied.
Track the Civil Code allowance — half a month or one month — as an annual balance per employee, not per absence.
Run the e-EFKA set-off as a standing payroll step, triggered by benefit receipt rather than by the absence itself.
Brief employees on the eight-month claim deadline and the certification-source requirement.
For absences heading past a month, establish which duration ceiling applies before planning cover.

You can take advantage of the free 14 days trial and explore Leave Balance.

Greek sick leave needs a system that holds two balances at once — the employer’s annual Civil Code allowance and the insurance benefit that offsets it — and that keeps the set-off from being forgotten three months after the absence ended.

Sources

Last updated: 17 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Insurance class values are revised periodically — confirm current figures with e-EFKA before applying them in payroll.

Sick Leave in Greece: EFKA Sickness Benefit and Employer Top-Ups