August 15th is a mandatory public holiday in Greece. As a general rule, businesses are not allowed to operate and employees are not required to work, except for businesses that are legally permitted to operate on Sundays and public holidays.
For businesses that remain closed, employees receiving a monthly salary are paid their normal monthly salary, with no additional payment for the holiday. Employees paid on a daily wage are also entitled to the payment provided for the public holiday, depending on their working schedule.
If a business operates legally on August 15th, employees who work that day are entitled to the applicable 75% statutory premium for the hours worked. For daily-paid employees, this is paid in addition to their usual daily wage, while for monthly-paid employees the premium is calculated based on the statutory salary basis.
There are some additional rules when August 15th is the sixth working day for an employee working under a five-day schedule. In these cases, working time cannot exceed eight hours and additional statutory premiums may apply.
Another point employers should keep in mind is that a public holiday cannot simply be used as an employee’s weekly day off. If employees work on August 15th and this results in working more than the normal 40 hours for the week, any applicable overtime or additional statutory payments should also be considered.
The same applies to businesses that would normally remain closed on public holidays but operate exceptionally on August 15th. In such cases, employees may be entitled to additional remuneration, depending on whether they are paid monthly or on a daily basis, as well as the applicable 75% holiday premium.
For employees who are on annual leave, August 15th is not counted as a day of leave. Daily paid employees are entitled to the applicable holiday payment, while employees receiving a monthly salary do not receive an additional daily wage.
Finally, if a collective agreement, company policy, employment contract or established company practice provides more favourable terms for employees, those terms continue to apply.
Eurofast’s Take
Public holidays can create additional payroll considerations, particularly for businesses that operate on these days or have employees working under different schedules.
At Eurofast, we can help you understand how the applicable rules affect your employees and make sure that payroll calculations and statutory payments are handled correctly.
If you need any clarification or support, our team is happy to assist and help ensure that your payroll remains aligned with Greek employment legislation. For further information or personalised assistance, please contact us at[email protected] or [email protected].