The system for calculating the Christmas 2025 bonus, which is paid to private sector workers on 21 December 2025, will be paid earlier this year as the 21 December deadline falls on a Sunday. It is fixed in accordance with the provisions of Decree 19040/81 (Government Gazette 742/B/81) of the Ministers of Economy and Labour, issued in execution of Article 1 of Law 1082/80 (Government Gazette 250/A/80), the Labour Inspectorate said in a statement.

In more detail, all employees in the private sector who are paid on a salary or on a daily wage, work either full-time or part-time employment and have an employment contract of either fixed or indefinite duration, are entitled to a Christmas bonus from their employers equal to one monthly salary for those paid on a salary and 25 daily wages for those paid on a daily wage. In all cases, the length of the employment relationship is important in order to calculate the final amount.

A prerequisite for the payment of the Christmas 2025 bonus is the existence of employment (employment relationship) of the employee within the period from 01-05-2025 to 31-12-2025. The basis for the calculation of the bonus is the regular salary paid on 10 December of each year. For employees whose employment relationship was terminated before the aforementioned date, either due to dismissal or voluntary resignation, but within the period for calculating the Gift, i.e., from 01-05-2025 to 31-12-2025, the remuneration of the day of termination of the relationship shall be taken into account.

This means that a dismissed private sector employee who is paid on a salary (daily or hourly) can calculate the Christmas 2025 gift payable to them as follows:

-2/25 of the monthly salary for every 19 calendar days of the duration of the employment relationship, if the employee is salaried.

-2 of the daily wage for every 19 calendar days of the duration of the employment relationship, if the employee is paid on a daily wage.

Employees who worked for less than 19 days and were subsequently dismissed are entitled to a proportional fraction of the Christmas bonus.

If employers fail to comply with the specific time period within which they must settle their obligations, they will also suffer the consequences of the law, as non-payment of the bonus is a criminal offence. For his/her part, the employee should file a complaint, either anonymously or anonymously (via the 1555 complaint hotline.

If the employees and/or the unions appeal to the labour inspectorate responsible for the place of work, a complaint will be drawn up. The complaint report will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for criminal prosecution against the employer or its legal representative (in the case of a legal entity, company, organisation, etc.), while at the same time it will be forwarded to the relevant police station for the initiation of the self-incrimination procedure.

Furthermore, employees and/or their unions have the right to file a complaint directly with the relevant police station and request the application of the auto-procedure. It should be noted that the complaint should include, if possible accurately, the details of the company and the employer’s residence details, so that the auto-procedure can be easily initiated.

The Labour Inspectorate will carry out inspections during the festive period in businesses throughout the country and will impose the legal penalties in cases where violations of the provisions of labour legislation are found. In any case of non-payment of the Christmas Bonus within the time limit set out in the above-mentioned provisions, the labour inspectors will intervene immediately, carrying out inspections and labour disputes, and will be fully prepared to apply the provisions in force, including the procedure of self-incrimination, as provided for in article 417 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

More information on this can be found on the site of the Labour Inspectorate. Also, on the website of the information centre for employees and unemployed of the GSE (kepea.gr), you can find detailed information, as well as the online application, for the calculation of the Christmas bonus.