Easter gift: when, to whom and how much

In accordance with current legislation, all private sector employees are entitled to an Easter gift – Δώρο Πάσχα.

The Easter Bonus is paid to all employees employed in the private sector – for any employer, on an indefinite or fixed-term basis, full or part-time. Payment Deadline – Holy Wednesday, although the employer may pay the bonus before the specified date. The Easter gift is subject to contributions to ΕΦΚΑ (ΙΚΑ) and tax (Φόρος Μισθωτών Υπηρεσιών). Under no circumstances can it be paid in kind – only in cash.

In case of non-payment of the Easter gift within the stipulated time, the Σ.ΕΠ.Ε social labor inspectors are obliged to intervene, carry out an inspection and, if confirmed, impose appropriate sanctions.

To determine the size of the Easter gift, the method of remuneration is taken into account: a daily wage or a salary. The period for which the gift is calculated is from January 1 to April 30. If the employment relationship lasted the entire period, the employee is entitled to getting half a month’s salary (if salary is set) and amounts for 15 days (if daily wage).

In the event that the employment relationship did not last the entire above period, the employee has the right to receive bonus share, which is calculated as follows: an amount equal to 1/15 of half of the monthly salary or one daily salary for employees for every 8 calendar days of the duration of the employment relationship. If the employment relationship lasted less than eight days, the employee is entitled to part of the bonus.

Except for the case when the work was carried out without interruption during the entire period from January 1 to April 30, this period includes all days when the employee was absent from work by law (for example, annual leave, maternity leave, study leave).

With regard to the absence of an employee due to sickness: the period for calculating the Easter bonus includes a “three-day sick leave”, that is, a period of absence during which no sickness benefit is paid. This subtracts the days during which the insurance company pays benefits. For example:

If an employee was absent from work due to illness for 60 days and received sickness benefit from the insurance fund for 40 days, then only 40 days, not 60 days, will be deducted from the period of work.

The Easter bonus is calculated based on the regular reward actually paid on the 15th day before Easter, provided that it is equal to or higher than the statutory reward. If the employment relationship ends before this date, the Easter bonus is calculated based on the remuneration paid on the day of termination of the employment relationship.

Regular pay is a salary or daily wage and any other payments (in cash or in kind) paid by the employer as a contractual or legal remuneration for work performed regularly every month or repeated periodically at certain intervals during the year, recalls CNN Greece.

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