Protection of the working mother

The Greek Public Employment Service pays working mothers Special Maternity Protection subsidy for up to nine (9) months, in accordance with chapter B’ of no. 33891/606/08 Ministerial Decision (Art. 142 of Law 3655/2008, as in force) and Articles 33 and 36 of Law 4808/2021. As conditions are set:

• the active employment relationship both at the beginning and during maternity leave. More specifically, the insurance in EFKA (t. IKA – Etam) and the employment with a fixed-term or indefinite employment relationship, full-time or part-time a) in the private sector, b) with contracts or relationships through a temporary employment agency, of article 115 of Law 4052/2012 (A’ 41), and c) with a contract with the Air Force for employment in the US Naval Facility of Souda,

• the receipt of maternity subsidies from e-EFKA (formerly IKA – ETAM) or the Special Account for Hotel Employees

Beneficiaries are also the presumed mothers of art. 1464 of the Civil Code, who have a child through the procedure of surrogacy, as well as the employees who adopt a child from the integration of the child into the family and up to the age of eight (8) years, provided that they meet the above conditions.

The Special Maternity Protection Leave of up to nine (9) months is granted by the employer after the end of the gestation and postpartum leave or the equal to the reduced leave or the annual Ordinary leave.

Insured mothers may, on their irrevocable application, make use of all or part of the leave. They may also terminate it by written agreement of the employer. In any case, the remainder of the license is not transferred to another period of time. Regarding the extension of this license & provision from 6 to 9 months, in accordance with art. 43 par. 1 of Law 4997/2022, it is noted that the beneficiaries are those insured on the date of commencement of the special maternity protection leave from 25.11.2022 onwards, as well as those insured on that leave on that date, even on the last day thereof.

There is the possibility of transferring from the mother to the father of the child part of the relevant permit & benefit of a total duration of up to seven (7) calendar months, provided that the mother herself is the beneficiary in accordance with the above, without however being required to have used part of it previously, and provided that the father:

• is in an active employment relationship as a dependent employee for a fixed or indefinite period of time, full or part-time a) in the private sector, b) with contracts or relationships through a temporary employment agency, pursuant to article 115 of Law No. 4052/2012 (A' 41), or c) with a contract with the Air Force for employment at the American Naval Base Souda, &
• is insured in the e-EFKA (t. IKA - ETAM or t. Special Account for Hotel Employees).

It should be noted that the order in which the parents will use the leave complementary to each other is irrelevant, i.e. the mother may first exercise part of the above right and transfer the rest to the father, vice versa, or there may be more than one alternation with joint declarations of the parents.

The beneficiary mother may submit a relevant application to the competent KPA2 Service of the DYPA within an exclusive deadline of sixty (60) days from the end of the maternity leave (childbirth and postpartum), or the equal to the reduced hours of leave, if it has been granted, or the annual Ordinary leave, if its granting is provided for on the basis of the deadlines in accordance with the applicable provisions, and in particular in the event that after the receipt of the Special Maternity Protection Leave there is no time limit for the receipt of the annual Ordinary leave until 31/03 of the following calendar year (Article 61 of Law 4808/2021).

The submission of the application is made in two ways:

• through the DYPA e-services
• through the Citizens' Service Centre (CSC) by the beneficiary itself or through a representative

It should be noted that in the case of transfer of part of the licence/benefit to the father, the application must be submitted by the mother within the above deadline, attaching all the necessary supporting documents listed below for both the mother and the father.

The decision is received either via the individual account in the online services (e-services DYPA) or by the competent department of the DYPA.

The Greek Public Employment Service is obliged to pay the working mother a monthly amount equal to the minimum wage, as each time determined in accordance with the applicable provisions, as well as a proportion of holiday gifts and leave allowance, based on the above amount.

In case of employment up to four (4) hours per day or up to thirteen (13) days per month on average during the six months preceding the pregnancy leave, the amount paid is equal to half of the above determined amount.

The time of the special maternity protection leave is considered as insurance time in the pension and sickness sector of e-EFKA (formerly IKA - ETAM), as well as in the supplementary insurance sector, and the foreseen contributions are calculated on the amount mentioned on a case-by-case basis, from which the DYPA withholds the foreseen contribution of the insured and returns it to e-EFKA (formerly  IKA – Etam) and the corresponding auxiliary fund, along with the anticipated employer's contribution borne by the Service.

If part of the leave/benefit is transferred to the father, he is paid the amount that the working mother would have received under her own employment status (full-time & part-time) & is insured in exactly the same way as the mother.

The subsidy is interrupted due to:

• Termination for any reason of the mother's employment relationship,
• employment to the employer following a request for termination of the benefit by the beneficiary.

In the case of a transfer to the father, the benefit is terminated for the same reasons as for the mother, i.e. due to the termination of his employment or employment with the employer at his request. In such cases, the benefit can be granted to the mother again, provided she submits a new Affidavit & a new Employer's Certificate with the period of leave granted.

• It is also noted that the father's benefit is discontinued and for any reason the mother ceases to be a beneficiary of the leave & benefit herself.
• In the case of third country citizens, the subsidy is also terminated if the residence or work permit expires within the payment period, & no certificate of submission of a renewal request is presented.

• Art. 142 Law 3655/08
• Ministerial Decision 33891/606/2008
• Art. 36 par. 3 Law 3996/11
• Art. 33 and 36 Law 4808/21
• Art. 43 Law 4997/22
• Υ.Α. 33891/606/2008
• Υ.Α  47360/2023