Greece has long been known as the cradle of Western civilization, the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and the Olympic Games. But beyond its rich history, Greece today is a growing economic force in Southern Europe.

With a GDP of USD 490 billion, the country is making steady strides in economic growth fueled by key industries such as tourism, shipping, and energy exports.

Tourism remains the biggest contributor to Greece’s economy, accounting for a significant portion of the country’s GDP. Millions of visitors flock to Greece every year, making it one of the most visited countries in the world.

Alongside this, Greece’s shipping industry dominates global trade, with Greek shipowners controlling 16% of the world’s seagoing fleet, the largest merchant navy fleet globally.

Greece’s literacy rate stands at 97.68%, ensuring a well-educated workforce, while the country’s unemployment rate has dropped to 9.40% as of January 2025, reflecting an improving job market.

The country has also strengthened its appeal to businesses by simplifying the process of starting a company. According to the World Bank, Greece ranks 79th on the Ease of Doing Business Index, but it performs significantly better in categories like business registration and licensing.

Greece’s strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa makes it a crucial trade link, further strengthening its position in the global market. Greece plays a vital role in international trade, with key industries driving its export economy:

Key IndustryPercentage of Total Exports
Petroleum Products29%
Aluminum5%
Pharmaceuticals4%
Fresh and Dried Fruits3%
Preserved Vegetables2%
Seafood (fresh or frozen)2%

Despite its strong economic pillars, Greece remains one of the most affordable places to do business in Europe, with relatively lower labor costs compared to Western European nations.

As the country continues to modernize its infrastructure and digital economy, investment opportunities are increasing in sectors like renewable energy, technology, and logistics.

For businesses looking to expand, Greece offers a mix of historical significance, a skilled workforce, and thriving industries. Whether you’re drawn to its powerful shipping sector, booming tourism industry, or growing export market, Greece is shaping up to be an attractive place to invest and grow.

Business Expansion in Greece With a PEO

Greece’s strategic location provides an entry point to businesses entering Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece’s strong service sector, led by tourism and shipping, and growing investment in renewable energy and technology presents excellent opportunities for international companies.

The country’s corporate tax rate of 22% is one of the most competitive in the EU, making it appealing to foreign businesses. Despite these advantages, expanding your business into Greece comes with challenges.

Bureaucracy, tax procedures, and employment regulations are some of the difficult-to-learn areas. While talent is available in the region, recruitment requires local expertise.

Hiring in Greece is heavily influenced by labor unions and industry-specific agreements, which can complicate workforce management for foreign companies like yours that are unfamiliar with local labor practices.

Language barriers can also pose difficulties, as while Greece ranked 8th in the 2024 English Proficiency Index, legal and administrative processes are often conducted in the Greek language, making contract negotiations and compliance trickier for international businesses such as yours. 

Employment contracts must also align with Greek labor laws and collective agreements for proper worker protections and benefits, including mandatory social security contributions and annual leave policies.

A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help a foreign business like yours to hire employees, manage payroll, handle tax compliance, and ensure that all HR processes align with Greek labor laws.

For companies looking to expand efficiently, a PEO removes the complexities of Greek employment regulations and provides comprehensive HR support. 

Your business operations run smoothly while PEOs simplify operations, providing a faster, risk-free way to enter the market for business expansion.

Start hiring with an Greece PEO

Let us handle the complexities of hiring, compliance, and payroll in Greece while you focus on growing your team.

  • Hire employees in Greece with a Greece EOR
  • No local entity is needed
  • Pricing starts at USD 199 per employee
  • Remote People can also help you find the best talent in Greece
Get Your Customized Proposal

How Do PEOs Help Businesses in Greece?

A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) hires employees on your behalf in Greece. You enter a co-employment arrangement with the PEO. The PEO is then responsible for hiring and managing the workforce in a foreign market.

From legal labor leasing to working a way around permits, a PEO handles everything related to onboarding, offboarding, and termination of employees.

PEOs also manage the following for your company. 

  • Payroll processing and tax filings
  • Drafting employment contracts that align with local laws
  • Social security contributions and benefits administration
  • Compliance with legal requirements and regulations
  • Onboarding and HR management 

Let’s take a look at the details of how a PEO helps your business in a foreign market.

Handling Bureaucratic Complexity in Greece

Expanding into Greece comes with great opportunities, but the country’s bureaucratic inefficiencies can be a major hurdle for foreign businesses.

Greece’s administrative system is highly centralized and hierarchical, with complex regulations affecting everything from tax filings and labor laws to social security compliance.

Political influence and slow decision-making processes also complicate the business environment, making it challenging for foreign companies to operate smoothly.

The bureaucratic burden also affects basic services like healthcare and education, making it even harder for companies to provide employee benefits efficiently. For businesses, these challenges without local expertise result in delays, fines, and compliance risks.

Instead of struggling with administrative hurdles, a PEO ensures that all employment contracts, labor agreements, and government filings are managed efficiently, allowing you to focus on functional operations and expansion.

Hiring & Talent Acquisition

Hiring top talent in a foreign market presents its own challenges, such as language barriers, drafting contracts, negotiating terms, understanding labor laws, workplace differences, etc. 

With a literacy rate of 97.68%, hiring the right employees as a foreign business comes with challenges in Greece. Collective agreements, industry-specific pay scales, and local hiring regulations are difficult to achieve without expertise in the Greek labor market.

A PEO simplifies the hiring process by leveraging local networks, using resources in the region, managing onboarding, and ensuring compliance with Greek employment laws.

With a PEO by your side, you can receive bilingual HR support to eliminate language barrier-related problems and hire a talented workforce.

LEARN MORE

Payroll Management

Social security contributions, tax deductions, and labor laws are highly complex in Greece. Employers must contribute approximately 22.29% of an employee’s gross salary to EFKA (the social security agency), while employees contribute around 13.87% toward primary social security benefits. These rates may vary depending on the employee category and industry-specific agreements.

Payroll processing in Greece is not just about salary disbursements; businesses must also calculate and withhold income tax, social security contributions, and additional benefits like pensions and health insurance. Payroll reports must be filed with Greek authorities within strict deadlines for transparency and compliance.

With these complexities, managing payroll in-house can become time-consuming and risky for foreign businesses. When you outsource HR tasks, you benefit from a PEO as they manage all of the administrative burdens.

LEARN MORE

Handling the Tax System in Greece

Greece follows a progressive income tax system, meaning tax rates increase with earnings. Employers are responsible for deducting and remitting taxes at the source, following strict regulations set by Greek tax authorities.

Managing tax filings, VAT registration, and corporate tax compliance in Greece requires local expertise. A PEO in Greece handles tax calculations, ensures correct filings, and prevents compliance risks, saving your business from tax violations.

LEARN MORE

Management of Employment Contracts

PEOs have a strong local presence, and they are well-versed in Greek employment laws, which enables them to draft contracts on your behalf. They can also negotiate terms, form agreements, and handle the paperwork.

Besides eliminating the need for a translator, they also understand the local workplace ethics. By keeping such considerations in mind, they can push your business in the right direction.

How to Choose the Best PEO in Greece

Language barriers, a low unemployment rate, cultural and workplace differences, and bureaucratic complexities are just some of the issues that make hiring a local workforce in Greece quite a task.

If you focus on workforce management and HR, you will have no time for functional operations. With a strong local hiring strategy, you can equip your business team with the finest talent. 

Many global PEO services now provide PEO and EOR services in countries such as Greece. When the market becomes saturated, it becomes difficult to find a reliable PEO service. With some important considerations, you can find the best PEO service to partner with when expanding your business to Greece.

Compliance and Local Expertise

Becoming familiar with the local labor laws, collective agreements, and tax regulations requires time, and sometimes, lengthy paperwork is also involved. Bureaucratic involvement in Greece further slows down the processes.

If you fail to comply with the mandatory social security contributions (EFKA), workplace safety standards, equal treatment of employees, and adherence to GDPR for handling employee data, your business can face legal issues. Compliance with these regulations is crucial for businesses operating in Greece.

One of the biggest challenges for foreign businesses is understanding the industry-specific collective agreements that set wages, benefits, and working conditions beyond the national labor laws. These aspects come under the local expertise of a PEO.

Before you opt for a PEO, make sure that the PEO is well aware of Greece’s tax, payroll, benefits, and employment laws.

LEARN MORE

Services Offered

You must only enter a co-employment arrangement with a PEO that offers all the services you need. Besides comprehensive HR support, you should consult a PEO who is well-versed in Greek laws, eliminates the language barrier, and provides other services.

Pricing Models

Looking into PEO pricing models helps you manage your budget accordingly. PEOs usually follow two pricing models.

  • Flat Fee per Employee: You pay a fixed amount for each employee.
  • Percentage of Payroll: You pay a percentage of your total employee payroll costs.

Choose a PEO that best suits your budget.

Customer Service

Excellent customer service is a plus point for your business, especially when you’re entering a new market. Look into factors like availability, separate representations for individual customers, 24/7 support, and good quality service.

Global Reputation

Before partnering with a PEO, it’s best to do your research on its reputation. Having a reliable PEO in a foreign market saves you from potential headaches later. You should read the customer reviews and ask for references to know whether the PEO has a reliable track record.

Benefit From Southern Europe's Thriving Economy With a PEO in Greece

Greece’s location in the Mediterranean Sea makes it a vital entry point for businesses looking to expand into Southeast Europe, the Balkans, and the wider European market. 

Acting as a natural bridge between Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, Greece provides efficient trade and logistics routes, making it an ideal base for companies aiming to serve multiple regions and grow internationally. 

Despite its advantages, Greece’s bureaucratic hurdles, complex labor laws, and industry-specific collective agreements make hiring and payroll management challenging for foreign businesses. 

Whether you want to enter Greece’s growing startup scene, thriving shipping industry, or strong tourism sector, partnering with the right PEOs will help with quick, risk-free market entry—without any legal complications.

Looking for the best PEO in Greece? Our team at Remote People connects you with trusted local PEO providers so you can expand effortlessly and build a competitive workforce in Greece today. Get started and have the most dedicated and skilled workforce by your side in no time!

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, PEOs are legal in Greece, but they do not have a distinct legal category under Greek law. Instead, companies offering PEO-like services operate under the Temporary Work Agency (TWA) framework, which requires specific licensing and compliance with Greek labor regulations. Businesses working with a PEO should verify that the provider holds a valid TWA license and complies with sector-specific employment laws to avoid legal complications.

Greece does not have a dedicated Labor Leasing Act, but employee leasing is regulated under Law 4052/2012, which aligns with EU Directive 2008/104 on temporary agency work. Staff leasing is permitted only through licensed Temporary Employment Agencies (TEAs), which must comply with specific regulations, including obtaining the necessary licenses and ensuring that employee placements do not exceed 36 months, including renewals.

PEOs provide comprehensive HR support in a foreign market; they help your business expand quickly and proceed by following the legal rules and regulations so your business remains compliant. PEOs also reduce administrative burdens by providing comprehensive workforce management.