Posting workers to Greece: Directive 96/71 and the A1 certificate
Presidential Decree 219/2000 transposed Directive 96/71 in Greece. The posting declaration goes to the Labour Inspectorate before services start, at any length.
Posting is not hiring. A company established in another member state sends its own staff to Greece for a defined job while the employment contract stays in the sending state. Presidential Decree 219/2000 transposed Directive 96/71/EC, the posting declaration is filed with the Labour Inspectorate before services begin, and the A1 certificate shows which social security system applies.
The legal frame and who supervises it
Directive 96/71/EC entered Greek law through Presidential Decree 219/2000 (Government Gazette A' 190 of 31 August 2000). It was amended by Presidential Decree 101/2016 and then by Presidential Decree 30/2021, which transposes Directive 2018/957/EU and brings in equal pay for the same work in the same place. ELINYAE, the Greek institute for occupational health and safety, holds the consolidated texts in its national legislation database.
The competent authority is the Labour Inspectorate, under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The Inspectorate issued the Practical Guide on the Posting of Workers, January 2025 edition, which is the official implementation manual and sets out document by document what an inspector asks for at the place of work.
Two points separate Greek practice from what many contractors assume. First, the declaration is filed whatever the length of the posting. There is no threshold in days below which it can be skipped, not even for a three day machine installation. Second, the documents are kept in Greek and carry the details of the undertaking and of its legal representative, so the inspector has a counterpart without going through the sending state register.
What the A1 proves and what it does not
The A1 certificate is issued by the social security institution of the sending state and confirms that the posted worker stays insured there for the duration of the job in Greece. Without it, an inspector can treat the work as falling under the Greek system and ask for registration and contributions retroactively.
The A1 covers social security only. It says nothing about the right to reside and work. A third country national posted to Greece must already be lawfully employed in the sending state and hold a title there covering the posting period, which follows from Presidential Decree 219/2000. Posting does not replace a Greek employment approval and creates no right to work on its own.
That is where the common failure sits. A construction company established in another member state recruits Nepali tradesmen there, sends them to Greece the following week and assumes the A1 is enough. The inspector asks for the sending state residence title, the employment contract predating the posting, and the payroll records. If the employment relationship was created only in order to send the worker to Greece, the arrangement is treated as a sham posting.
| Element | Posting under PD 219/2000 | Direct hire in Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Employer | Undertaking in the sending state | Greek undertaking |
| Prior filing | Labour Inspectorate, before start | Hiring notice in ERGANI |
| Social security | Sending state under A1 | EFKA |
| Title for a third country national | Of the sending state | Greek permit under Law 5038/2023 |
| Pay | Greek terms under PD 30/2021 | Greek collective terms |
What is checked on site
The January 2025 Practical Guide requires the documents to be kept and available at the place where the services are provided, for the whole posting. In practice the file holds the declaration, the employment contract, payslips, proof of payment and the working time records, all in Greek.
The equal pay rule of Presidential Decree 30/2021 means the posted worker is paid on the terms that apply in Greece for the same work, not on the minimum wage of the sending state. Allowances that reimburse travel, accommodation and meals do not count towards pay. That distinction is the most frequent source of a fine, as set out in the guide to Greek labour inspection penalties.
For an employer weighing posting against direct hiring, the test is the length and nature of the job. A twelve month project with a standing crew sits better on the Law 5038/2023 route, or on a single permit in another member state, while a six week equipment installation is a genuine posting.
Before you send a crew to Greece, confirm three things: that the declaration was filed before the first working day, that every posted worker holds a valid A1, and that third country nationals hold a sending state title covering the whole period. Route by route detail per sending state sits on the employers page.
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