Greece temporary work agencies and the metaklisi of third country workers
Law 5275/2026 lets a temporary work agency with capital of 1,000,000 euros act as the direct employer in a Greek metaklisi of third-country workers.
Law 5275/2026 allows a temporary work agency to act, for the first time, as the direct employer in a Greek metaklisi. The agency has to be a legal entity with capital of at least 1,000,000 euros, operate lawfully under Chapter C of the Labour Code, and hold an annual certification from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The change addresses businesses that cannot or will not carry a metaklisi file themselves. It also introduces a second employer into the relationship, and with it an allocation of liability the agency's client has to read before signing.
Who is the direct and who is the indirect employer
The temporary work agency signs the employment contract and brings the worker in. It is the direct employer. The business the worker is assigned to, and under whose supervision the work is done, is the indirect employer. A cooperation agreement between the two must exist before the metaklisi application is filed.
The file the new framework describes contains, per candidate, an employment contract of at least six months with pay no lower than the statutory minimum wage for unskilled workers under articles 141 and 141A of the Labour Code, the agency's tax return, the cooperation agreement with the indirect employer, and tax documents from the indirect employer evidencing capacity to pay the wages.
The income threshold does not disappear because an agency stands in between. The same amounts apply as on a direct metaklisi, meaning gross revenue of at least 60,000 euros per worker for a legal entity and 22,000 euros per worker for a natural person, and they are tested against the indirect employer.
What moves and what stays with the client
| Responsibility | Direct employer (agency) | Indirect employer |
|---|---|---|
| Employment contract and metaklisi | Yes | No |
| Payment of wages and contributions | Yes | Joint liability |
| Supervision and work instructions | No | Yes |
| Accommodation for a seasonal worker | Only if the agreement says so | Yes, as the default |
| Health and safety at the workplace | No | Yes |
Joint liability for wages and social security contributions is the most important line in that table. If the agency does not pay, the indirect employer pays. Outsourcing the file moves the administrative work, not the financial exposure.
The second line to read closely is accommodation. For seasonal workers the duty to provide suitable housing falls on the indirect employer unless the cooperation agreement says otherwise. An agreement that does not mention housing silently leaves the burden with the business where the worker is placed. The documentation requirements sit in worker accommodation in Greece.
The length of the assignment is the next point examined. Temporary work presupposes a specific and justified reason, and assigning the same worker to the same business indefinitely exposes both sides. A business that keeps the same worker through an agency for three consecutive years in a permanent production role will struggle to evidence the temporary character of the relationship. Businesses with a steady need usually start through an agency for the first season and move to a direct metaklisi once they can evidence the required income, cutting both the intermediary cost and the reclassification risk.
Where the route stands or falls
The joint ministerial decision issued under paragraph 29A of article 176 of the Migration Code determines which sectors may use agency metaklisi, the detailed criteria, the documents accompanying the application, and the penalties for non-compliance. Until it is published for a sector, the route is not available there, however well the agency meets the other criteria.
The check a client should run before signing has three points: the agency's annual certification from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is valid on the filing date, the client's sector is covered by the ministerial decision, and the cooperation agreement is dated before the metaklisi application.
The specific failure mode is assignment without a valid basis, meaning illegal personnel lending. The Labour Inspectorate treats it with a fine of up to 10,500 euros per worker, the same figure as undeclared work, and the penalty lands on both sides of the relationship. A cooperation agreement signed retroactively, after the worker had already started, is precisely the case that produces that fine.
The worker's tie to the original relationship applies here too, on the same rules of time and occupation set out in change of employer. For businesses that clear the income threshold and have permanent posts, the direct E.4 metaklisi remains the simpler route, with one employer instead of two. The employers page describes how Werklist handles selection and documentation under either model.
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