Greek Law 5316/2026 (FEK A' 105/06.07.2026), promulgated by the President of the Hellenic Republic on July 6, 2026 and published in the Government Gazette, applies its core employer duties from November 1, 2026 (Article 48 §2). Private-sector employers with staff in Greece, public-sector employers and bodies employing staff in Greece, and recruiters posting vacancies for roles in Greece must, by November 1, 2026, document gender-neutral pay structures, state the initial pay or pay range in vacancy notices and before the interview, stop asking candidates about previous pay, and answer written requests for individual pay and for average pay by gender for equal work or work of equal value, or the Labour Inspectorate, and the National Transparency Authority for the public sector, can impose a fine of EUR 300 to EUR 50,000 per violation, with a recurring fine if a corrective order is not executed.
Parliament voted the law on July 2, 2026. Article 48 §1 put the rest of the text into force on publication, July 6, 2026. Articles 8 to 20 and 27, the pay-structure, recruitment, information, joint-assessment and data-protection duties, start on November 1, 2026. The first gender pay-gap report to the Labour Inspectorate, for employers with 150 or more employees, falls on June 7, 2027 (Article 56B), not on this date. Greece published the transposition 29 days after the June 7, 2026 deadline in Directive (EU) 2023/970. No adopted postponement moves November 1, 2026.
- Deadline : November 1, 2026, core pay transparency obligations apply
- Who : Private and public employers with staff in Greece, any headcount, and recruiters posting Greek roles
- What : Gender-neutral pay structures, pay level or range before hire, no salary-history questions, written pay information, joint assessment where an unjustified gap exceeds 5%
- Otherwise : Fine of EUR 300 to EUR 50,000 per violation, recurring if a corrective order is not executed
- Official source : Law 5316/2026, FEK A' 105/06.07.2026
What applies on November 1, 2026
On November 1, 2026, every employer must apply documented pay structures based on objective, gender-neutral criteria (skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions) so that equal work or work of equal value is paid equally (Articles 8 to 20 and Article 37). Vacancy notices, or a communication before the interview, must state the initial pay or the pay range, and the employer must not ask the candidate about previous pay (Article 41, amending Article 9). A worker may request in writing their individual pay level and the average pay, broken down by gender, of workers doing equal work or work of equal value, and the employer must answer (Article 56A, Article 10). Where an unjustified gap exceeds 5% in a category of workers, the employer must run a joint pay assessment with worker representatives and take corrective action (Article 56G, Article 12). Processing of that pay information follows Article 56D and Article 13. Adverse treatment, isolation or dismissal of a worker who uses these rights is prohibited.
The law was in consultation from June 3, 2026 to June 17, 2026, voted on July 2, 2026, and in force on publication on July 6, 2026. Only the core employer block waits until November 1, 2026.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| June 3, 2026 | Draft law opened for public consultation |
| June 17, 2026 | Public consultation closed |
| July 2, 2026 | Hellenic Parliament passed Law 5316/2026 |
| July 6, 2026 | Promulgated, published in FEK A' 105, in force except the core block |
| November 1, 2026 | Articles 8 to 20 and 27 apply |
Who is covered
Coverage is by staff in Greece, not by where the group is headquartered. Private-sector employers of any headcount, and public-sector employers and bodies employing staff in Greece, are in scope from November 1, 2026. Recruiters and hiring managers who post vacancies for roles in Greece must show the initial pay or range and must not ask about previous pay. Employers with 150 or more employees in Greece have a further reporting duty: the first gender pay-gap report to the Labour Inspectorate is due on June 7, 2027, on the Directive cadence (Article 56B). The dossier also places employers with 100 or more employees inside the reporting rule, with that first 150-plus filing on June 7, 2027. The 5% joint-assessment trigger applies to employers who meet the gap threshold, not only to the reporting cohort.
What to do before November 1, 2026
- Write down pay structures using skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and apply them to equal work and work of equal value.
- Put the initial pay or the pay range in every vacancy notice for a role in Greece, or send it before the interview.
- Remove questions about previous pay from application forms, interviews and recruiter scripts.
- Set a written-request channel that returns the worker's pay level and average pay by gender for equal work or work of equal value.
- Define the joint pay assessment with worker representatives for any category where an unjustified gap exceeds 5%, and the corrective action that follows.
- Limit pay-information processing to the data-protection rules in Article 56D.
- Tell managers that adverse treatment, isolation or dismissal for using these rights is prohibited.
- If the Greek headcount is 150 or more, diary the June 7, 2027 gender pay-gap report separately from the November 1, 2026 start date.
What happens otherwise
The Labour Inspectorate (Epitheorisi Ergasias) enforces the private-sector duties. The National Transparency Authority acts as Labour Inspectorate for the public sector. Either can impose EUR 300 to EUR 50,000 per violation. A corrective order that is not executed draws a recurring fine. The Greek Ombudsman (Synigoros tou Politi) is the equality and monitoring body, not the fine-imposing agency. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security led the transposition. Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring is how a compliance team sees an application date of this kind on the day the Gazette entry is fixed.
How this differs from Italy's Legislative Decree 96/2026
- Italy: Legislative Decree 96/2026 has been in force since June 7, 2026 (Gazzetta Ufficiale). Greece: Law 5316/2026 took effect on July 6, 2026, and Articles 8 to 20 and 27 apply from November 1, 2026.
- Italy: the first gender pay-gap report, for employers with 100 or more employees, is due on June 7, 2027. Greece: the first report on June 7, 2027 is stated for employers with 150 or more employees.
