The Assumption Day holiday (August 15) is a mandatory public holiday, which this year falls on a Saturday. On this day, the employment of salaried workers and the operation of businesses are prohibited, except for those legally permitted to operate on Sundays and mandatory public holidays. The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) has clarified how private-sector employees will be compensated during the Assumption Day holiday.
Assumption Day: What applies to workers and how they will be paid
More specifically, through GSEE’s KEPEA (Labor Research Center), it is noted that August 15 is classified as a mandatory public holiday under Article 60 of Law 4808/2021 and Article 203 of Presidential Decree 62/2025. As such, the employment of salaried workers and the operation of businesses are prohibited today, with the exception of those legally permitted to operate on Sundays and mandatory public holidays.
In businesses that remain closed, employees working a five-day week who will not be working on Saturday, August 15, are entitled — provided they are paid on a daily wage basis — to one additional day’s pay. Employees paid on a monthly salary basis will receive their regular salary as normal.
What applies to Sundays and public holidays
For employees working a six-day week who will not be working on the public holiday, daily-wage workers are entitled to their standard day’s pay — that is, a total of six daily wages for the week — while those on a monthly salary will receive their regular pay as usual.
In businesses legally permitted to operate on Sundays and public holidays, employees who work on Saturday, August 15 and are paid on a daily wage basis are entitled to their standard daily wage, plus a 75% surcharge on the statutory hourly rate for every hour worked.
Employees paid on a monthly salary basis are entitled to a 75% surcharge, calculated on 1/25 of their statutory monthly salary, corresponding to the number of hours they work.
In the case of employees on a five-day working week for whom Saturday, August 15 constitutes their sixth working day of the week, their working hours may not exceed eight hours. Their daily wage, as calculated with the applicable surcharges, is further increased by 40%, subject to any other provisions of labor legislation.
If a business that normally closes on Sundays and mandatory public holidays exceptionally operates on Saturday, August 15 — having followed the required legal procedures — monthly-salaried employees are entitled, for a full day’s work, to additional pay equal to 1/25 of their monthly salary.
Daily-wage workers are entitled to one additional day’s pay. In both cases, a 75% surcharge on the statutory hourly rate applies for work performed on the public holiday.
What applies to days off and annual leave
The GSEE emphasizes that it is not lawful to offset a owed rest day (day off) against a mandatory public holiday. If work on August 15 is lawfully provided in excess of 40 hours per week, then in addition to the public holiday surcharge, the applicable surcharges for overtime and statutory overtime hours are also due.
Employees on annual leave who are paid on a daily wage basis are entitled to their daily wage for August 15, without this day counting toward the working days of their leave. Monthly-salaried employees are not entitled to an additional day’s pay; however, for them too, the public holiday does not count as a working day of their annual leave. Finally, where more favorable terms exist for employees under a collective labor agreement, workplace regulations, established company practice, or custom, those terms shall prevail.
