Greek public servants to receive €500 annual Christmas payment from 2027

About 720,000 Greek public servants are set to receive a permanent Christmas payment of €500 gross, with the first payment scheduled for December 2027. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the measure at the Thessaloniki International Fair.

The payment will be included in workers’ earnings and pensions. It will not amount to a full 13th salary, but will instead provide one additional annual payment. The €500 figure is gross, not net.

Government examples presented by Mitsotakis estimate that a 40-year-old public servant with two children and a net salary of €1,450 would gain €562 net in 2027 and a further €402 in 2028, for a total additional income of €964. A younger employee earning €1,123 would gain €609 net in 2027 and another €424 in 2028, or €1,033 in total, nearly another month’s salary.

Public servants are also expected to receive gross monthly pay increases of €80 from January 2028 because of a rise in the minimum wage. The increase will affect private-sector workers as well, while public-sector salaries will adjust automatically because they are linked to the basic wage.