Greece Expands Maternity Protection With New Measures

The Greek government has introduced a new Ministerial Decision expanding maternity protection, extending eligibility for special maternity leave and benefits to more working mothers while addressing gaps in the existing system. The reforms aim to broaden access to maternity support, eliminate inconsistencies in benefit eligibility and strengthen workplace equality. Extended Protection for Adoptive Mothers Under the new rules, adoptive mothers who initially received maternity leave as foster carers will remain eligible for the special maternity protection benefit once the adoption process is formally completed, even if they have returned to work in the meantime.

The change recognises that significant time can pass between foster care placement and the legal completion of an adoption. Additional Working Hours Count Towards Full Benefits The new regulations allow additional working hours performed by part-time employees to be included when calculating eligibility for the full maternity protection payment. Previously, eligibility was largely based on contracted hours.

The reform instead reflects the employee’s actual working hours, promoting equal treatment regardless of employment arrangements. Benefit Preserved When Employers Provide Full Paid Leave Working mothers will continue to qualify for the special maternity protection benefit even if they did not receive maternity payments from e-EFKA, provided their employer paid their full salary during pregnancy and maternity leave. The measure ensures that employers offering more generous employment conditions do not unintentionally prevent employees from accessing government maternity benefits.

Support Extended to Women With Multiple Jobs The Ministerial Decision also extends maternity protection to women with parallel employment. To qualify, the employee must not perform work during the hours covered by the approved maternity protection leave. The reform removes the previous exclusion affecting mothers with supplementary employment while allowing them to maintain their connection to the workforce.

Seasonal Workers Included Women employed by seasonal businesses will remain eligible for the special maternity protection benefit even if the business does not operate throughout the entire year. Eligibility depends on the employment relationship remaining active during the leave period.