What Greece's pilot unemployment benefit shows about the planned new system

Greek news sites, among them Aftodioikisi.gr on Sunday 18 October 2026, report that ΔΥΠΑ (Δημόσια Υπηρεσία Απασχόλησης, Dimosia Ypiresia Apascholisis), Greece's public employment service, will pay new claimants a different unemployment benefit from January 2027.³⁴⁵ The reports cite no document, and we found no bill, draft law or ministerial decision that sets up a new system from 2027.³⁵ The only official text is joint ministerial decision (ΚΥΑ, κοινή υπουργική απόφαση, koini ypourgiki apofasi) 54427/2024, which set up a pilot of the new benefit.¹ The falling percentages, the 175-day rule and the 24-month maximum in the reports all appear in that decision.¹³⁵ What the pilot decision says is the best available guide to what a national system could look like.

What is decided, and what is only reported?

The pilot is decided. ΚΥΑ 54427/2024 was published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ, Φύλλο Εφημερίδας της Κυβερνήσεως, Fyllo Efimeridas tis Kyverniseos) Β' 7047 on 20 December 2024, signed by Labour Minister Niki Kerameos and two members of the government from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, Alternate Minister Nikolaos Papathanasis and Deputy Minister Athanasios Petralias.¹ The Labour Ministry (Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Ypourgeio Ergasias kai Koinonikis Asfalisis) presented it on 23 December 2024 as a new benefit "with more incentives to work, fairer, more contributory", in our translation.²

The rest is reported only. Aftodioikisi.gr and eMakedonia, which carry the same text, and Insider.gr say the new benefit will apply from January 2027 to people who become unemployed after that date and meet new criteria.³⁴⁵ They say ΔΥΠΑ is considering raising the insurance days needed from 125, or 100 for builders, to 175.³⁵ Aftodioikisi.gr and Enikos give different maximum monthly amounts, so we repeat neither; the pilot decision sets the cap as a rule, not as a euro figure.³⁹¹ Pelop.gr reported on 11 September 2026 that international organisations such as the OECD were evaluating the pilot, and that decisions on applying it to everyone would be taken at the end of 2026.⁷

Who was in the pilot?

The decision provided for the pilot benefit to run for 16 months for "about 15,000" beneficiaries (in our translation), with selection starting in the first quarter of 2025.¹ ΔΥΠΑ chose them by randomised controlled trial from people applying for the regular benefit.¹ Taxheaven reported that the pilot started on Friday 28 March 2025 and needed no separate application.⁸ People selected had to receive at least the same total protection as under the regular system; otherwise their claim went back to the regular benefit.¹ Participants could not also draw the regular benefit or the long-term unemployed allowance.¹ The decision budgets up to €99,612,400, funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility.¹

Who could enter the pilot?

Claimants had to be registered with ΔΥΠΑ as jobseekers, able and available for work.¹ People who had received unemployment benefit in the four years before their job ended were excluded.¹ Entry required at least 175 days of insurance with contributions to ΔΥΠΑ's unemployment branch in the 14 months before the job ended, not counting the last two months.¹² Payment started the day after a six-day waiting period.¹

How did the fixed part fall?

Everyone admitted received a fixed daily amount, set as a share of the statutory minimum daily wage (νομοθετημένο κατώτατο ημερομίσθιο, ΝΚΗ).¹ For people whose average monthly pay was below the minimum wage, the same shares applied to the daily wage matching their own average pay.¹ One month of benefit equals 25 daily payments.¹

Under the pilot, the fixed part fell from 70% of the minimum daily wage in the first three months to 20% in the last six.¹

How did years worked and pay add a variable part?

A variable part went to people with at least 900 insured days in the 50 months before the job ended, again not counting the last two months, and with average pay over the 14-month period at least equal to the statutory minimum wage.¹ It was paid for at most 12 months and fell each quarter.¹ Years insured are counted from the fourth to the twentieth, and one year means 300 insured days.¹

The decision's Table 2 gives a share of the minimum daily wage for each number of years.¹ Some rows:

Table 3 then multiplies that amount by a pay band, using average monthly pay over the whole insurance record.¹ The lowest band runs from the January 2002 statutory minimum wage up to 25 times the current minimum daily wage and keeps 100%. Each of the five higher bands is 20 times the minimum daily wage wide and gives 125%, 150%, 175%, 200% and 225%.¹ By our calculation, someone with 20 or more years in the lowest pay band would receive 70% plus 30%, or 100% of the minimum daily wage per day, in the first three months.

What did parents and single parents get?

The third part of the pilot benefit, the additional part, covered dependent family members, single parents and the Christmas and Easter payments.¹ΕΛ It added €40 a month for one dependent family member insured through the claimant and €20 for each further member, plus €40 for a single parent.¹ These top-ups were capped at €100 a month in total.¹ Christmas and Easter payments were worth three daily fixed-part payments for each full month of benefit.¹

Is there a cap, and how long could it last?

The fixed, variable and additional parts together could not exceed, in any month, twice the monthly fixed amount for the first quarter.¹ By our calculation, for someone paid at least the minimum wage, that is 35 times the minimum daily wage a month.

Duration depended on work in the 74 months before the job ended, excluding the last two months.¹ Each two full months of work gave one month of benefit, up to 12; beyond that, each three months gave one more.¹² By our calculation, the full 24 months needed 60 full months of work.

What have ministers said?

Labour Minister Niki Kerameos said there is "no cut to the unemployment benefit" and nothing changes in the ministry's policy, Parapolitika reported on 17 September 2026 (our translation).⁶ She was answering government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, whose "personal position" was that he did not think there should be an unemployment benefit for more than two months, as quoted by Pelop.gr (our translation).⁷ Kerameos said that was his personal view, not government policy.⁷

Does this change the seasonal aid?

No report we read says so.³⁵ The pilot concerns the regular unemployment benefit.¹ If you work seasonally, our guide to ΔΥΠΑ's special seasonal aid covers a separate, one-off scheme with its own deadline.