Waiter: how much the job pays in Athens
Takes orders and serves the customers
- Under 30
- 30-49
- 50+
The collective agreements
The base pay of the role in each agreement.
- WaiterCategory B €1,010
On top of the base pay: experience €5.60 for each year in a hotel, family 10%, seasonal 10%, board and lodging, and from 1.6.2026 a temporary allowance of 2% of the base, until the occupational pension fund of the sector is set up (article 8).
A hotel with revenue of up to €55 a day for each room pays €40 less. The head chef gets at least 20% above Category A.
POEET and the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers. Binding on all, Government Gazette B 2019/25.4.2025.
- WaiterRestaurants, dining room €1,050
- WaiterCafés and pizzerias €1,050
On top of the base pay: in restaurants €4.90 for each year, in cafés 5% every three years, marriage 10%.
A waiter may be paid a share of the bill instead of the salary.
From 1.4.2027 all pay rises by 4%.
POEET, GSEE, POESE and GSEVEE. Binding on all, Government Gazette B 2629/11.5.2026.
The base pay is the minimum for the role in this sector. The estimate above is the average pay, with the allowances.
All agreementsWhere it pays best
The same group of jobs in each sector.
The employers of the sector
Highest cost per employee first.
- Sani ResortTourism and food service · 2025 · Kassandra, Chalkidiki Cost per employee a year:€38,17586% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,202 estimate agreement: from €1,010
- Porto CarrasTourism and food service · 2024 · Neos Marmaras, Chalkidiki Cost per employee a year:€36,94180% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,226 estimate agreement: from €1,010
- Neptune HotelsTourism and food service · 2025 · Kos Cost per employee a year:€36,86680% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,226 estimate agreement: from €1,010
- Grigoris MikrogevmataTourism and food service · 2025 Cost per employee a year:€34,89470% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,226 estimate agreement: from €1,050
- Ikos OceaniaTourism and food service · 2025 · Nea Moudania, Chalkidiki Cost per employee a year:€34,82770% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,202 estimate agreement: from €1,010
- Elounda BeachTourism and food service · 2024 · Elounda Cost per employee a year:€34,51268% above the sector Waiter, gross a month: €1,226 estimate agreement: from €1,010
The cost is for the whole company, not only for this role. The vertical line shows the average of the sector.
The estimate follows the sector and the size of the company. It is not the pay of the company itself.
Small or large company
The estimate by company headcount.
The survey does not cover companies with fewer than 10 people, nor those with 500 and more.
In December 2025, companies with fewer than 10 people paid 25.2% less a day than larger ones, across all professions, according to e-EFKA, the social security fund.
Education
Average yearly earnings in 2022, ELSTAT.
The table covers all professions in the sector “Tourism and food service”. ELSTAT does not publish education by profession, so education does not change the estimate.
Years at the company
Average monthly earnings in 2022, Eurostat.
Men and women
Average monthly earnings in 2022, Eurostat.
In the group “Service and sales workers”, women earned 8.6% less than men. The gap also reflects the job within the group, the hours and the years, not only sex.
More recently, in December 2025, women in full-time work earned 10.4% less than men, across all professions, according to e-EFKA.
Tourism and food service
Similar professions in Athens.
Two professions in the same ISCO group and the same sector have the same estimate. The official figures go no finer.
All professionsHow we calculate it
Five steps, from official figures.
The level: the average full-time gross pay of the sector “Tourism and food service” at the end of 2025, €1,203, from ERGANI (ΕΡΓΑΝΗ), the job register of the Ministry of Labour, through IOBE.
The profession: the ISCO-08 group “Service and sales workers” earns 0.94 times the average pay of the sector, in the Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (Έρευνα Διάρθρωσης Αμοιβών 2022) of ELSTAT.
Age: each age group takes its ratio within the same group of jobs, from the same survey.
Size: when you choose a company size, the estimate takes its ratio within the same group of jobs, from the same survey.
Athens: Attica pays 6.3% more than the country, by the hourly earnings of the survey.
The year has 14 salaries, and the estimate never falls below the minimum wage of 2026, €920. Net pay is for a single person with no children.
It is an estimate, not a job offer. The survey covers businesses with 10 or more employees, except public administration.
Sources
- ELSTAT: Structure of Earnings Survey, year 2022 (release of 20.12.2024) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean monthly earnings by occupation and sector (earn_ses22_48) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean monthly earnings by occupation, age and sex (earn_ses22_21) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean monthly earnings by sector and education (earn_ses22_23) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean monthly earnings by sector and years with the enterprise (earn_ses22_24) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean monthly earnings by occupation and size of enterprise (earn_ses22_25) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean hourly earnings by NUTS 1 region (earn_ses22_rhr) · 19 October 2026
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022: mean hourly earnings of the country (earn_ses22_hftpt) · 19 October 2026
- IOBE: report on the minimum wage 2026, table 4.1 (ERGANI, fourth quarter of 2025) · 19 October 2026
- e-EFKA: monthly figures of employees and the self-employed, December 2025, table 2 · 19 October 2026
- e-EFKA: monthly employment figures, December 2025, tables I.3 and II.3 · 19 October 2026
- ILO: International Standard Classification of Occupations, ISCO-08 · 19 October 2026