Greek labour law and shifts: what changed from 2021 to 2026

A shift schedule in 2026 isn’t built on the rules of 2020. In five years the overtime limits changed, the digital work card arrived sector by sector, and the working-time rules were gathered into one Labour Code. This is the timeline, with what each change means for whoever makes the schedule.

At a glance

• 2021: Law 4808/2021 creates the digital work card and a single limit of 150 overtime hours a year.
• 2022: the card starts in banks and large supermarkets.
• 2023: Law 5053/2023 allows schedule changes to be recorded afterwards, and a sixth day on a five-day week.
• 2024: the card reaches industry and retail.
• 2025: food service and tourism; the new Labour Code; Law 5239/2025 and the 13-hour day.
• 2026: the card reaches new sectors, in two phases.

2021: Law 4808/2021

The law of June 2021 (Government Gazette Α΄ 101/19.6.2021) brought three things that show in every schedule:

• it created the digital work card: clocking in and out, in real time, in ERGANI;
• it set a single overtime limit: up to 3 hours a day and 150 hours a year;
• it raised the premium for illegal overtime to 120%.

2022: the digital work card starts

From 1 July 2022 the digital work card ran as a pilot in banks and in supermarkets with more than 250 employees. From then on, in every sector that joins the card, each employee’s hours are declared in the Digital Organisation of Working Time in ERGANI II, and the punches are compared with them.

The same year, the rules of individual labour law were codified (Presidential Decree 80/2022).

2023: Law 5053/2023

The law of September 2023 (Government Gazette Α΄ 158/26.9.2023) changed two things for whoever makes shifts:

• Businesses on the digital work card can choose not to record schedule changes in advance, and record them afterwards instead (article 22).
• Continuous-operation businesses that work in shifts may, by exception, give an employee on a five-day week a sixth day: up to 8 hours, with no extra hours or overtime that day, at the day’s wage plus 40%, declared in ERGANI II before the work starts. Hotels and food service are excluded (article 25).

2024: industry and retail

The digital work card was extended to industry and retail: as a pilot from 1.1.2024, mandatory from 1.7.2024. From 1 July 2024 the retrospective system also became available, where schedule changes are recorded after they happen. On 11 September 2024 the card started as a pilot in tourism and food service.

Which sector you are in is decided by the business’s main activity code (ΚΑΔ). A bakery whose main code is bread-making (10.71) is manufacturing, so it falls under industry; a business whose main code is retail falls under retail.

2025: food service, a new Labour Code, Law 5239/2025

• 1 March 2025: the card becomes mandatory in tourism (accommodation) and food service.
• 11 July 2025: the Labour Code is published (Presidential Decree 62/2025, Government Gazette Α΄ 121/11.7.2025). The rules that touch every schedule now sit in a few of its articles: 171 on daily rest, 172 on breaks, 173 on weekly rest, 194 on extra hours and overtime.
• October 2025: Law 5239/2025, “Fair Work for All”, is passed on 16 October (Government Gazette Α΄ 178/2025).

For the shift schedule, what matters most in Law 5239/2025:

• Overtime up to 4 hours a day instead of 3, with the annual limit still at 150 hours, so a day with the same employer can reach 13 hours.
• Overtime in rotating part-time work too, at the 40% premium.
• On the digital work card: flexible arrival of up to 120 minutes by written agreement, preparation time of up to 10 minutes before and after a shift (30 in industry), and up to 3 single punches a month before an inspection.
• Annual leave is recorded in ERGANI II and can be split into more than two periods; the leave book is abolished.
• The four-day week, with the same weekly hours and pay.
• Refusing overtime is not grounds for dismissal.

2026: the card reaches new sectors

Ministry of Labour circular 25291/23.9.2026 sets out the extension in two phases:

• Phase 1, as a pilot from 2.6.2026 and mandatory from 12.10.2026: health (hospitals, therapy and diagnostic centres, except doctors), employment services, telecommunications, hairdressers and beauty centres, dry cleaners, cleaning of buildings and outdoor areas.
• Phase 2, as a pilot from 29.6.2026 and mandatory from 16.11.2026: consulting, advertising and other office activities, repairs, warehousing and transport support, water supply and sewerage, gambling.

Where hours are recorded, they show: according to Ministry of Labour figures, more than 5.7 million overtime hours were declared in the card’s sectors in the first seven months of 2026, 36.8% more than in the same period of 2025.

What this means for the schedule

• The schedule is now a declaration. What it says has to match ERGANI II and the card.
• Every change counts. Since changes are declared, you need to see which shift changed, and when.
• Limits are per employee, not per store. Rest, days and overtime count across all of someone’s shifts, wherever they are.

The guide to shift scheduling goes through these rules one by one. For punches and declarations, see the digital work card and your shift schedule and changing a shift in ERGANI II.

Frequently asked questions

Which law governs working time in Greece today?

The Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025), as amended by Law 5239/2025. The Code brings together the rules of earlier laws such as Law 4808/2021 and Law 5053/2023.

What did Law 5239/2025 change for shifts?

Overtime can reach 4 hours a day, so a day with the same employer can reach 13 hours. The digital work card gained flexible arrival of up to 120 minutes and a set preparation time, and annual leave is recorded in ERGANI II.

Does the digital work card apply to my business?

It depends on the business’s main activity code. If that code belongs to a sector that has joined, the card applies to all of the business’s employees, with a few exceptions such as managers, and teleworkers on their telework days.

Sources

• The digital work card: a summary guide, with sectors and dates (Taxheaven, in Greek)
• Law 5053/2023, article 22: schedule changes on the digital work card (in Greek)
• Law 5053/2023, article 25: work on the sixth day (in Greek)
• Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025), article 194: Pay for extra hours and overtime (in Greek)
• Ministry of Labour: Law 5239/2025 “Fair Work for All” (in Greek)
• Law 5239/2025, article 22: flexible arrival and preparation time (in Greek)
• The digital work card’s extension: the September 2026 circular (Taxheaven, in Greek)
• The digital work card: new sectors and 2026 overtime figures (newsit.gr, in Greek)

This timeline summarises the changes as they stand on 2 November 2026; it is not legal advice. For your own case, talk to your accountant or legal adviser.