Shift scheduling for businesses with several stores: the guide

A weekly shift schedule in Greece is right when it does three things at once: it covers what each store needs, it keeps every employee within the limits of the Labour Code, and it matches what is declared in ERGANI II and clocked on the digital work card. With one store, you can check that at a glance. With several, and with staff who move between them, you can’t.

This guide brings together the rules that touch every week, the places they break in practice, and what payroll needs at the end. Each section points to an article with the details.

At a glance

• 11 hours of consecutive rest in every 24-hour period (article 171 of the Labour Code, Presidential Decree 62/2025).
• 24 hours of weekly rest, added to the 11 hours of daily rest: as a rule 35 consecutive hours, usually including Sunday (article 173).
• A 15 to 30 minute break once work runs past 4 consecutive hours; it is not working time and is not given at the start or end of a shift (article 172).
• Overtime up to 4 hours a day and 150 hours a year, paid at +40%; since Law 5239/2025, up to 13 hours a day with the same employer.
• Hours declared in ERGANI II before they apply, and every change before its start time, unless a business on the digital work card has chosen the retrospective system.

The rules that touch every week

Rest between shifts

At least 11 hours must pass between the end of one shift and the start of the next: whoever closes at 23:00 doesn’t open before 10:00. Where this slips in practice (closing then opening, Sunday to Monday, a shift at another store) is covered in the article on 11 hours’ rest in the shift schedule.

Days off, weekly rest and the sixth day

Every week needs 24 hours of rest in a row, on top of the 11 hours of daily rest. A day off between a late close and an early open may not be enough. The five-day week, the six-day week and the sixth day that Law 5053/2023 allows by exception are in the article on weekly rest, days off and the sixth day.

Breaks

An 8-hour shift has a break of 15 to 30 minutes, somewhere in the middle and not at the start or end. See breaks during a shift.

Extra hours, overtime and the 13-hour day

Above the 40 contract hours come extra hours (+20%), and above 45 (48 on a six-day week) overtime (+40%). Law 5239/2025 raised the daily overtime limit from 3 to 4 hours, so a day with the same employer can reach 13 hours. All the limits are in the article on extra hours, overtime and the 13-hour day.

What is declared, and what the card records

The schedule no longer stays in the store. Each employee’s hours are declared in the Digital Organisation of Working Time in ERGANI II, and in sectors on the digital work card, clocking in and out is compared with it.

• The article on the digital work card and your shift schedule explains what has to match: punch times, preparation time, flexible arrival, and which sectors join in 2026.
• The article on changing a shift in ERGANI II explains when a change must be declared.
• The timeline of Greek labour law for shifts shows what changed, and when, from 2021 to today.

Where a multi-store schedule breaks

The rules are the same for one store as for ten. What changes with several stores is that no manager sees an employee’s whole week.

1. Shifts at another store. Whoever covers a shift elsewhere has shifts in two schedules, and rest and days count across both. See lending staff between stores.
2. The change of week. Sunday belongs to the old schedule and Monday to the new one, but the gap between them still counts.
3. Changes after the schedule is sent. A leave or a swap changes a schedule that has already been declared.
4. Files that disagree. When the schedule, the timesheet and the declaration are made separately, every copy is a chance for a mistake.

From the schedule to payroll

At the end of the week, payroll needs two things: the schedule as declared, and the hours as worked, with every day off, leave, loan and change marked. Exactly what, in the article on the payroll files from the shift schedule.

Spreadsheet or app

For one store with a few people, a spreadsheet is enough. With several stores, a spreadsheet checks none of the rules above; the person filling it in does. When it’s worth changing tools is in the article on a shift schedule in Excel. And how the week is built from start to finish is in how to build the weekly shift schedule.

How Postorunner does it

Postorunner is shift-scheduling software for businesses with staff across several stores, made by Utilize IKE in Thessaloniki. It builds each store’s week in about 20 seconds, and checks the rules both when it builds the week and on every save:

• 11 hours’ rest, including Sunday to Monday and shifts at another store;
• a limit on consecutive working days, counting the previous week;
• the hours and shifts in each contract, five-day or six-day;
• days off, leave, sick leave and availability windows.

Whatever can’t be covered legally stays an empty slot, to be filled from another store. Whatever changes after validation is marked as a change. The ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ and ΩΡΟΜΕΤΡΗΣΗ files come out in one click. Postorunner does not connect to ERGANI today.

Frequently asked questions

Which law sets the limits of a shift schedule?

The Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025), which brings together the working-time rules, as amended by Law 5239/2025. The sector’s collective agreement may set more favourable terms.

How many hours can someone work in one day?

Normally 8. With extra hours and up to 4 hours of overtime, up to 13 with the same employer, always with 11 hours’ rest in the 24-hour period and within the annual limit of 150 overtime hours.

Does every shift change have to be declared in ERGANI?

Yes, before the start time of the new hours. Businesses on the digital work card can choose to record changes afterwards, under the retrospective system, as long as the card confirms them.

Does Postorunner connect to ERGANI?

Not today. Postorunner produces the schedule and the files for payroll; a connection to ERGANI is being explored.

Sources

• Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025), article 171: Daily rest (in Greek)
• Labour Code, article 172: Breaks (in Greek)
• Labour Code, article 173: Weekly rest (in Greek)
• Labour Code, article 194: Pay for extra hours and overtime (in Greek)
• Ministry of Labour: Law 5239/2025 “Fair Work for All” (in Greek)
• The digital work card: a summary guide (Taxheaven, in Greek)

This guide describes the general rules as they stand on 2 November 2026; it is not legal advice. Collective agreements and special provisions allow exceptions, so for your own case, talk to your accountant or legal adviser.