The digital work card in guarding: what you need to know

Under article 580 of the Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025):

• §1: the employer must have and run an electronic working-time system, connected and interoperable in real time with the ERGANI II information system.
• §2: time is measured with the digital work card, which records every change in working time, in particular start and end times, breaks, work beyond the legal schedule and any kind of leave.
• §3: card data are cross-checked against the company’s periodic social-security return (ΑΠΔ).

Ministerial decision 24595/2024 (Government Gazette Β΄ 1966/29.03.2024) amends the part of decision 49758/2022 on applying the digital work card and includes “businesses whose main activity (by ΚΑΔ) is the provision of guarding and protection services, with ΚΑΔ 8010 and 8020”.

The card decisions have been amended many times and activity codes change. Don’t rely on news articles: check your company’s main ΚΑΔ against the current decision with your accountant or in ERGANI II.

Article 580 §2Β says the card is marked at the start of the declared schedule, after preparation time, and at the end of it, before preparation time for leaving. Outside industry, preparation time is at most 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after. If an employee is found actually working during that time, sanctions apply.

• A declared schedule per post: a 22:00–06:00 shift at the client’s site must be declared as 22:00–06:00, not as a generic day schedule.
• Handover counts: if the briefed handover happens before the start time, it is work, and the schedule must include it.
• Single markings: more than 3 single markings a month per employee, when unjustified and due to the employee’s negligence, is a ground for a Labour Inspectorate check (§2Γ). The supervisor should catch them early.

Article 581 §1 requires the employer to register every change to the schedule or the organisation of working time, and lawful overtime, no later than the day of the change and before the employees start work. §3 lets employers on the digital card skip that prior registration; but if the change or overtime isn’t identified by a card marking, a fine is imposed per employee.

• Relief is late: the night guard stays until the next guard arrives. They mark out when they actually leave, so the extension shows on the card.
• Moved to another post: if the schedule changes, the record changes too.
• Covering an absence: a guard covering a shift at short notice needs a marking for that shift.

Changes must also respect rest limits. See our guide to security guard shifts and working hours.

Under article 580 §4, the Labour Inspectorate uses the card to check working hours. For a security company, that means an inspection can take place at the client’s site, where the guard is.

• Card not activated: a fine for each employee without an active card.
• Repeat breaches: if the breach is found in 3 inspections within 12 months, the business is temporarily suspended for 15 days.

A good supervisor compares three things: the shift roster, the card markings and the shift reports. When they don’t match, something needs fixing before it becomes a problem. The role is covered in our guide to the security supervisor, and reports in the shift report guide.

At OVIT, patrols, incidents and reports are logged in Guardly, which gives the supervisor and the client one live picture. To see how it would work at your site, request a proposal.