Security guard shifts and working hours: what applies

The Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025) sets three different figures, and it pays to keep them apart:

• 40 hours a week: full-time in every sector; a collective agreement may set fewer (art. 189 §1).
• 8 hours a day, 48 a week: the maximum working hours (art. 187).
• 48 hours on average: weekly working time may not exceed 48 hours on average over a period of up to 4 months, overtime included; annual and sick leave are left out of the average (art. 174).

The pay that goes with full-time work is covered in our guide to security guard pay in 2026.

Article 201 of the Labour Code (“ensuring continuous operation with rotating staff”) allows the art. 187 limit to be exceeded in work that, by its nature, must run continuously through successive rotations of staff, provided hours average no more than 48 a week. In that case:

• the teams’ order must change every week, so the team that worked nights one week works day hours the next;
• every team that works on a Sunday must get 24 hours’ rest on another day of that week.

If your post runs around the clock with successive teams, ask your employer whether the roster relies on article 201 — and check that both conditions are met.

• Daily rest: at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period, counted from 00:01 to 24:00 (art. 171).
• Break: when work runs over 4 continuous hours, a break of 15 to 30 minutes during which you may leave your post. It is not working time and may not be placed at the start or end of the shift (art. 172 §1).
• Weekly rest: 24 consecutive hours, in principle including Sunday, with the 11 hours of daily rest added on. For objective, technical or organisational reasons it may be set at 24 hours. In round-the-clock operations with successive teams, “Sunday” may run from 06:00 or 07:00 to the same hour on Monday (art. 173).
• Night work: normal working time for night workers may not exceed 8 hours per 24 hours on average over a one-week period (art. 176 §1).

Article 182 §2 of the Labour Code allows derogations only through collective agreements of the most representative organisations, or agreements between employers and worker representatives on the works councils, on condition that the workers receive equivalent periods of compensatory rest (or, in exceptional cases where that is objectively impossible, appropriate protection based on the occupational risk assessment). Two cases bear directly on guarding:

• §2.1(β): derogations from articles 171 (daily rest), 172 (breaks), 173 (weekly rest) and 176 (length of night work) for guarding and supervision activities that require a continuous presence to protect property and people, “in particular guards and doormen or security companies”.
• §2.3(α): derogations from articles 171 and 173 in shift work, whenever a worker changes shift and cannot have daily or weekly rest between the two shifts.

We could not verify any current sector-wide collective agreement for security guards. If your roster leaves less than 11 hours between two shifts, ask which agreement it relies on and when you get the compensatory rest.

The night premium is set in art. 150 §1 and the Sunday and holiday premium in art. 219 §1. On a night–day rotation your pay changes from week to week, so check the night hours on your payslip every month.

Amounts, details and what to ask before signing are in our guide to security guard pay.

1. Weekly hours: add up each week. Full-time is 40; the average may not exceed 48.
2. Gap between shifts: from the end of one shift to the start of the next there should be at least 11 hours.
3. Weekly rest: find the 24 consecutive hours (plus the 11 of daily rest) in every week.
4. Rotation: on a round-the-clock cycle, a week of nights should be followed by a week of days.
5. Sunday: if you worked a Sunday on such a cycle, which day is your 24-hour rest?

Hypothetical example: one shift ends at 06:00 and the next starts at 14:00 the same day. The gap is 8 hours, below the 11 of art. 171. That is allowed only through the derogations and with compensatory rest.

On night shifts, in practice: keep a steady sleep time across the same week, a dark and quiet room, and plan the switch from a night week to a day week in advance. Take the break you are entitled to. If tiredness or sleep worries you, talk to a doctor and to your employer.

• What to note: date, post, actual start and finish, break, and whether the shift covered night hours (22:00–06:00), a Sunday or a public holiday.
• Changes: every shift change, who asked for it and when you were told.
• Every month: compare your record with your payslip — night hours, Sundays, holidays, hours beyond your schedule.

OVIT hires guards for its local teams through the Careers page. If you are just starting out, see also how to become a security guard in Greece.