Part-time and rotating work in Greece: contract, hours, extra hours and ΕΡΓΑΝΗ

What the contract must say, why a part-time employee’s hours may not be split, what each extra hour pays, when an employer may impose rotating work, what is declared to ΕΡΓΑΝΗ and what each breach costs — under article 113 of the Greek Labour Code (P.D. 62/2025).

Updated: 7 October 2026 365shift

Part-time or rotating work?

Part-time work (μερική απασχόληση): fewer hours than the normal hours of a comparable full-time employee, counted daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly (Labour Code, article 113 §2).
Rotating work (εκ περιτροπής απασχόληση): fewer days a week, fewer weeks a month or fewer months a year — or a combination — at full daily hours (article 113 §3).
A comparable employee is a full-time employee of the same business doing the same or similar work; where there is none, the comparison is with the collective agreement that would apply to full-time work (§2).

What the contract says

The written contract includes (article 113 §5):

The identity of the parties.
The place of work and the seat of the business or the employer’s address.
The working time, how it is distributed and the periods of work.
How pay is calculated.
Any terms for changing the contract.

The hours: one continuous block a day

When part-time work has shorter daily hours, the agreed work is continuous and given once a day (article 113 §7). So no split shift — for example two hours in the morning and two in the evening.
The exceptions are school-transport drivers and escorts for private schools, nurseries and kindergartens, and teachers at foreign-language and secondary tutoring schools (§7).
Sunday, public-holiday and night work carry the legal premium for part-time employees too (§6).

Extra hours: +12% and the right to refuse

If work beyond the agreed hours is needed, the employee does it if they are able to and refusing would be contrary to good faith (article 113 §11).
Every extra hour is paid with a 12% premium on the agreed pay (§11).
They may refuse when the extra work happens regularly (§11).
Extra hours can reach at most the full daily hours of a comparable full-time employee. They may also be placed at a time not continuous with the day’s agreed hours, but only if the employee agrees and subject to daily rest (§11).
An employee on rotating work may work beyond the full daily hours under the overtime limits and pay (§3).

Rotating work imposed by the employer: up to 9 months

If its activity shrinks, the employer may, instead of dismissals, impose rotating work for up to 9 months in the same calendar year, only after informing and consulting the employees’ representatives (article 113 §3).
The representatives are, in this order: the most representative union in the business, its other unions, the works council; if there are none, all employees, by a notice posted in a visible place (§4).
If the decision is not notified to the Labour Inspectorate within 8 days, full-time employment is presumed (§3).

Equal treatment, pay, leave and switching

Part-time employees may not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees unless objective reasons, such as different working hours, justify it (article 113 §2).
Pay is calculated as for the comparable employee, in proportion to the part-time hours (§9). Part-time employees have annual leave and the leave allowance based on the pay they would earn if working (§10).
Dismissing an employee for refusing an offer of part-time work is void (§8).
In businesses with more than 20 employees, a full-time employee may, after one calendar year, ask to switch to part-time with the right to return to full-time. The employer may refuse only for business needs; if it does not answer in writing within one month, the request is deemed accepted (§12).
A part-time employee has priority for a full-time post in the same business on equal terms, and their time counts as length of service (§13).

Declaring it to ΕΡΓΑΝΗ ΙΙ

The employment details declare the contractual weekly hours of full, reduced or rotating work, together with the full-time hours that apply under the collective agreement (Ministerial Decision 40331/2019, article 2Α).
Changes are declared as a change of employment details — “full-time to part-time”, “full-time to rotating”, “full-time to rotating (unilateral)”, “part-time (or rotating) to full-time” — before they take effect and before the employee starts work (Ministerial Decision 40331/2019, articles 2 and 2Α).
In each day’s breakdown, the days a rotating employee does not work are declared as “Μη Εργασία” (non-working day) — an option allowed only for rotating work (article 2Α).

Fines

Amounts set by Ministerial Decision 80016/2022:

Not declaring the working-time organisation when a part-time employee’s hours change: €2,000 per employee — against €600 for a full-time employee (Annex II).
Not paying the 12% premium: €2,000 per employee (Annex II).
Dismissal for refusing an offer of part-time work: €2,000 per employee (Annex II).
Splitting a part-time employee’s hours: €950 per employee (Annex II).
Rotating work for more than 9 months in a calendar year: a fine per breach that depends on the size of the business, from €1,000 up to 10 employees to €4,000 above 250 (Annex I).

Part-time staff and the shift schedule

Each part-time shift is one continuous block within the day; if you need cover in the morning and the evening, split it between two people.
Count their hours against their contract, not against 40: every hour above the agreed hours is paid +12%.
Declare every change to their hours to ΕΡΓΑΝΗ before it starts; the fine for a part-time employee is several times that for a full-time one.
In 365shift, with the ΕΡΓΑΝΗ add-on, the employment status (full-time, part-time, rotating), weekly hours and break are entered in the employee’s ΕΡΓΑΝΗ details and sent with the hiring declaration.
To keep within the contract hours, give the employee a “Max hours per week” rule for the team they work in: auto-fill and the replacement suggestions will not go over it.

Frequently asked questions

Does part-time work in Greece need a written contract?

Yes. Without a written individual contract, full-time employment is presumed (Labour Code, article 113 §1). The same applies to rotating work (§3).

Can a part-time employee work split hours?

No, when they have shorter daily hours: their work is continuous and once a day, with a few exceptions (Labour Code, article 113 §7). The fine is €950 per employee (Ministerial Decision 80016/2022).

How are a part-time employee’s extra hours paid?

With a 12% premium on the agreed pay for every extra hour, up to the full daily hours of a comparable employee (Labour Code, article 113 §11).

Can a part-time employee refuse extra hours?

Yes, when the extra work happens regularly. Otherwise they do it if they are able to and refusing would be contrary to good faith (Labour Code, article 113 §11).

How long can employer-imposed rotating work last?

Up to 9 months in the same calendar year, when activity shrinks, after informing and consulting the employees’ representatives (Labour Code, article 113 §3).

Can an employee ask to switch to part-time?

In businesses with more than 20 employees, after one calendar year, with the right to return to full-time. If the employer does not answer in writing within a month, the request is deemed accepted (Labour Code, article 113 §12).

Shift rosters and the Digital Work Card in one system

365shift builds the roster against your rules, declares it to ΕΡΓΑΝΗ as the working-time organisation and files the work card from employees’ mobile clock-ins.

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Sources

The legal references in this guide rely on the official texts below. It is not legal advice; for your case, ask your accountant or lawyer.