Daily and weekly rest in Sweden
In Sweden, daily rest is at least 11 consecutive hours off in every 24-hour period, and weekly rest at least 36 consecutive hours off in every seven days (Working Hours Act, sections 13 and 14). So the rest period between shifts matters: if someone closes at 22:00 and opens at 07:00 the next day, that is 9 hours, which is too short.
Collective agreements may have other rules (section 3), so check yours first.
The two rules
Daily rest: at least 11 hours off in a row in every 24-hour period (section 13).
Weekly rest: at least 36 hours off in a row in every seven-day period, placed at the weekend as far as possible (section 14).
Standby does not count as weekly rest (section 14). Standby means the employee may be away from work but must be ready to come in when needed. On-call time counts as working time when daily rest is worked out, the Swedish Work Environment Authority writes (in Swedish).
Midnight to 5 am
Daily rest must include the time between midnight and 5 am (section 13). The Work Environment Authority explains this as daily rest having to start by midnight at the latest. Exceptions are allowed when the nature of the work, the public's needs or other special circumstances require work in those hours. The Authority's examples include healthcare, public transport, taxis and restaurants.
When rest may be broken
Daily and weekly rest may be broken temporarily because of something special the employer could not foresee. The employee must then get the same amount of compensatory time off (sections 13 and 14).
Collective agreements may depart from the rules, but not so that conditions are worse than under the EU Working Time Directive (section 3). If no such agreement can be reached, the Work Environment Authority may grant an exemption for special reasons (section 19). Breaking the rules without support in a collective agreement brings a penalty fee (section 26).
Working it out on a schedule
A café closes at 22:00 and opens at 07:00. Omar has the evening shift on Monday and the opening on Tuesday: 22:00 to 07:00 is 9 hours. Not enough. Move Tuesday's start to 09:00 and it is 11.
Weekly rest: Omar works Monday to Saturday and finishes at 18:00 on Saturday. If he starts at 07:00 on Monday, he has 37 hours off and the rule is met. If he finishes at 22:00 on Saturday and starts at 06:00 on Monday, it is 32 hours, too little.
Count from the end time to the next start time, and remember shifts that run past midnight.
Breaks and pauses
Nobody may work more than five hours in a row without a break (section 15). Breaks do not count as working time, the Work Environment Authority writes, but short pauses do (section 17). More in our guide to the Swedish Working Hours Act for employers.
Night work
A night worker normally works at least three hours of their shift between 10 pm and 6 am, or is likely to work a third of their yearly hours then. They may work at most eight hours per 24 on average over at most four months, and with special risks or heavy strain at most eight hours in each 24 in which they work at night (section 13 a).
Planning with Klokka
In Klokka you add shifts as jobs with a start time and hours, and the schedule shows each person's jobs day by day, so a late shift followed by an early one is visible. Klokka does not check rest or warn you, so that counting is up to you. More on staff scheduling in Klokka, or start on paper with a staff schedule template.