4 on 4 off shift pattern: hours, holiday and the calendar
Four teams, 12-hour shifts: four days on, four off, four nights on, four off, a cycle of 16 days. The version where a team stays on days or nights repeats every 8 days. Either way each team works half the days, 42 hours a week on average and about 2,190 hours a year. Set the start date below to see your own calendar, or download the template.
- Cycle
- 16 days
- Shifts per cycle
- 8 × 12 h
- Average
- 42 h a week
- Longest run
- 4 days
- Longest break
- 4 days
Calendar: set your start date
Team A starts the cycle on the date you pick. Change the date to match your site, then print it or download the spreadsheet.
| Team | Mon 5 Oct | Tue 6 | Wed 7 | Thu 8 | Fri 9 | Sat 10 | Sun 11 | Mon 12 | Tue 13 | Wed 14 | Thu 15 | Fri 16 | Sat 17 | Sun 18 | Mon 19 | Tue 20 | Wed 21 | Thu 22 | Fri 23 | Sat 24 | Sun 25 | Mon 26 | Tue 27 | Wed 28 | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N |
| Team B | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · |
| Team C | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D |
| Team D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | · |
| Hours per week | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| Team B | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| Team C | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| Team D | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
8 shifts per 16-day cycle, 96 hours, an average of 42 hours a week. Longest stretch worked: 4 days. Longest break: 4 days. Weekend days are shown in blue.
How the 4 on 4 off shift pattern works
- Team A: Monday to Thursday on days, Friday to Monday off, Tuesday to Friday on nights, Saturday to Tuesday off. Then it starts again.
- Teams B, C and D start the same sequence 4, 8 and 12 days later, so one team is always on days and one on nights.
- The 16-day cycle does not fit a 7-day week: days off drift through the week and the weekend pattern repeats every 16 weeks. In most 7-day weeks a team does 4 shifts (48 hours); in some it does 3 (36 hours).
- Fixed version: teams A and B alternate on days (4 on, 4 off), C and D on nights, 8-day cycle, same hours.
What it does well
- Four full days off in a row, every eight days. Long enough to travel or switch off.
- Simple to remember and simple to staff: four teams, no relief team.
- Only four shifts in a row, then four off, so recovery time is built in.
- About 2,190 hours a year: fewer working days than a 5-day week, at the cost of 12-hour days.
Where it hurts
- Four 12-hour nights in a row, every 16 days, in the rotating version.
- Weekends off cannot be planned from the calendar in your head: they come round unevenly.
- 48-hour weeks are the norm: in the US that is 8 hours of overtime most weeks.
- Family and childcare arrangements built on a fixed weekday do not fit a 16-day cycle.
Overtime in the United States
Most 7-day workweeks contain four 12-hour shifts, so 8 hours of FLSA overtime per person in those weeks; the 36-hour weeks carry none. Over a year that is roughly 6 overtime hours a week on average per person. California and other daily-overtime states add 4 overtime hours per shift unless an alternative workweek schedule was adopted. Hospitals and residential care on the 8-and-80 system pay overtime beyond 8 hours a day or 80 in 14 days. Numbers for your rates: the overtime calculator; state break rules: break laws by state.
Working Time Regulations in the UK
The pattern is common in UK security, care, policing and manufacturing. The 42-hour average is within the 48-hour limit, and 12 hours between shifts meets the 11 hours of daily rest. Holiday for a 4 on 4 off worker is best worked out in hours: 5.6 weeks × 42 hours = 235.2 hours a year, which is 19.6 twelve-hour shifts. Counting it as 28 days of 12 hours (336 hours) over-grants; counting it as 28 shifts is a common and expensive mistake. Use the holiday entitlement calculator for part-year starters. The full list of limits: the Working Time Regulations and your rota; leave in hours: the holiday entitlement calculator.
Variants
- Fixed days and fixed nights (8-day cycle) for people who do not want to rotate.
- 4 on 4 off with 10-hour shifts and an overlap, in operations that run 20 hours a day.
- 4 on 3 off, 3 on 4 off and similar 7-day-friendly cousins, which keep weekends predictable at the cost of a fifth team.
Who uses it
Security and control rooms, care homes, police custody suites, airports, distribution centres, manufacturing lines that run 24/7.
Other patterns
Frequently asked questions
- How many hours a year is 4 on 4 off?
- About 2,190 hours: 182.5 twelve-hour shifts a year (half the days), which is an average of 42 hours a week. Deduct unpaid breaks if your shifts include them.
- How many hours a week is 4 on 4 off?
- 42 on average. Because the 16-day cycle does not fit a 7-day week, individual weeks are usually 48 hours (four shifts) and sometimes 36 (three shifts).
- How much holiday do you get on 4 on 4 off in the UK?
- 5.6 weeks of the average working week: 5.6 × 42 hours = 235.2 hours a year, which is 19.6 twelve-hour shifts. Work it out in hours, not in days.
- Do you get weekends off on 4 on 4 off?
- Some. Days off move through the week because 16 days is not a multiple of 7, so the weekend pattern repeats every 16 weeks, with a mix of full weekends off, one day off, and full weekends worked.
- Is 4 on 4 off legal in the UK?
- Yes. The 42-hour average is under the 48-hour limit in the Working Time Regulations, and 12 hours between shifts meets the 11 hours of daily rest. Each 12-hour shift needs a 20-minute break and night workers are entitled to a health assessment.
Put names on the pattern
The template gives you the teams. The planner gives each person their own shifts on their phone, with breaks and rest checked, and shift change requests that go through the manager instead of a group chat. Free up to 10 people.
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