DuPont schedule: the 28-day rotation with a week off
Four teams, 12-hour shifts, a cycle of 28 days: four nights on, three off, three days on, one off, three nights on, three off, four days on, then seven days off. Every team works 14 of 28 days and gets a full week off once a cycle. The price is a 72-hour week in the middle. Set the start date below to see your own calendar, or download the template.
- Cycle
- 28 days
- Shifts per cycle
- 14 × 12 h
- Average
- 42 h a week
- Longest run
- 4 days
- Longest break
- 7 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 | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | D | D | D | · | N | N | N | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Team B | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | D | D | D | · | N | N | N | · | · | · | D | D | D | D |
| Team C | · | · | · | D | D | D | D | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | N | N | N | N | · | · | · | D | D | D | · | N | N | N |
| Team D | D | D | D | · | 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 | 72 | 48 | 0 |
| Team B | 0 | 48 | 72 | 48 |
| Team C | 48 | 0 | 48 | 72 |
| Team D | 72 | 48 | 0 | 48 |
14 shifts per 28-day cycle, 168 hours, an average of 42 hours a week. Longest stretch worked: 4 days. Longest break: 7 days. Weekend days are shown in blue.
How the DuPont schedule works
- Week 1: four night shifts (Monday to Thursday), then Friday to Sunday off. 48 hours.
- Week 2: three day shifts (Monday to Wednesday), Thursday off, three night shifts (Friday to Sunday). 72 hours.
- Week 3: Monday to Wednesday off, four day shifts (Thursday to Sunday). 48 hours.
- Week 4: seven days off.
- Teams B, C and D run the same sequence starting one, two and three weeks later, so on any day one team is on days, one on nights and two are off.
What it does well
- A full seven days off every four weeks, without using holiday.
- Days and nights alternate, so nobody is on permanent nights.
- Four teams, no relief team, continuous cover.
- 182 shifts a year like the other 12-hour patterns, but bundled so that time off comes in useful blocks.
Where it hurts
- The 72-hour week: six 12-hour shifts in seven days, with a switch from days to nights in the middle of it.
- In the United States that week is 32 hours of overtime under the FLSA, and the two 48-hour weeks are 8 each: 48 overtime hours per person per cycle.
- The day-to-night pivot with a single day off between is hard on sleep.
- Weekends worked are uneven across the cycle; people count them.
Overtime in the United States
The FLSA workweek rule makes the DuPont expensive: the 72-hour week is 32 overtime hours and each 48-hour week is 8, so 48 hours of time and a half per person per 28 days, unless the operation is a hospital or residential care facility on the 8-and-80 system. In states with daily overtime such as California, every 12-hour shift also carries 4 daily overtime hours unless an alternative workweek was adopted by election. Budget the pattern at its overtime cost, not at 42 hours. Numbers for your rates: the overtime calculator; state break rules: break laws by state.
Working Time Regulations in the UK
The 42-hour average is within the 48-hour limit over 17 weeks. The 72-hour week is lawful on its own because the limit is an average, but the 11 hours of daily rest and the 20-minute break on every shift still apply, and the switch from three day shifts to three night shifts with one day off between meets the 11 hours only because the day off is a full 24 hours. Check the weekly rest: 24 hours in each week, or 48 in each fortnight, is met by the three-day and seven-day blocks. The full list of limits: the Working Time Regulations and your rota; leave in hours: the holiday entitlement calculator.
Variants
- DuPont with 8-hour shifts and six teams, in plants that will not run 12-hour days.
- A reversed order (days first, then nights) to change which weekends fall in the long week.
Who uses it
Chemical plants, refineries, paper mills, utilities and other continuous-process industries; the pattern is named after the DuPont company where it was introduced.
Other patterns
Frequently asked questions
- What is the DuPont schedule?
- A 28-day rotation for 24/7 operations: four teams on 12-hour shifts, each team working 4 nights, 3 off, 3 days, 1 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days, 7 off. Every team gets a full week off once per cycle.
- How many hours a week is the DuPont schedule?
- 168 hours per 28-day cycle, an average of 42 a week, made up of a 48-hour week, a 72-hour week, another 48-hour week and a week off.
- How much overtime does the DuPont schedule generate in the US?
- Under the FLSA weekly rule, 48 hours per person per cycle: 32 in the 72-hour week and 8 in each 48-hour week. Hospitals and care facilities on the 8-and-80 system pay less; states with daily overtime pay more.
- Is the DuPont schedule legal in the UK?
- Yes. The 42-hour average is under the 48-hour limit, and the pattern gives 11 hours between shifts and a 24-hour weekly rest. Each shift is over 6 hours and needs a 20-minute break.
- DuPont or 2-2-3: which is better?
- Same average hours and same number of shifts a year. The 2-2-3 spreads them evenly (max 3 in a row, a 3-day weekend every other week); the DuPont bunches them (a 72-hour week) to buy a full week off each month. Teams that value the week off pick DuPont; teams that value steady weeks pick 2-2-3.
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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