4 on 4 off shift pattern

How 4 on, 4 off works

You work four 12-hour shifts in a row, then have four days off, and repeat. Because the cycle is 8 days long, not 7, your working days move forward one weekday each cycle: if this block starts on Monday, the next starts on Tuesday. Four crews cover a site around the clock. The pattern is especially common in the UK, in manufacturing, warehousing, security and the emergency services.

There are three common versions; the calculator has all three:

• Fixed days and nights (8-day cycle): crews A and C work days, B and D nights. A and B work the same four days.
• Rotating (16-day cycle): 4 days, 4 off, 4 nights, 4 off.
• 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off (8-day cycle): the block of four is split into two day shifts and two night shifts. This is what many UK employers mean by “4 on 4 off”.

Hours on 4 on, 4 off

Half of all days are work days: about 182 or 183 shifts a year. With 12-hour shifts that is 48 hours in each block, 42 hours a week on average and about 2,190 hours a year, the same as DuPont and 2-2-3. With 12-hour shifts that include an unpaid hour of breaks, it is 44 working hours in each block and about 38.5 hours a week.

In the UK, the Working Time Regulations limit the average working week to 48 hours, usually averaged over 17 weeks, unless you have opted out (gov.uk: maximum weekly working hours). A 4 on, 4 off pattern averages 42 hours, so it stays within that limit; overtime shifts on rest days can push it over.

Weekends and planning

Because the pattern moves one weekday each cycle, you get a full weekend off regularly but not on fixed dates, and you work most weekdays at some point in the year. The calculator counts the weekends you have a shift in the year you choose. Use the year calendar to plan holidays: booking off one 4-shift block gives you 12 days in a row away from work (4 off, 4 booked, 4 off).

Add your shifts to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook

Press Add to calendar (.ics). It saves one file with every shift of the year for your crew, made on this device. Then:

• Google Calendar: on a computer, open Google Calendar, go to Settings, then Import & export, choose the file and the calendar to add it to. (The phone app can’t import files, but shows the shifts once they are imported.)
• iPhone or iPad: open the file from the Files app or an email and tap Add All. On a Mac, open it in Calendar or use File, Import.
• Outlook: in Outlook on the web choose Add calendar, Upload from file; in Outlook for Windows, File, Open & Export, Import/Export.

Tip: make a new, empty calendar called “Shifts” and import into that. If the rotation changes, delete that calendar and import a new file. Shift times are saved without a time zone, so a 7 AM shift shows at 7 AM on your phone wherever it is set, including across daylight-saving changes.