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INThe 4 On 4 Off Shift Pattern: Rotation, Examples & Template
The 4 on 4 off shift pattern covers continuous operations with teams working four consecutive 12-hour shifts followed by four days off, repeating every 8 days. With two day teams and two night teams it staffs a 24/7 operation and averages 42 hours a week per person.
Try the rotation
Pick a start date to map the rotation onto real weeks. Team A starts the cycle on day 1; the other teams are staggered so cover never drops.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | Day | Day | Day | Day | Off | Off | Off | Off |
| Team B | Off | Off | Off | Off | Day | Day | Day | Day |
| Team C | Night | Night | Night | Night | Off | Off | Off | Off |
| Team D | Off | Off | Off | Off | Night | Night | Night | Night |
The math
| Cycle length | 8 days |
|---|---|
| Shift length | 12 hours |
| Average hours per week | 42 hours |
| Shifts per year (per person) | 183 |
| Days off per year | 183 |
| Teams needed for 24/7 cover | 4 |
How the rotation works
The rhythm could not be simpler: work four, rest four, forever. Most sites run it with fixed crews — teams A and B alternate the day shift while C and D alternate nights — though rotating variants (4 days on, 4 off, 4 nights on, 4 off) are common where nobody wants to own the night shift permanently.
Because the cycle is 8 days, your work days drift through the calendar: you work every day of the week and you get every day of the week off, in turn. Over any 8-week span it evens out exactly — but it never aligns with a Monday-to-Friday world, which is both the pattern's gift (quiet weekday time off) and its tax (working some of every weekend rhythm).
Four days off in a row, every single cycle, is the headline. No other mainstream pattern delivers a 4-day break that frequently.
Who uses it
- UK emergency services & control rooms — one of Britain's most widely used 12-hour rosters
- Security & corrections — continuous posts with fixed day/night crews
- Rail, ports & logistics — 24/7 infrastructure with predictable crewing
- Manufacturing & process industries — continuous lines that want minimal handovers
- Healthcare support & care homes — 24/7 cover where 4-day recovery blocks help retention
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Four consecutive days off every cycle — half your life is genuinely off-duty
- Dead simple to understand, administer and memorise
- Only two handovers a day with 12-hour shifts
- Fixed-crew version gives stable sleep schedules
- Rolling pattern shares weekends and weekdays perfectly evenly over time
Cons
- Four consecutive 12-hour shifts — fatigue peaks on day four
- The roster never settles into the weekly calendar; regular weekly commitments are hard
- You work roughly half of all weekends (rolling evenly through them)
- 48-hour work weeks alternate with 36-hour ones; payroll must handle the swing
- In the fixed version, night crews permanently carry the night burden
Variations & alternatives
Free template download
Download the pre-built rotation calendar, ready to print or edit. No email required.
Build this schedule in Tommy
Set the rotation once and Tommy fills the weeks ahead — shift swaps, leave and coverage gaps handled in one place, with your team always seeing the latest version.
