The shift catalogue an IT company needs
Start with a short list and give each shift a clear code. Product teams sit on a flexible shift with core hours. Client teams get fixed UK or US shifts that overlap the client's business day. Support runs the three default shifts, Morning 6 to 2, Evening 2 to 10 and Night 10 to 6, which ZeniaHR lets you rename and retime. Mark the US and Night shifts with the night shift flag so a duty that ends at 3:30 am is filed to the day it started.
- GEN: 9:30 am to 6:30 pm with a one-hour break
- FLX: flexible, core hours 11 am to 4 pm
- UK: 1 pm to 10 pm for London clients
- US: 6:30 pm to 3:30 am for US East Coast clients
- M, E and N: 6 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 10 pm and 10 pm to 6 am for support
When US and UK clocks change
US clocks move forward in March and back in November, and UK clocks change at the end of March and the end of October. For those weeks the overlap with the client shifts by an hour. Keep two versions of each client shift, for example US summer at 6:30 pm to 3:30 am and US winter at 7:30 pm to 4:30 am, and move the team from one to the other on the change date. Bulk assignment covers up to 92 days at a time, so the whole team can be moved in one step instead of editing each engineer's roster.
Worked example: a 24x7 support pod
A pod covering three 8-hour shifts every day with one engineer per shift needs 21 shift slots a week. If each engineer works five shifts a week with two weekly offs, four people give only 20 slots, so the pod needs at least five. Five engineers give 25 slots: 21 for cover and 4 spare for leave, training or a second person on a release night. Build a rotation template in which each engineer does a week of mornings, a week of evenings and a week of nights, stagger the start per person so they do not all rotate on the same day, and give each a personal weekly off.
On-call weeks and shift swaps
On-call is not a shift: the engineer is at home with a phone and works only if an incident comes in. ZeniaHR has no separate on-call register, so keep the on-call rota in your incident tool and pay any on-call allowance as a monthly payroll input. Shifts are different. When two engineers want to exchange a US shift for a UK shift next Tuesday, one raises a shift swap, the other accepts, and the manager and HR approve. The roster changes only on final approval, so nobody turns up for a swap that was never confirmed.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In Shifts & Roster, create GEN, FLX, UK, US and support shifts with timings, breaks, grace and the night shift flag.
- Set the weekly off pattern per shift, Saturday and Sunday for most teams, and personal weekly offs for support engineers.
- Build a rotation template for the support pod and stagger it per person so rotations do not all start together.
- Assign client teams in bulk to the summer or winter version of their shift, up to 92 days ahead.
- Turn on Shift Swaps so engineers can exchange shifts with a colleague's acceptance and manager then HR approval.
- Check the day grid for every support shift before publishing the month's roster.
Read more about shifts and rosters in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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What are the UK and US shift timings in Indian IT companies?
They depend on the client's city and the season. A UK shift commonly runs from about 1 pm to 10 pm IST, and a US East Coast shift from about 6:30 pm to 3:30 am IST in the American summer, moving an hour later in winter. Each company sets its own timings to overlap the client's working day, with a break inside the shift.
How many engineers are needed for 24x7 support?
One engineer per shift on three shifts a day needs 21 shift slots a week. With five working shifts per person, that means at least five engineers, leaving four spare slots for leave and training. Add people if the client needs two engineers on a shift or if the pod also carries on-call duty. The day grid shows gaps before they happen.
How do IT companies handle daylight saving time for shifts?
They move client shifts by an hour when US or UK clocks change in March, October and November. In ZeniaHR, create summer and winter versions of each client shift and move the team in bulk on the change date, so late marks and night shift filing stay correct without editing each person's roster by hand.