How the 12 hour day and night rotation works

The roster

One row per team, one column per day of the cycle. The cycle then repeats.

Shifts per 8-day cycle

How the 8 day cycle works

Use a day shift from 7 am to 7 pm and a night shift from 7 pm to 7 am. Team A reads DDNNOOOO: two days, two nights, four off. Teams B, C and D run the same string offset by two, four and six days. On every date one team is on the day shift and one on the night shift, with the other two resting. Because the cycle is only eight days, staff learn it fast, but the day dates drift through the week, so a fixed weekend off is not built in. The quick day to night swap needs a rest gap to protect sleep.

• D is the day shift, 7 am to 7 pm.
• N is the night shift, 7 pm to 7 am.
• O is a rest day; rests come in a four day block.
• Four teams offset by two days keep cover full.

Hours per week worked out

Each team works four shifts in the eight day cycle: two days and two nights. Four shifts of 12 hours is 48 hours over eight days. Eight days is about 1.14 weeks, so 48 hours works out to 42 hours a week on average. As with any 12 hour rota, hours beyond the eight hour ordinary day are overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate with consent. Confirm your state rule on daily hours and spread over, and set the overtime multipliers before the first cycle.

Who the pattern suits

The short cycle and four day rest make this a good fit for round the clock sites that want 12 hour shifts without long runs: security, small plants, data centres and utilities. The quick two day blocks limit fatigue and the four days off allow recovery or a second commitment. The drawback is the fast turn from a night to the next block and the lack of a fixed weekend, since the dates drift. Women may work the night block with their consent and the safety conditions the government sets.

Pros

• Short two day blocks limit fatigue on 12 hour shifts.
• A four day rest follows every work block.
• The eight day cycle is quick to learn.
• Four teams cover a full round the clock site.
• Average of 42 hours a week stays under 48.

Cons

• The swap from nights to the next block is quick.
• Dates drift, so no fixed weekend off.
• Twelve hour shifts stay long and tiring.
• Extra hours beyond eight a day add overtime cost.

Set it up in ZeniaHR

1. In the shift catalogue add the 12 hour day and night shifts with code, timings, break, full and half day hours, grace, and the night flag with a colour.
2. Build a rotation template with an eight day cycle of two days, two nights and four offs, and offset the four teams by two days each.
3. Assign in bulk over up to 92 days and use the day grid to confirm one day team and one night team appear on every date.
4. Set the overtime policy to count hours beyond full day hours with multipliers at or above twice the ordinary rate for working days, weekly offs and holidays.
5. Turn on the missed punch out alert 60 minutes after shift end so a supervisor is told when a 12 hour shift does not close.
6. Let staff use shift swaps to move a day when the drifting dates clash with a personal commitment; the change lands after manager and HR approval.

Frequently asked questions