How a weekly rotating shift works

The roster

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

Shifts per 28-day cycle

How the 28 day cycle works

Run a day shift from 7 am to 7 pm and a night shift from 7 pm to 7 am. Team A works seven days, rests seven, works seven nights, rests seven, shown as DDDDDDDOOOOOOONNNNNNNOOOOOOO. Teams B, C and D follow the same string a week apart. On every date one team is on days and one on nights, with two teams resting. Keeping a shift for a full week lets sleep settle before the change, and the rest week between day and night weeks softens the switch. The whole pattern is easy to read from a wall roster.

• 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; rest comes in full weeks.
• Four teams keep one day and one night crew on duty.

Hours per week worked out

Each team works two of the four weeks, seven 12 hour shifts each week. Fourteen shifts of 12 hours is 168 hours over four weeks, which is 42 hours a week on average. Seven straight 12 hour shifts is a heavy week, even though the average is moderate, so the rest week matters. Hours beyond the eight hour ordinary day are overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate with consent. Check your state rule on consecutive days and daily hours before you use seven day work weeks.

Who the pattern suits

Weekly rotation suits sites where a steady week helps more than short blocks: control rooms, utilities and plants with routine work. A full week on one shift lets the body clock settle, and the rest week gives a clean break between day and night weeks. The risk is the run of seven 12 hour shifts, which is demanding and needs the rest week kept clear. Women may work the night week with their consent and the safety conditions the government sets. Watch for fatigue late in each work week.

Pros

• A full week on one shift lets sleep settle.
• A rest week separates day weeks from night weeks.
• Four teams cover a round the clock site.
• Average of 42 hours a week stays under 48.

Cons

• Seven straight 12 hour shifts make a heavy week.
• Fatigue builds towards the end of a work week.
• Long weeks need the rest week kept completely clear.
• Night 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. Create a rotation template with a 28 day cycle of a day week, rest week, night week and rest week, and offset the four teams by a week each.
3. Assign in bulk over up to 92 days and open 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, and add a monthly cap if you want one.
5. Use attendance rules to raise the late and missed punch out alerts so supervisors catch a shift that does not close late in a work week.
6. File night punches that cross midnight to the correct shift day so the night week counts correctly in the payable days for payroll.

Frequently asked questions