The 4 on 4 off shift pattern, explained properly

How the cycle actually works

The cycle is eight days long, so it does not line up with a seven-day week. Somebody working Monday to Thursday this cycle works Friday to Monday the next, and the pattern only returns to the same weekdays after eight weeks.

That is the point of it: the rota covers all seven days without anybody permanently living on weekends. It also means a person works 3.5 days a week on average — 4 divided by 8, multiplied by 7.

Most rotas run two teams offset by four days, so one is always on. Nights usually run their own pair, offset the same way.

The hours it comes to

On twelve-hour shifts, 3.5 days a week is 42 hours a week averaged across the cycle. That is above a standard 37.5-hour week, which is why four-on-four-off usually comes with either shorter shifts or accepted overtime.

Averaged over the 17-week reference period in the Working Time Regulations, 42 hours sits under the 48-hour cap — but not by much, so extra shifts to cover absence are worth watching.

Holiday entitlement on 4 on 4 off

This is where it goes wrong most often. Statutory holiday is 5.6 weeks, not 28 days. At 3.5 days a week that is 19.6 days, usually rounded to 19.5 or 20 — not 28.

Those are twelve-hour days, so the total hours are not far off a five-day week. Counting a long day as one day is fair; charging somebody five days for a week off when they would only have worked three and a half is not.

The practical rule: on a rolling pattern, count leave in shifts rather than in calendar days. A week off costs whatever shifts fall inside it.

Bank holidays

Shift workers keep working through bank holidays, because the cycle does not know about them. There is no legal right to the day off, and no right to extra pay for working it unless the contract says so.

Where a business gives fixed-pattern staff bank holidays off, the usual fix for shift workers is to add the equivalent days to their entitlement instead, so nobody is worse off for working Christmas Day.

Questions

How many hours a week is 4 on 4 off?

On twelve-hour shifts it averages 42 hours a week across the cycle — 3.5 days at 12 hours. On eight-hour shifts it is 28 hours.

How much holiday do you get on 4 on 4 off?

The statutory minimum is 19.6 days, from 3.5 average days a week multiplied by 5.6 weeks. It is not 28 days, which is the figure for a five-day week.

Do you work every other weekend on 4 on 4 off?

No — because the cycle is eight days and the week is seven, weekends fall differently each cycle. The pattern returns to the same weekdays after eight weeks.

Is 4 on 4 off legal?

Yes. It has to respect the 48-hour average working week over 17 weeks, 11 hours of rest between shifts, and a day off a week averaged over two weeks. Standard four-on-four-off fits within all three.