About Shift Pattern Generator
Build a rota cycle, then find out whether the Working Time Regulations allow it
What is on this site
One question, "shift pattern generator", answered with a calculator that works on the page with no account, 3 guides on the questions around it, a data table you can cite (the figures and their method), and the sources every figure rests on.
- Shift pattern calculator: how the average week is worked out: Days on over cycle length, times seven, times shift length. Why a 12 hour shift pattern usually averages 42 hours a week and where that arithmetic breaks.
- Shift pattern meaning: 4 on 4 off, continental, Panama and DuPont: What the common shift pattern names actually describe, which of them are the same cycle under different names, and what each one costs in crews and weekends.
- Working Time limits that decide a shift pattern: The four limits a UK rota has to survive: the 48 hour average week, 11 hours daily rest, weekly rest, and the 8 hour night limit with its hard version.
Reach us
Contact for a question about the site, or quotes@shiftpatterngenerator.co.uk. The legal terms are on Terms and Privacy.
Shift Pattern Generator is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to gov.uk, Acas, the Health and Safety Executive or any government body, and it is not a law firm or an employment adviser. Nothing here is legal advice on a particular rota. The tool applies published statutory limits to the pattern you enter and reports where it sits against them; whether a specific pattern is lawful also depends on individual opt-outs, exempt categories, collective or workforce agreements and the sector rules for drivers, seafarers and young workers, none of which it models. We publish no figure that is not either derived from your own inputs or taken from a source cited on this page.