6 On 6 Off Shift Pattern: 3 Days, 3 Nights, 6 Off

What is the 6 on 6 off shift pattern?

The 6 on 6 off shift pattern is a 12-day rotation: three day shifts, three night shifts, then six days off. Four teams start the cycle three days apart, so on every date one team is on days, one is on nights and two are off. With 12-hour shifts each person works half the days of the year.

The pattern comes back to the same weekdays after 84 days. If your rota has six day shifts or six night shifts in one block instead, see blocks of six below.

One full cycle, in order

The 12-day cycle on a calendar

This example shows one team starting its day shifts on a Monday:

Twelve days is one week and five days, so each new cycle starts two weekdays earlier than the last: Monday, then Saturday, then Thursday. After seven cycles, 84 days or exactly 12 weeks, the rota is back on the same weekdays.

How four teams cover 24/7

Each team starts the same 12-day cycle three days after the one before.

Swipe the table sideways to see every day of the cycle.

D = day shift, N = night shift, · = off. The bottom two rows check every date: ✓ means exactly one team is on that shift.

The team on nights is always the team that was on days three days earlier. Four teams each working 6 shifts in 12 days supply exactly the 24 shifts the cycle needs, so the rotation has no spare team. Unless teams carry more people than each shift needs, any absence that needs covering means overtime, relief staff or a fifth team.

Hours, nights and days off

Each team works 6 shifts in every 12 days: 72 hours with 12-hour shifts. Averaged over the cycle that is 42 hours a week, but because 12 days is not a whole number of weeks, some calendar weeks have more shifts than others. Over a year that averages about 183 shifts, roughly 91 of them nights, and about 183 days with no shift starting.

The third day shift ends in the evening and the first night shift starts the following evening, so there is one night not at work between the two blocks. After the third night there are six nights at home before the next day shift. The six-day break starts with you finishing the third night shift that morning.

Weekends off on 6 on 6 off

About 17 fully free weekends a year on average. The number in any particular year ranges from 16 to 18, depending on where the cycle falls.

A weekend counts as free only if you are not at work at any point on the Saturday or Sunday, so a night shift starting on Friday evening rules it out. Because the cycle moves across the week, the start weekday does not change the average.

Blocks of six days or six nights

Rotas that put six shifts of one type in a row, followed by six days off, work differently from the 3 days, 3 nights, 6 off plan:

Both use four teams. On the rotating version they start six days apart; on the fixed version two teams alternate on days and two on nights. Twenty-four days is three weeks and three days, so the rotating cycle starts three weekdays later each time and returns to the same weekdays after 168 days. The 12-day fixed cycle starts two weekdays earlier each time and returns after 84 days.

6 on 6 off compared with similar rotas

2-2-4 and 6 on 6 off both work half the days with four teams; 3-3-3 works two days in every three with three teams. 6 on 6 off has the same six-shift run as 3-3-3 with twice the break.

6 on 6 off FAQ

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