A shift pattern calendar for 4 on 4 off and every other rota
This shift pattern calendar answers the shift worker’s eternal question — “am I working that day?” — for a whole year at a glance. Choose a pattern such as 4 on 4 off, 4 days 4 off 4 nights 4 off, 2-2-3 (Panama or Pitman), DuPont or 24 on 48 off, or type your own, enter one date that was the first day of a block, and it colours every day of the year as a day shift, night shift or day off.
It also works as a 4 on 4 off calculator: shifts and days off per month and year, total hours, average hours a week and, if you add an hourly rate and an optional night premium, your pay before tax. Check any date, download the rota as an .ics file for Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook, save a CSV or print the year. It runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to use the Shift Pattern Calendar
- Choose your shift pattern, or pick Custom pattern and type it (DDNN---- or “2D 2N 4 off”).
- Set Day 1 of the pattern to any date that was the first day of a block — your next first shift works too.
- Pick the year and whether weeks start on Monday or Sunday.
- Optionally enter the shift length, hourly rate, currency and night premium to see hours and pay.
- Type a date in Am I working on… to check it, then read the calendar and the monthly table.
- Press Add to calendar (.ics), Download CSV or Print calendar.
Shift Pattern Calendar features
Common rotas built in
4 on 4 off, 4-4-4-4 days and nights, 3 on 3 off, 2 on 2 off, 2-2-3, DuPont, 5 on 2 off, 6 on 3 off and 24/48.
Any custom pattern
Up to 84 days of day, night, evening and off days, typed as letters or blocks.
Year calendar
Twelve colour-coded months that print on one page.
Hours and pay
Shifts, hours and pay by month and year, with a night-shift premium.
Calendar export
An .ics file with every shift and its start and end time, including overnight shifts.
How the shift pattern is worked out
A rota is a cycle of L days. For any date, position = (date − day 1) mod L, and the letter at that position is your shift. 4 on 4 off is the 8-day cycle DDDD followed by four days off; 2-2-3 is the 14-day cycle DD--DDD--DD--- (two on, two off, three on, two off, two on, three off), which gives every other weekend off; DuPont is a 28-day cycle of four nights, three off, three days, one off, three nights, three off, four days and a seven-day break.
Because the cycle does not line up with months or weeks, the number of shifts changes from month to month. Starting on 1 January 2026, a 4 on 4 off rota gives 184 shifts in 2026 and 181 days off.
4 on 4 off: days, hours and pay in a year
Every half-on, half-off rota averages half the days of the year — 182 or 183 shifts depending on where the cycle starts. 4 on 4 off shift pattern pay: at $20 an hour, 184 twelve-hour shifts make 2,208 hours, or $44,160 before tax, about 42.3 hours a week. Your real pay depends on paid breaks, overtime rules and premiums for nights, weekends and public holidays. For overtime use the overtime calculator; to add up hours on a timesheet use the hours calculator.
| Pattern | Working days a year (average) | Hours at 12 h | Average a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 on 4 off | 182.6 | ≈ 2,190 | 42 h |
| 2-2-3 (Panama) | 182.6 | ≈ 2,190 | 42 h |
| DuPont | 182.6 | ≈ 2,190 | 42 h |
| 3 on 3 off | 182.6 | ≈ 2,190 | 42 h |
| 5 on 2 off (8 h) | 260.9 | 2,087 | 40 h |
| 24 on 48 off | 121.8 | 2,922 at 24 h | 56 h |
Tips for shift workers and planners
- To see a colleague’s rota on another crew, enter their day 1 — crews on the same pattern are usually offset by a few days.
- Check the start time of night shifts: the .ics file makes a 19:00 shift of 12 hours end at 07:00 the next morning.
- Planning leave? Compare the calendar with the leave calculator — on a 4 on 4 off rota, four days of leave can buy twelve days away.
- For a plain printable year calendar without shifts, use the calendar generator.
Shift Pattern Calendar FAQ
How many days a year do you work on a 4 on 4 off shift pattern?
About half the year: 182 or 183 days (184 in some years, depending on where your cycle starts). The 4 on 4 off calculator above counts them exactly for any year.
How many hours a week is 4 on 4 off?
With 12-hour shifts, an average of 42 hours a week (2,190 hours a year), though any single week can be 24 or 48 hours.
How do I make a 4 on 4 off shift pattern calendar?
Choose “4 on, 4 off”, enter the date of the first shift of any block and the year. The calendar colours every working day; print it or add it to your phone calendar with the .ics file.
What is a 2-2-3 shift pattern?
A 14-day cycle: two days on, two off, three on, two off, two on, three off. It is also called the Panama or Pitman schedule and gives every other weekend off.
Can I enter night shifts?
Yes — use N in a custom pattern (for example DDNN----) or pick the days-and-nights presets. A night premium raises the pay of those shifts.
Does it work for 8-hour or 24-hour shifts?
Yes. Set the shift length; the 5 on 2 off and 24 on 48 off presets fill in 8 and 24 hours.