What the Shift Schedule Planner does
This planner builds a rotating shift rota from a repeating pattern - 2-2-3 (Panama), 4 on 4 off, DuPont, three 8-hour shifts or one you write yourself - and checks it. For every day it shows which team is on days, evenings or nights, counts the people on each shift against the cover you need, adds up hours per person, and flags rest periods that are too short or runs of shifts that are too long. The rota can be downloaded as a CSV or as a calendar file for each team.
A pattern is a string of letters, one per day: D for day, E for evening, N for night and O for off. That makes any rotation easy to describe, and it means the checks apply to your own pattern exactly as they do to the standard ones.
How to use it
- Pick a standard pattern or choose Custom. Set the first day of the rota and how many days to plan.
- Set the start and end time of each shift and how many people each one needs. Leave a shift's times empty if you do not use it.
- Edit the teams: one line each with name, pattern, offset and people in the team. The offset moves a team to a different point in the cycle so that teams cover each other.
- Open the rest and fatigue checks to set the minimum rest between shifts and the most shifts in a row you allow.
- Read the coverage and warnings, then download the rota grid as CSV or a team's shifts as an .ics calendar file.
Reading the results
Coverage is the share of shifts that have at least the people you asked for. A gap means that on that date the pattern puts fewer people on that shift than needed - usually a sign that offsets overlap or a team is too small.
Rest is measured from the end of one shift to the start of the next for the same team, across midnight. A night shift followed by a day shift the next morning is a zero-hour rest and is always flagged.
Average hours per week is the team's total over the planned days divided by the number of weeks. Rotations that look uneven over one week often average out over a full cycle, so plan a whole number of cycles.
Worked example: a 2-2-3 rota for 24-hour cover
Four teams of three people cover 12-hour day (07:00-19:00) and night (19:00-07:00) shifts, each needing three people. The 2-2-3 pattern works two days, has two off, works three, has two off, works two and has three off - DDOODDDOODDOOO over 14 days. Team B runs the same pattern offset by 7 days, so it works exactly the days A has off; teams C and D do the same on nights.
Every shift has three people, so coverage is 100%. Each person works 7 twelve-hour shifts per fortnight - 84 hours, or 42 hours a week on average - never more than three in a row, with at least 12 hours between shifts.
The three-shift example uses 8-hour day, evening and night shifts in a 28-day cycle. It also covers every shift and averages 42 hours a week, but each block is seven shifts in a row, so the planner flags it against a limit of six.
Formulas and scoring rules
- Team on a date
letter = pattern[(day index + offset) mod pattern length]- Coverage
people on shift = sum of team sizes whose letter is that shift; gap if below the number needed- Rest
rest = start of next shift - end of previous shift, in hours, for the same team- Hours
hours = sum of shift lengths; average per week = hours / days x 7Shift length wraps past midnight: 19:00 to 07:00 is 12 hours.
Rest rules and working-time limits
The default minimum rest of 11 hours comes from the daily rest period in the EU Working Time Directive, which UK working time regulations also use. Many sectors, collective agreements and countries set different rules, and some allow exceptions for shift changeovers. The planner only checks the numbers you give it; whether a rota is lawful depends on the rules that apply to your workers.
Limitations: what the result does not prove
- It plans teams, not named individuals, holidays or sickness. Cover for absence has to be added on top.
- Checks cover rest between shifts and consecutive shifts only - not weekly rest, night-work limits, average weekly hours over a reference period or breaks within a shift.
- Calendar files use the time zone you enter. Around daylight-saving changes a night shift may be an hour longer or shorter in real time than on paper.
- It does not cost the rota; use the Timesheet Hours Calculator or payroll for pay and overtime.
Privacy: where your data goes
Everything you paste, type or drop is processed in this browser tab. It is not uploaded, logged, stored or sent to analytics. Session recording and tag-manager scripts are switched off on this page.
Standards and sources
- EU Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC
- GOV.UK - Rest breaks at work
- UK Health and Safety Executive - Managing shift work (HSG256)
Frequently asked questions
What is a 2-2-3 shift schedule?
A 14-day cycle of 12-hour shifts: work 2 days, off 2, work 3, off 2, work 2, off 3. Four teams - two on days and two on nights, offset by a week - give 24-hour cover with every person averaging 42 hours a week. It is also called the Panama schedule.
How does the DuPont schedule work?
It is a 28-day cycle of 12-hour shifts for four teams: 4 nights, 3 off, 3 days, 1 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days, then 7 days off. Offsetting each team by a week covers every day and night shift once, and the long break at the end is its main attraction.
How do I write my own shift pattern?
Use one letter per day - D, E or N for a shift and O for a day off - and the pattern repeats. Give each team the same pattern with a different offset so they cover each other, then check the coverage warnings until there are no gaps.
How much rest should there be between shifts?
The EU Working Time Directive and UK regulations set a daily rest of 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hours, with some exceptions. Other countries and sectors differ. Set the minimum in the rest checks and the planner flags every changeover shorter than it.
How many people do I need for 24/7 cover with 12-hour shifts?
With a four-team pattern such as 2-2-3 or DuPont, you need four teams each the size of one shift's cover - for example 4 x 3 = 12 people to keep three on every shift - before adding cover for holidays and sickness.
Can I import the rota into Google Calendar or Outlook?
Yes. Choose a team and download its .ics file; each shift becomes a timed event in the time zone you set. Calendar apps import the file directly. The CSV download opens in any spreadsheet if you prefer a grid.
Last reviewed by the A2Z.Tools team against the sources listed above.
