Police guides · officers in England and Wales
6 on 4 off shift pattern
Six shifts on, then four rest days, over a 10-day cycle: usually two Days, two Lates and two Nights. On 9-hour shifts that's about 38 hours a week, with 3 full weekends off every 10 weeks.
Rotas are set by each force, so your times may differ from the ones here. The rules on this page are the national ones for full-time constables and sergeants.
What the pattern looks like
6 on 4 off is a 10-day cycle: six shifts in a row, then four rest days. The six shifts usually step through the day: two Days (or Earlies), two Lates, two Nights.
| Day of cycle | Shift | Times |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| 2 | Day | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| 3 | Late | 15:00 to 00:00 |
| 4 | Late | 15:00 to 00:00 |
| 5 | Night | 22:00 to 07:00 |
| 6 | Night | 22:00 to 07:00 |
| 7 to 10 | Rest | Four rest days |
It's a common pattern for response teams. Some forces add Supernoons on Friday and Saturday, a long Late such as 16:00 to 03:00, and some lengthen Friday and Saturday Days to 07:00 to 17:00. Response shifts explained. Not sure this is your pattern? Police shift patterns explained sets the common ones side by side.
It rotates forwards
Each block of shifts starts later than the one before: Days, then Lates, then Nights. That gives long gaps at each changeover:
- Day 2 ends at 16:00 and Late 1 starts at 15:00 the next day: 23 hours.
- Late 2 ends at midnight and Night 1 starts at 22:00 that day: 22 hours.
Health and Safety Executive guidance on shift work recommends rotas that rotate forwards like this, rather than backwards from Nights to Days.
The first rest day starts at 07:00
Your second Night finishes at 07:00 on your first rest day, so that day mostly goes on sleep. A short sleep and an early night gets you back onto days fastest. How to sleep after the last night.
How many hours and shifts
- Every 10 days: 6 shifts of 9 hours, so 54 hours.
- A week on average: 54 ÷ 10 × 7 = 37.8 hours.
- A year: you're on for 6 days in 10, so about 219 shifts before leave.
Supernoons and longer Days add hours, so check your own times with your duties office.
How often you get a weekend off
A 10-day cycle moves forward three weekdays each time round. The same days come round again every 10 weeks, and in those 10 weeks you get 3 full weekends off, with both Saturday and Sunday as rest days.
Rules your rota has to follow
- 11 hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next.
- No more than 7 days between rest days, and two rest days a week. Six on fits.
- The roster should be published at least a month before it starts.
A Supernoon or a longer Day on your roster is your normal shift, so overtime starts after its rostered end, not after 8 hours. How overtime works on long shifts. If a rest day gets cancelled, work out what it's worth.
Where this comes from
- Annex E paragraphs 3(b), 3(c), 3(e)-(g) and 4(a) (rest days, rest between shifts, publishing the roster), from the determinations under the Police Regulations 2003, GOV.UK.
- Annex G paragraph 1 (overtime after the rostered end), same source.
- Health and Safety Executive, Managing shift work (HSG256).
This is general guidance, not legal advice, and it isn't a decision by your force. If something matters, check it with your Federation rep.
Your 6 on 4 off, set up in a minute
Pick 6 on 4 off in SHFTRS, say whether you work Supernoons, and change the times to match yours. Every shift and change is then on your phone, with what you're owed and a sleep plan that follows the rota. It's built by police, for police.