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Night shift on the night the clocks change
In the US, clocks go back one hour on the first Sunday of November and forward on the second Sunday of March, both at 2:00 a.m. A 12-hour night shift then lasts 13 hours in the fall and 11 in the spring.
How the extra or missing hour is paid
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act you are paid for the hours you actually work (29 CFR Part 785). In the fall, an hourly worker on nights works one hour more than the schedule shows, and that hour counts towards overtime for the week. In the spring the shift is one hour shorter. Salaried and exempt staff are usually paid the same either way. Union contracts and state laws can give more, so check yours.
Arizona (except the Navajo Nation), Hawaii and the US territories do not change their clocks.
Calendar files from Crewdays use all-day events, so your shifts do not move in your phone calendar when the clocks change.
Clock change dates 2026 to 2028
| Year | US: forward (spring) | US: back (fall) | UK: forward | UK: back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | March 8 | November 1 | March 29 | October 25 |
| 2027 | March 14 | November 7 | March 28 | October 31 |
| 2028 | March 12 | November 5 | March 26 | October 29 |
US: at 2:00 a.m. local time (15 U.S.C. 260a). UK: forward at 1:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in March and back at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in October (GOV.UK).
How long common shifts last that night
| Shift | Normal | Clocks go back | Clocks go forward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-hour night, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. | 12 h | 13 h | 11 h |
| 8-hour night, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. | 8 h | 9 h | 7 h |
| 24-hour shift, 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. | 24 h | 25 h | 23 h |
| 48-hour shift starting Saturday | 48 h | 49 h | 47 h |
| Day shift, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday | 12 h | 12 h | 12 h |
Only shifts that are running at 2:00 a.m. on the Sunday change length. A shift that starts after the change, for example 3:00 a.m., is normal.
Firefighters and police on 24-hour shifts
Under section 7(k) the extra hour in the fall counts towards the hours of the work period, so on a 28-day period it brings firefighters one hour closer to the 212-hour overtime threshold (29 CFR 553.230). Check it in the 7(k) overtime calculator. Police have the same rule with a 171-hour threshold.
Getting through the night
In the fall the last hour of a night shift is the hardest: you are an hour further from your last sleep. Plan breaks for the end of the shift and arrange a lift home if you can. In the spring you lose an hour of sleep before a day shift on Sunday, so go to bed earlier on Saturday. Phones and computers change time on their own, but the clocks of time-clock terminals and older equipment may not.
Questions
When do the clocks change?
Second Sunday of March and first Sunday of November at 2:00 a.m. local time: November 1, 2026, March 14, 2027 and November 7, 2027.
Do I get paid for the extra hour on a night shift?
If you are paid by the hour, yes: the FLSA counts hours actually worked, so a 13-hour shift is paid as 13 hours.