UK / Working time
Working time rules for shift workers
The Working Time Regulations 1998 set the limits for shift work in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own regulations with the same limits.
The main limits
| Rule | Limit | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly working time | 48 hours on average, usually over 17 weeks; you can opt out in writing | 4 and 5 |
| Night work | 8 hours in 24 on average; no opt-out | 6 |
| Rest between shifts | 11 hours in a row in each 24 hours | 10 |
| Weekly rest | 24 hours in each 7 days, or 48 hours in each 14 | 11 |
| Breaks | 20 minutes when the day is over 6 hours | 12 |
| Paid holiday | 5.6 weeks a year (28 days for a 5-day week) | 13 and 13A |
Shift workers changing shift can miss the daily or weekly rest when the rota does not allow it, but must get compensatory rest (reg. 22). Source: legislation.gov.uk.
Holiday on a shift rota
Your statutory holiday is 5.6 times your average week. On a 42-hour rota that is 235.2 hours, or 19.6 twelve-hour shifts. Bank holidays do not have to be given as extra paid leave: your employer can count them as part of the 5.6 weeks (GOV.UK). Statutory leave is capped at 28 days, so working 6 days a week does not add more.
If your hours change from one pay period to the next (irregular hours) or there are weeks of the year when you do not work and are not paid (part-year), leave for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 builds up with the hours you work instead of being a fixed number of days.
Night workers
You are a night worker if you regularly work at least 3 hours in the night period, which is 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless you and your employer agree in writing on another 7-hour period that includes midnight to 5 a.m. (reg. 2).
- Night workers must not work more than 8 hours in each 24 on average, usually over 17 weeks. You cannot opt out of this limit (reg. 6).
- Your employer must offer a free health assessment before you start night work and at regular intervals after that. You do not have to accept it (reg. 7).
- If a health professional confirms that night work is affecting your health, your employer must offer you suitable day work where possible.
- There is no higher legal rate for nights: the National Minimum Wage is the same. Night pay comes from your contract.
Source: GOV.UK, night working hours.
When the limits do not apply
The night work limit and the daily and weekly rest rules do not apply in jobs that need round-the-clock staffing, such as hospitals, in security and surveillance, in industries with busy peak periods, in emergencies, or where a collective or workforce agreement changes them (regs. 21 and 23). The armed forces and emergency services usually fall outside the night limits too.
In those cases you must get compensatory rest: the same length of rest that you missed, taken later. GOV.UK puts the total at a minimum of 90 hours of rest a week on average, on top of breaks at work (compensatory rest). This is why many 12-hour rotas in the NHS or in plants can break the 11-hour rule on a changeover day and still be legal.
Workers under 18
Young workers above school leaving age get a 30-minute break when they work more than 4.5 hours, 12 hours of daily rest and 48 hours of weekly rest (GOV.UK). Their working time is limited to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (reg. 5A), so most 12-hour rotas are not open to them.
Check your own rota
The UK rota calendar checks seven common rotas against the 48-hour average, the 11-hour rest and the weekly rest, and shows every bank holiday you work. The bank holiday list covers England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 2026 to 2028.
Figures are worked out from each cycle; rules checked against official sources on . How we calculate
Questions
Is it legal to work more than 48 hours a week on shifts?
Only if you have signed an opt-out. Without it, your hours must average 48 a week or less over the reference period, usually 17 weeks.
Do I need 11 hours between shifts?
Yes, as a rule. A rota that moves you from nights straight to days can break it, which is only allowed with compensatory rest.