UK4 on / 4 off2027

4 on 4 off annual leave planner for 2027

If approved, a proposed four-shift leave block can join two four-date rest blocks across 12 consecutive dates without a shift start to work. This includes a 2-days, 2-nights, 4-off rota: anchor its first day shift to find exact windows in your 2027 cycle.

Find proposed leave shifts

Cycle strip08–19 Jan

4 proposed shifts12 start-free dates if approved

Your repeating cycle

Anchor cycle day one.

Choose a date you know is the first day of four consecutive working shifts. For a 2-days, 2-nights, 4-off rota, use the first day shift. The anchor can be before 2027; the planner repeats the eight-day cycle forward and backward from it.

First day of a four-shift working block Use cycle day 1. For 2D2N4O, this is the first day shift—not a night shift or simply any date you work. Leave shifts available Enter shifts, not hours. Your employer's balance is final. Shortest break worth showing Inclusive dates in the proposed span, measured by shift start dates.

Which UK bank-holiday calendar applies?

England & Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

How should bank holidays be treated?

Follow my rotaA bank holiday is not automatically a rest day. Treat them as extra days offUse only if your employer confirms this.

This page assigns every shift to the calendar date on which it starts. Check that convention against your live rota.

Why normal advice fails

A rotating rota is not a four-day working week.

A four-on-four-off pattern repeats every eight calendar days, so working shifts continually move across Mondays, weekends and bank holidays. A planner based only on fixed weekdays can therefore recommend the wrong dates.

Leave More maps the cycle from your anchor date and counts only the shifts your rota says you would work. It ignores the word “weekend”; your cycle is the source of truth.

If your rota instead repeats six work dates followed by four rest dates, use the 6-on-4-off annual leave planner.

2 days · 2 nights · 4 off

Same eight-day cycle. One precise anchor.

Yes—this planner fits a repeating 2-days, 2-nights, 4-off pattern. Both day and night shifts are rostered work dates, so the cycle is four work shifts followed by four rest days: D, D, N, N, O, O, O, O.

DDay 1
DDay 2
NNight 1
NNight 2
OOff 1
OOff 2
OOff 3
OOff 4

Example anchor: if Monday 4 January 2027 is the first day shift, 4–5 January are day shifts, 6–7 January are night shifts and 8–11 January are rostered off. If the next four shifts on 12–15 January are approved as leave, they can connect both rest blocks across 12 consecutive dates without a shift start to work, through 19 January.

Which date should I use as the anchor?

Use the first day shift in a known D, D, N, N block. The planner assigns an overnight shift to the calendar date on which that shift starts. If your employer records it against a different date, translate the result to your live rota before requesting leave.

Not every four-on-four-off rota uses two days then two nights

No. Some employers use four-on-four-off without this day/night order, and some teams use a different cycle altogether. The calculation is suitable only when your real pattern is four consecutive rostered shifts followed by four consecutive rest days.

Does one night shift always cost one leave shift?

Not necessarily. This tool counts rostered shifts, not hours. Check how your employer dates overnight shifts and deducts leave before relying on a proposal.

The UK fire-service inspectorate describes the traditional 2-2-4 model as “2 days, 2 nights, 4 days off”. A 2024 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service response confirms that some, but not all, of its stations use the pattern. See the HMICFRS inspection report. These sources establish a real pattern, not a universal template.

Worked example

Four proposed leave shifts could create 12 start-free dates.

Suppose Monday 4 January 2027 is day one of a four-shift working block. On a 2-days, 2-nights, 4-off rota, 4–5 January are day shifts and 6–7 January are night shifts. The cycle then gives this opportunity:

8–11 JanuaryRostered off4 dates
12–15 JanuaryRequest 2 day + 2 night shifts4 proposed shifts
16–19 JanuaryRostered off4 dates

Result: if the four leave shifts are approved, the proposal covers 12 consecutive dates without a shift start to work, from 8 to 19 January. Under the start-date convention, the preceding night shift starts on 7 January and may finish on 8 January, so this is not a claim of 12 complete 24-hour periods away.