4 On 4 Off Annual Leave Planner
Plan annual leave around a 4-on-4-off rota and find leave dates that connect rostered-off blocks into longer continuous breaks.
Your 4 on / 4 off rota
Calculated locallyYour optimised leave options
Planning resultBest single breaks
These show the longest qualifying continuous break found for each number of leave shifts up to your per-break limit.
Best break targets
Quick answers for common planning goals, ranked from the same rota search.
Use the whole leave budget efficiently
The optimiser selects non-overlapping breaks to maximise total calendar days away within the leave budget you entered.
Why four-on/four-off leave is different
A four-on/four-off rota repeats every eight calendar days, so the four working days and four rostered-off days continually move through normal weekdays and weekends. A leave date that creates an excellent break in one part of the year may be much less efficient a few weeks later.
What the optimiser searches
The planner marks four cycle days as rostered work and four as rostered off. It then tests blocks of calendar dates and counts how many rostered work shifts would need to be booked as leave to make each block continuous.
Example planning question
Instead of asking “when are the bank holidays?”, a rotating-shift worker can ask “where can four leave shifts connect my existing rostered-off periods into the longest break?” The answer depends on the exact cycle position, which is why the anchor date matters.
Use the leave balance and rota dates supplied by your employer. Work Decisions UK only models the calendar pattern you enter and does not determine employment rights, leave deductions or approval.
4-on-4-off cycle reference
| Cycle positions | Work positions | Off positions | Work share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% |
Across an abstract 365-day period, a 50% work share is about 182.5 work positions. That is not an exact annual roster count: the precise number depends on the cycle anchor and the calendar-year boundaries.
Optimise your actual dates
The useful part is not a generic example calendar. Your position within the repeating cycle changes the best leave dates, so the optimiser asks for one date you know is day 1 of your cycle and generates the planning year from that anchor.
Example: four leave shifts create 12 continuous days away
Assume day 1 of a four-on/four-off cycle is 1 January 2027. The first rostered-off block in this example runs from 5 to 8 January, the next four work positions are 9 to 12 January, and the following off block is 13 to 16 January.
| Example input | Value used |
|---|---|
| Repeating cycle | WWWWOOOO |
| Known cycle day 1 | 1 January 2027 |
| Leave shifts selected | 9–12 January |
| Continuous break produced | 5–16 January: 12 calendar days |
The four leave shifts replace the work block between two four-day rostered-off blocks: 4 off + 4 leave + 4 off = 12 continuous calendar days away. The dates are illustrative. Moving the anchor date moves every work and off position, which is why the calculator asks for a cycle-start date rather than assuming that 1 January is correct for everyone.
Checks before relying on the result
- Confirm that the anchor date really is day 1 of your published cycle.
- Check whether leave is deducted in shifts or hours.
- Check swaps, training and exceptional duties separately.
- Verify every proposed date in your employer's live roster system.
4-on-4-off and repeating rota arithmetic
See the calculation in a worked scenario, the assumptions to check and the point where contract or official guidance should take over.