RosterElf Logo UK
Start trial
FREE TEMPLATE Last updated 18 August 2026

Free rolling rota template (4 on 4 off + continental)

Not a blank grid. Two rolling patterns already worked out across four weeks and four teams, with a formula that counts how many teams are on shift each day.

Rolling rota patterns

Excel (.xlsx) • 4 sheets

4-on-4-off: 16-day cycle, 24/7 cover
Continental 2-2-3: every other weekend off
A cover count under every day
A blank 4-week grid for your own pattern

No signup required. Works in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

This rota template is a planning tool, not legal or payroll advice. It does not check working time limits, rest breaks or minimum wage for you. Check GOV.UK, or take advice, before relying on a rota for compliance. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.

References HR Hub disclaimer UK employment guides GOV.UK Acas

What's in this template

Patterns that are solved, not blank

4-on-4-off, worked out

A 16-day cycle — four days, four off, four nights, four off — with each of four teams offset by four days.

Continental (2-2-3)

A 14-day cycle that gives every team every other weekend off, with day and night teams.

Cover count per day

A COUNTIF row under each pattern shows how many teams are on that day, so you can see the cover holds.

Blank pattern sheet

A 28-day grid for building your own cycle once you have seen how the worked ones fit together.

Rest rule reminders

The 11-hour daily rest rule is on the Instructions tab — the constraint most often broken by a night-to-day changeover.

Shift code legend

D, N and OFF throughout, with AL, BH and TOIL defined for when you overlay real leave.

The 4-on-4-off cycle

Four teams on a 16-day cycle, each offset by four days. On any given day two teams are working — one on days, one on nights — and two are off.

TeamD1D2D3D4D5D6D7D8
Team A D D D D OFF OFF OFF OFF
Team B OFF OFF OFF OFF D D D D
Team C N N N N OFF OFF OFF OFF
Team D OFF OFF OFF OFF N N N N
On shift 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

The bottom row is a live COUNTIF in the spreadsheet, not a typed number — change a cell and it recalculates, so you find out immediately if a pattern leaves a day uncovered.

How a rolling rota works

The logic behind the grid

1. Pick a cycle length

4-on-4-off runs on 16 days; continental on 14. The cycle repeats forever, so the rota is written once rather than every week.

2. Work out the teams

Divide the cycle length by the number of days each team works in a row. Four teams for 24/7 cover on 4-on-4-off.

3. Offset each team

Start each team at a different point in the same cycle. That offset is what produces continuous cover.

4. Check the cover

Count how many teams are on each day. If any day drops below your minimum, the offsets are wrong.

Our shift patterns guide compares 4-on-4-off, continental, Panama and DuPont, and explains which suits which kind of operation.

How to use this template

Download and go in four steps

1. Download

Grab the Excel file — no signup, and it opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice.

2. Add your team

Replace the sample names and roles with your own staff.

3. Fill in the shifts

Enter start and end times, or hours, using the shift codes on the Instructions tab.

4. Share it

Print it, email it or pin it up — and give staff reasonable notice of their shifts.

Who uses a rolling rota

Operations that never close

Security and manned guarding

24/7 sites where a gap on the rota is a contractual breach.

Care homes and healthcare

Round-the-clock cover with fixed minimum staffing.

Manufacturing and warehousing

Continuous production lines running days and nights.

Night work brings its own rules on rest and health assessments — see our rota laws guide before publishing a night pattern.

When the spreadsheet starts costing you time

A fixed pattern is the easy part. Swaps, sickness and holiday are what break it — and re-cutting a 16-day cycle by hand every time somebody calls in is where the time goes. RosterElf handles the exceptions.

Start free trial See rota software

UK rota guides

The rules that shape what you can put on a rota

Rota laws in the UK

The 48-hour week, the opt-out, rest breaks and the notice you owe staff before a shift.

Read the guide

Shift patterns explained

4 on 4 off, continental, Panama and DuPont — how each one covers the week.

Read the guide

Holiday entitlement

The 5.6 weeks, what it comes to in days, and where bank holidays sit.

Read the guide

Other free rota templates

Same conventions, different planning horizon

Weekly staff rota

A Monday-to-Sunday grid with roles, shift times and an automatic weekly hours total.

Get the template

Monthly staff rota

All 31 days on one row per person — for spotting leave clashes a month ahead.

Get the template

Blank rota

An empty Monday-to-Sunday grid, set to print on one landscape page.

Get the template
FAQ

Rolling rota questions

  • Four shifts worked, then four days off, repeating. For 24-hour cover it runs as a 16-day cycle — four day shifts, four off, four night shifts, four off — with four teams each offset by four days, so two teams are always on and two are always off. The template has it worked out.

  • Four teams for continuous 24/7 cover with one day team and one night team on at all times. The size of each team depends on your minimum staffing level per shift, not on the pattern itself.

  • Also called 2-2-3 or Pitman: a 14-day cycle of two on, two off, three on, then the mirror image. Its selling point is that every team gets every other weekend off — rare in 24/7 work, and a real retention argument.

  • Any pattern that repeats every 28 days. Both patterns in this template are shown across four weeks so you can see the cycle land back where it started, which is the point at which you know it is genuinely repeating.