PaycheckHours

Shift Rotation Calculator

Pick your rotation, your first work day, your shift length and the day your employer's workweek starts. The calculator lays out your next 8 weeks, adds the hours in each workweek and shows the hours over 40 that are overtime under federal law. A 2-2-3 rotation with 12-hour shifts averages 42 hours a week but is paid week by week, often 36 one week and 48 the next.

Your rotation

Your next 8 workweeks

Average hours a week over the cycle
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Week ofHoursOver 40 h

Federal overtime is counted for each workweek on its own, never averaged. Some states also count daily overtime (for example California after 8 hours a day); work out a real week, with breaks and state rules, in the Time Card Calculator

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How it works

Each rotation repeats a fixed run of work days and days off. Hours in a workweek = work days in that week × shift length. Overtime under federal law = hours over 40 in that workweek. Average = work days in one cycle × shift length × 7 ÷ days in the cycle.

Worked examples

  1. 2-2-3 with 12-hour shifts, starting Monday 2 November 2026, workweek from Sunday: 48, 36, 48, 36 hours, so 8 overtime hours every other week.
  2. The same rotation with a workweek that starts on Monday gives 60 and 24 hours: 20 overtime hours in the long week. The workweek your employer sets changes the overtime.
  3. DuPont with 12-hour shifts: 14 work days in 28 days = 168 hours over 4 weeks, an average of 42 a week.

Common questions

Why do I get overtime one week and not the next?

Federal overtime is counted for each fixed 7-day workweek. A rotation that averages 42 hours can be 36 hours one week and 48 the next, so the 48-hour week has 8 hours of overtime and the 36-hour week has none.

Does the day my workweek starts matter?

Yes. The same rotation splits differently across workweeks that start on different days, which changes the weekly hours and the overtime. Your employer sets the workweek; it is often on your pay stub or in the handbook.

Does this include night shifts?

The calendar shows work days. In DuPont and some 2-2-3 schedules the work blocks alternate between days and nights; the hours per shift are what count for pay.

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Cite this calculator

PaycheckHours, “Shift Rotation Calculator”, https://paycheckhours.com/shift-rotation-calculator/, accessed –.