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6 on 3 off schedule
Six shifts, three days off — a long block for a long break, and a pattern that never repeats on the same weekday.
- Shift length
- 8 hours
- Cycle
- 9 or 18 days
- Average week
- 37.3 hours
- Squads
- 3
What the 6 on 3 off schedule is
Six shifts in a row, then three days off. Nine days from start to repeat, eighteen if you change tour halfway.
It is more common in large agencies and in Canadian policing than in small American departments, and it is usually run on eight or ten-hour shifts rather than twelves — six twelve-hour shifts in a row would be punishing and would push the average week far past any normal figure.
Some services run 6 on 2 off instead, which trades a day of rest for a shorter cycle. The trade is the whole argument between them.
How the cycle runs
The eighteen-day version, six days then six nights:
Day shiftNight shiftDay off
Six in a row
The sixth shift is where this pattern is decided. Officers who like it say the three-day break is worth the run; officers who do not say the last two shifts are the tired ones, and that six nights in a row is a different animal from six days.
Either way it is a long block to plan around. Paid duty work, court and anything family-shaped has to fit into the three.
Hours and overtime
Six eight-hour shifts every nine days averages a little over thirty-seven hours a week. On ten-hour shifts the same pattern runs closer to forty-seven, which is a very different schedule wearing the same name.
Check which version yours is before comparing notes with anyone — the on-off pattern is identical and the hours are not.
Who works it
It suits big rosters with a lot of posts to fill:
- Large municipal services
- Provincial and regional services
- RCMP detachments
- Corrections and detention
- Transit and airport policing
- Industrial security
The trade-off
What works
- Three consecutive days off every cycle
- Fewer changeovers than a short cycle
- Works with eight or ten-hour shifts
- Predictable long breaks
What hurts
- Six shifts in a row is a long block
- Brutal on a night tour
- The nine-day cycle drifts through the week
- Hours vary a lot between versions
Put it on your calendar
Six on, three off is a nine-day cycle, which means a working week and a weekend that both move every time round.
Save the cycle once and every one of those blocks is placed for you.
Common questions
How many hours a week is 6 on 3 off?
About thirty-seven on eight-hour shifts. On ten-hour shifts the same pattern runs closer to forty-seven, so the shift length matters more than the name.
Is 6 on 3 off the same as 6 on 2 off?
No. The working block is the same but the break is a day shorter, which shortens the cycle to eight days and pushes the average week up.
Who uses it?
Mostly larger agencies, Provincial and regional services, corrections and transit policing — operations with enough people to absorb long blocks.
Put the 6 on 3 off schedule on your calendar
Save the 6 on 3 off schedule once, tell BlueShifts the day your cycle starts, and the rest of the year draws itself. The paid duty jobs, the hours and the pay go on top of it.
Scan to install — or hold it up for the officer next to you.
