How do I set up a 4 on 4 off rota in Overtime Live?

Open the Pattern Designer, name your pattern, and set the cycle length to 8 days. Create two shift templates — for example a 12-hour day and a 12-hour night — plus a rest day. Assign 4 working days followed by 4 rest days. Set your start date and the app generates the full schedule automatically, repeating the cycle for as far ahead as you set it.

Does the pattern carry my pay rates forward?

Yes. Each shift template in your pattern carries the pay rate you assign — normal time, time and a third, time and a half, double time, or custom. When the pattern generates shifts, every shift gets the correct rate automatically. You do not need to set rates shift by shift.

Does it work for NHS 12-hour shift rotations?

Yes. A typical NHS nursing pattern runs across a 14-day or 28-day cycle mixing 12-hour days, 12-hour nights, long days, and rest days. Build the full cycle once in the Pattern Designer, assign the AfC rate to each shift type, and the app handles the rest — including unsocial hours enhancements if you set those rates per template.

App Feature Free iOS & Android

Set Up Your Shift Rota Once.
Let the App Do the Rest.

By Andy Enrique

May 2026

5 min read

Whether you're on a 4-on-4-off, a 12-hour NHS rotation, a police 28-day response rota, or anything in between — build your pattern once in Overtime Live and the app fills in your schedule for months. Automatically. With the right pay rates already attached.

Key Takeaways

Build any rotation once — 4-on-4-off, 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, or any custom cycle length
Pay rates travel with each shift type — nights, lates, days, and on-call all get the right multiplier automatically
Override individual dates without breaking the underlying pattern
Syncs to iOS Calendar and Google Calendar — rest days optionally included
Completely free — no subscription, no account, works on iPhone and Android

In this article

Why rota management is a pain
How Recurring Patterns work
Setting up your pattern — 4 steps
Common patterns by sector
Pay rates in your pattern
Frequently asked questions

Why rota management is a pain

If you work a rotating pattern, you already know the drill. Your rota repeats — same cycle, week after week or month after month. But every app you try makes you log each shift manually. Every single one. Day after day, forever.

Spreadsheets are the usual answer. You set up a template, copy it forward, hope you don't make an error. But a spreadsheet doesn't know what you earned. It doesn't show you your running total. It definitely doesn't put a live counter on your Lock Screen.

Recurring Patterns in Overtime Live fixes this properly. You describe your rotation once — the cycle, the shift types, the times, the rates — and the app generates every future shift from that. When you open the app next Monday, your shifts are already there.

How Recurring Patterns work

A pattern in Overtime Live has two parts: shift templates and a cycle.

A shift template is a reusable shift type — "12-hour day", "12-hour night", "early", "late", "rest day" — with a name, start time, end time, and a pay rate attached. You create these once per pattern.

The cycle is the repeating sequence. You set how many days it runs (8 days for a 4-on-4-off, 28 days for a police response rota), then assign a template to each day of the cycle.

Once set, it repeats forever. Give the pattern a start date and an end date — or just a start date and let it run indefinitely. The app generates all your shifts from that cycle, repeating it exactly as designed. Every shift gets the rate from its template. You don't touch it again unless something changes.

r/nursing on Reddit "Probably the easiest time I've had putting my shift rotation in." Real review from a nurse using Overtime Live →

Setting up your pattern — 4 steps

Name

Give your pattern a name and set the cycle length in days

Shifts

Create your shift templates — days, nights, lates, on-call — with times and pay rates

Design

Assign a template to each day of the cycle — drag and drop your rotation into place

Dates

Set your start date. The app fills in every shift from there automatically

The Pattern Designer walks you through each step. Built-in templates give you a head start — Rest Day, Earlies, and On-Call come pre-loaded so you're not starting from scratch. Add your own shift types on top.

Once built, your pattern lives in the Pattern Manager. Edit it, duplicate it, or delete it at any time. If you work across two different rotas — say a regular pattern and an on-call bank rota — you can have both saved and running.

Common patterns by sector

🔒

4-on-4-off

8-day cycle

Day Day Night Night Off Off Off Off

Common in security, fire, and manufacturing. 12-hour days and nights across an 8-day cycle. Set day rate, night rate — the app applies the right one to every shift automatically.

🏥

NHS 12-hour rotation

14 or 28-day cycle

Long Day Night Off Long Day Night Off Off

NHS nursing and ward staff working 12.5-hour long days and nights. Set AfC Time & Third for overtime shifts, standard rate for core hours. Unsocial hours enhancements can be set per template.

🚔

Police response rota

28-day cycle

Early Early Late Late Night Night Rest Rest

Earlies, lates, nights, and rest days across a 28-day shift cycle. Time & Third for overtime shifts, with bank holiday double-time set on individual dates when they fall in the pattern.

🏪

Retail rotating

7 or 14-day cycle

AM AM PM Off AM PM Off

Mixed AM and PM shifts across a 7 or 14-day retail rota. Set different start and end times per template. Override individual days for bank holidays or special shifts without breaking the cycle.

Not in this list? The Pattern Designer supports any cycle length — there's no fixed list of options. If your rota is a 10-day cycle, a 21-day cycle, or something completely custom, you just set the number of days and design it how it actually runs.

Pay rates in your pattern

This is the bit that makes the difference between a scheduling app and a proper earnings tracker.

When you create a shift template — "12-hour night" for example — you attach a pay rate to it. Time and a Third (1.33x) for an NHS overtime night. Standard rate for a contracted day shift. Double time for a bank holiday. Whatever the template represents, it carries that rate.

When the pattern generates your shifts, every night gets the night rate, every contracted day gets the day rate. You never have to set rates shift by shift again. The real-time earnings counter, Lock Screen Live Activity, and statistics all use those rates automatically.

Bank holidays and overrides. If a bank holiday falls inside your pattern, you can override that specific date — changing the rate to double time, for example — without touching the rest of the cycle. The pattern continues as normal; you've just edited that one day. This is exactly how cancelled rest days and bank holiday working get logged in practice.

Build Your Rota Once. Track Every Penny.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What shift patterns does Overtime Live support?

Any pattern. There's no fixed list — you set the cycle length in days and assign your shifts to each day. Common ones include 4-on-4-off (8-day), NHS 12-hour rotating (14 or 28-day), police response (28-day), and standard weekly (7-day). If you work it, you can build it.

How do I set up a 4-on-4-off rota?

Open Pattern Designer, name the pattern, and set the cycle to 8 days. Create two shift templates — a 12-hour day and a 12-hour night — plus a rest day. Assign 4 working days then 4 rest days to the cycle. Set your start date and the app generates the full schedule from there automatically.

Do my pay rates carry forward with the pattern?

Yes. Each shift template carries the rate you assign — standard, Time & Third, Time & Half, Double Time, or custom. When the pattern generates shifts, every shift gets the correct rate automatically. You never have to set rates shift by shift.

Can I edit individual shifts without breaking the pattern?

Yes. You can override any individual date — changing the time, rate, or removing it entirely — without affecting the underlying rotation. Useful for bank holidays, cancelled rest days, or any one-off change. The rest of the pattern continues as normal.

Does the pattern sync to my phone calendar?

Yes. With Calendar Sync on, shifts generated by your pattern appear automatically in your iOS Calendar or Google Calendar. You can also choose to show rest days in the calendar if you want the full picture of your rota.

Does this work for NHS 12-hour shift rotations?

Yes. A typical NHS nursing rota runs across a 14 or 28-day cycle mixing 12-hour long days, 12-hour nights, and rest days. Build the full cycle once, assign AfC rates to each shift type — Time & Third for overtime shifts — and the app handles everything else including unsocial hours rates if you set them per template.

Is the Pattern Designer free?

Yes, completely free. Recurring shift patterns, the Pattern Designer, Pattern Manager, and calendar sync are all included in the free version of Overtime Live. No subscription, no account, no sign-up required.

Questions? Reach us at [email protected] or follow @OvertimeLiveApp on X for updates.