Example 5 - Back-to-Back Shifts

• Issued: April 2005
• Content last reviewed: June 2009

Example 5 - Back-to-Back Shifts

Example of a Prohibited Back-to-Back Shift in a Regular 8-hour Shift Schedule

In this example, the employee normally works 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. On Wednesday, the employee is asked to stay on and work an extra eight-hour shift. The employee agrees in writing to receive less than eight hours off in between successive shifts that total more than 13 hours (as required by s. 18(3)). However, the resulting schedule does not meet the s. 18(1) requirement to have at least 11 consecutive hours off each day.

The "days" in this employee's work cycle are as follows:

(Note: in this chart, "Off" indicate time that the employee is free from work; "Work" means time the employee is performing work.)

1. 1^st day: Monday 8 a.m. to Tuesday 8 a.m.
   • Number of consecutive hours off : 16
2. 2^nd day: Tuesday 8 a.m. to Wednesday 8 a.m.
   • Number of consecutive hours off : 16
3. 3^rd day: Wednesday 8 a.m. to Thursday 8 a.m.
   • Number of consecutive hours off : 8
4. 4^th day: Thursday 8 a.m. to Friday 8 a.m.
   • Number of consecutive hours off : 16
5. 5^th day: Friday 8 a.m. to Saturday 8 a.m.
   • Number of consecutive hours off : 16

There is no period of 11 consecutive hours off in the third "day": The "day" is Wednesday 8 a.m. to Thursday 8 a.m. During that day, which is when the back-to-back shift occurred, the employee worked 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., then again from 4 p.m. to midnight, and was off from midnight to 8 a.m. (eight hours). The employee received only eight consecutive hours off. While this schedule meets the requirements of s. 18(3) (because the employee agreed in writing to forego the required eight-hour break in between successive shifts), it does not meet the requirements of s. 18(1).

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