7 On 7 Off Schedule Overtime: How the Day Your Workweek Starts Changes Pay by Hundreds of Dollars
A 7-on-7-off rotation sounds simple: seven 12-hour shifts, then seven days off. That is 84 hours in a block and zero in the next one. Some plants, utilities and other 24/7 operations run patterns like this. The pay question is how those 84 hours are split into workweeks, because overtime is not figured on the two-week average.
This post is about the arithmetic. It uses invented wages, assumes a federal overtime-eligible hourly worker, and does not say what any particular employer owes. For the pattern itself, see the 4-on-4-off post and the 14-on-14-off post.
The two rules that decide everything
- Overtime is per workweek. Federal law requires time-and-a-half the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1)). 29 CFR 778.104 says the Act takes a single workweek as its standard and does not permit averaging hours over two or more weeks. A 0-hour off week does not "cancel" an 84-hour week.
- The workweek is a fixed 168-hour period the employer sets. Under 29 CFR 778.105, it is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, it does not have to be the calendar week, and once set it stays fixed. It can be changed only if the change is intended to be permanent and is not meant to avoid overtime.
So the question is where the workweek line falls inside your seven-day block.
Step 1: Count hours on each side of the line
Made-up setup: day crew, 12-hour shifts from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (paid hours, meal already settled), seven shifts in a row. Employer workweek: Monday 12:00 a.m. to Sunday 11:59 p.m. Let k be how many days after Monday your first shift falls.
| Block starts on | Hours in first workweek | Hours in next workweek | Overtime hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday (k=0) | 84 | 0 | 44 |
| Tuesday | 72 | 12 | 32 |
| Wednesday | 60 | 24 | 20 |
| Thursday | 48 | 36 | 8 |
| Friday | 36 | 48 | 8 |
| Saturday | 24 | 60 | 20 |
| Sunday | 12 | 72 | 32 |
Each row is (7 - k) x 12 hours before the line and k x 12 after it, then hours above 40 in each week. Example, Wednesday start: Wed-Sun is 5 shifts = 60 hours (20 over), Mon-Tue is 2 shifts = 24 hours (0 over). Total is still 84.
Step 2: Price it with the regular rate
The overtime rate is built on the regular rate, which includes things like shift differentials (29 CFR 778.207(b); see the night differential post). For an hourly employee the extra pay is half the regular rate on each overtime hour (29 CFR 778.110).
Made-up wages: $30.00 base plus $2.00 an hour differential on every hour.
- Regular rate: $30.00 + $2.00 = $32.00
- Overtime rate: $32.00 x 1.5 = $48.00
| Block starts on | Regular hours | Overtime hours | Pay for the 84-hour block |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 40 | 44 | 40 x $32 + 44 x $48 = $3,392 |
| Tuesday | 52 | 32 | 52 x $32 + 32 x $48 = $3,200 |
| Wednesday | 64 | 20 | 64 x $32 + 20 x $48 = $3,008 |
| Thursday or Friday | 76 | 8 | 76 x $32 + 8 x $48 = $2,816 |
Same 84 hours, same people, same wage. Thursday versus Monday: $3,392 - $2,816 = $576 per block, which is 36 fewer overtime hours x the $16.00 half-rate premium. With about 26 blocks a year (a made-up round number; 365 / 14 is about 26.07), that is 26 x $576 = $14,976, or 2,184 hours (26 x 84) against 2,080 for a standard year.
Annual overtime hours in the table's extremes: Monday start 26 x 44 = 1,144; Thursday or Friday start 26 x 8 = 208.
Step 3: Check your own alignment
- Ask payroll for the workweek start (day and hour). The pay period dates on a stub are not enough; see the employer-designated workweek post.
- Mark your first shift of the block and count shifts before and after the line.
- Multiply by shift length and subtract 40 from each side.
- If shifts cross midnight (night crews), count hours by the clock inside each workweek, not by the date the shift began; the overnight hours post shows how.
- Compare with a block of pay stubs. Overtime hours should match your count, give or take rounding and unpaid meals.
Where other rules change the math
- Hospitals and residential care. 29 U.S.C. 207(j) lets a covered employer use a 14-day work period instead of the seven-day week, if the agreement is made beforehand, with overtime for hours over 8 a day and over 80 in the 14 days. That is a different count; see the 8/80 post.
- States. Some states add daily overtime, which changes 12-hour shifts; see the daily overtime states post.
- Pay type. Day rates, salaries and exempt jobs follow other rules. See the day-rate post.
- Contracts and policies can pay more than the legal minimum, never less.
All wages and dates here are invented. This is general information, not legal or pay advice. Your employer, state and contract decide how your hours are paid.
If you want your 7-on blocks, workweek line and days off on one calendar, Duty Pals, a shift calendar for Android, is on Google Play, and the shift pattern calculator on this site lays out common rotations.
Sources: 29 U.S.C. 207 · 29 CFR 778.104 · 29 CFR 778.105 · 29 CFR 778.110 · 29 CFR 778.207 · all dollar amounts, shifts and dates are invented for illustration