What are work shifts?
Work schedules can vary depending on the hours and times that employees are assigned to work. Different types of work shifts exist to cater to a range of business operations, employee preferences and industry specific demands. To run your business, staff may need to put in a range of shifts throughout the day. These include 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shift hours. Certain businesses and jobs demand different kinds of work shifts beyond the normal business hours. For your small business, what hours are necessary for employees to work?
If you need more information after readings this article, please contact our Los Angeles employer law attorney to discuss work shifts.
1. First shift hours: Day Shift
So what is the first shift? First shift workers, also known as day shift workers, work during daylight hours and don’t work during the night.
Typically, employees with 1st shift hours work throughout normal business hours. Workers with 1st shift hours typically report for duty at or after 7am and depart at or before 5pm. 8am to 5pm or 9am to 5pm are typical 1st shift hours.
Here are a few instances of positions with 1st shift hours:
- Roles in sales
- Roles in administration
- Jobs in human resources
- Jobs in customer service
- Jobs as bank tellers
Remember that not all of the roles in the aforementioned instances are jobs with 1st shift hours. For instance, you might require a few customer service agents to perform the 1st shift hours and others the 2nd shift hours.
Employees may need to work 1st shift hours if your business is open during standard business hours. Depending on the demands of your company, employees might also need to arrive before or stay after regular business hours.
2. Second shift hours: Swing shifts
The 2nd shift hours, sometimes known as the afternoon or swing shift, might overlap with the 1st shift hours and 3rd shift hours. Workers on the 2nd shift hours are off in the mornings and evenings.
These roles are not fixed. While some workers with 2nd shift hours begin work at 11am, others don’t start until 3pm. Positions on the 2nd shift hours usually conclude before midnight. The typical hours are either 3pm to 11pm or 11am to 8pm.
Work jobs during the 2nd shift hours include:
- Jobs in quality control
- Jobs for nurses
- Jobs at call centers
- Jobs in food service
- Jobs in retail
If your workers must work 2nd shift hours, you might want to think about providing a shift differential. Employees who work positions other than 1st shift hours are paid more, a practice known as a shift difference. While they are not necessary, shift differentials can aid in luring and keeping talent.
3. The third shift: Graveyard shift
Other names for third shift jobs include midnight shift, night shift, and grave shifts. Workers with third shift hours arrive to work during the night hours and depart come morning.
A worker with third shift hours might begin at 11pm or midnight and finish at 7 or 8 in the morning.
Here are some examples of positions with third shift hours:
- Jobs for firefighters
- Jobs as police officers
- Jobs for ER doctors
- Careers in hospitality
- Jobs for custodians
You may want to think about offering workers with third shift hours a shift differential, similar to that of roles with second shift hours.
Be aware that night shift workers may be impacted by Daylight Saving Time. Do those who work night shifts get compensated for daylight savings time? Employees working the third shift hours forfeit one hour of labor during spring forward. Workers on the third shift hours get an extra hour of work during fall back.
4. Set shift or fixed shift
It’s possible that you will need your staff to work regular shifts every week. An employee is said to be on a fixed shift when they work the same hours on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shift hours. Employees that work fixed shifts are not working all at once. It is possible for certain employees to work a certain set of hours while other employees come in on a different schedule.
5. The rotating shift
An employee that works variable hours over the week is said to be on a rotating shift, also known as rotational shiftwork. An employee might have to work 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shift hours on different days.
To give employees flexibility in their work schedules, several firms implement rotating shifts. In this manner, the same workers won’t consistently work the second shift.
An employee may, for instance, work second shift on Tuesdays and Thursdays and first shift on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
6. Split shift
Another kind of job shift that your employees might experience is a split shift. A staff member works two shifts over the course of the day when they are on a split shift schedule.
Split shift workers may put in a couple hours of work, take a long break, and then finish their shift. Meal breaks do not qualify as meaningful pauses.
An example of a split shift worker would be a waiter that works from 8am to 12pm and 5pm to 9pm.
7. On-call Shift
Workers who put in on-call duty have to be ready to go when called upon. Employees that perform on-call shifts typically also work normal shifts.
If workers are on call and don’t work during their shift, you might not have to pay them. IT technicians and emergency rooms both favor on-call shifts.
8. Weekend or weekday work shift
Do you require workers to work on the weekends, over the week, or both?
Similar to second and third shifts, you can think about providing weekend workers with a shift differential.
