The 4/10 Work Schedule: How to Set it Up + Free Template

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In this article we take a closer look at the 4/10 work schedule revolution, its implications, and how it can optimise both business operations and employee satisfaction.

What is a 4/10 work schedule?

A 4/10 is a compressed workweek: four 10-hour days to reach roughly 40 hours—not a 32-hour “four-day week.”

4×10 compressed hours (40h/4 days): Same weekly hours, fewer commutes.
Four-day, 32-hour week: Fewer hours and potentially different pay/coverage implications.

⚠️ Managers often mix these up in policy and payroll. Use the right term in contracts and internal guidance. (See CIPD/Acas terminology on compressed hours and flexible working.)

Where confusion causes risk:

Performance targets built for 5×8 can misfit a 4×10 unless you reset anchor hours and SLAs.
Holiday and overtime rules hinge on hours and jurisdiction, not the marketing label.

📊 A quick, side-by-side so you use the right term in policies, payroll, and rota planning:

Dimension	4×10 compressed workweek	32-hour four-day week
Core idea	Same 40 hours, spread over four 10-hour days.	Reduced hours (typically 32) over four ~8-hour days.
Weekly hours & pay	~40 hours; pay unchanged.	~32 hours; pay may be unchanged (100-80-100 trials) or pro-rated—state this in contracts.
Coverage & service	Fewer handovers; good for project, construction, field work. Risk of late-day fatigue and childcare clashes.	Wider wellbeing/retention benefits; may require extra headcount or staggered coverage to meet peak demand.
Fatigue risk	Higher per day (especially nights/repetitive tasks). Build breaks, rotation limits, recovery time.	Lower per day due to shorter shifts; weekly fatigue generally reduced.
Best for	Teams wanting fewer mobilisations and longer focus blocks without cutting hours or pay.	Organisations targeting wellbeing/retention and employer brand, with stable demand or automation to maintain service.
Common pitfalls	Skipping AWS in CA; under-estimating late-day error rates; break rules not enforced in timekeeping.	Under-resourcing peak windows; unclear pay policy (same pay vs pro-rated); misaligned KPIs.
Payroll/time tracking setup	Weekly and daily OT rules (by jurisdiction), paid/unpaid breaks, max hours per day.	Shorter contracted hours, revised thresholds for OT, pro-rated allowances/benefits if applicable.
Documentation to keep	AWS election records (CA), updated rota policy, risk assessment on fatigue, employee consent.	Flexible working decisions per Acas Code, updated contracts, holiday-pay methodology for irregular/part-year staff.

Pros and trade-offs that actually matter in 2025

Moving to 4×10 can cut handovers and commutes—but longer days raise fatigue and coverage challenges.

Tangible upsides managers report

Fewer mobilisations in construction/field teams; longer focus blocks for project work.
Reduced travel/parking costs and simpler rota coverage on stable demand days.

Real-world trade-offs to plan for

Fatigue risk rises with longer shifts, especially at night or in repetitive, machine-paced work. Build breaks and limits into the pattern.
Childcare and peak customer windows can clash with 10-hour days; staggered “off” days help maintain service.

Fatigue safeguards you should adopt (quick checklist)

Minimum 11 hours rest between shifts where practicable; avoid >4 consecutive long days.
Use forward rotation (earlier → later) and protect at least one full weekend in any 14-day block.
Bake paid rest breaks into the 10-hour template; add an extra micro-break for safety-critical tasks.

💡You can model 4×10 patterns, rota templates and anchor hours directly in Shiftbase Scheduling, then push the rules into Time tracking so overtime and breaks calculate correctly.

When a 4/10 makes sense (by sector)

Adopt 4×10 where long blocks boost productivity and service, and avoid it where risk or demand spikes make 10-hour shifts inefficient.

📊 Sector fit matrix (quick view):

Sector / context	Usually a good fit	Proceed with caution	Why
Construction & field service	✔	—	Fewer mobilisations; site setup once per day; predictable tasks.
Manufacturing (day shift)	✔	Nights / heavy monotony	Longer blocks increase throughput; fatigue risk rises on nights—use extra controls.
Contact centres / retail	—	✔	Demand peaks may require 8-hour coverage windows and split patterns.
Safety-critical (healthcare, transport)	—	✔	Evidence links longer shifts to fatigue; consider 8–9h or forward-rotating patterns.

Free 4/10 Work Schedule Template

Download

Compliance snapshot

Overtime and flexible-working rules differ: align your 4×10 with the jurisdiction, not just company policy.

🇺🇸 US: federal baseline

FLSA requires overtime after 40 hours in a workweek; no federal daily overtime trigger. Communicate this clearly to managers and staff.

Key state overlays you must check

California: Daily overtime after 8 hours unless you adopt a formal Alternative Workweek Schedule (AWS) via a secret-ballot election and file results with the state. Without AWS, a 10-hour day triggers 2 hours of daily OT.
Colorado (COMPS): Overtime after 12 hours in a day (or 40/week), so a 13-hour day pays 1 hour OT even if weekly hours ≤40.

🇬🇧 UK: flexible working & holiday pay

Flexible working requests: Use the Acas Code (2024) process; compressed hours are a legitimate pattern; document your business reasons if you refuse.
Holiday pay reforms: From leave years starting 1 April 2024, rolled-up holiday pay is permitted for irregular/part-year workers; entitlement remains 5.6 weeks overall. Clarify how a 10-hour “day” maps to leave.

Pilot a 4/10 without breaking service levels

A tight pilot proves whether 10-hour days help your customers and your team—before you roll out.

The 4-step pilot plan

Define demand & guardrails
Map peak hours, must-cover roles, and SLAs. Set hard limits: max daily hours, minimum rest, break rules.
Why: keeps service and safety ahead of enthusiasm.
Design staggered coverage
Create two or three off-day patterns (e.g., Mon–Thu, Tue–Fri, Wed–Sat) to spread capacity. Add a small floating team for peaks and absence.
Why: avoids “ghost Fridays” where everyone is off together.
Run a time-boxed test (6–8 weeks)
Lock the rota, brief teams, and collect baseline vs pilot data weekly.
Why: enough time to see fatigue, cost, and customer effects.
Review, tune, or roll back
Compare KPIs, adjust breaks/rotation, or revert to 5×8 if targets slip.
Why: protects service levels and trust.

Pilot KPI tracker (use these to judge success)

KPI	Target in pilot	How to measure	What “bad” looks like
Service level / response time	Hold or improve baseline	Ticket/phone logs, SLA reports	>5% slip vs baseline
Overtime cost per FTE	Flat or ↓ after week 2	Payroll export vs scheduled hours	Sustained ↑ week-on-week
Error/incident rate	Flat or ↓	Quality audits, incident reports	↑ trend in week 3–4
Absence & turnover signals	Flat or ↓	HRIS, leaver reasons	Spike in fatigue-related notes
Employee feedback (fatigue)	≥70% “manageable”	Short pulse survey	<60% or rising complaints

Safety & fatigue controls (build into the rota)

Keep forward rotation (earlier → later) and protect at least one full weekend off every 14 days.
Enforce paid rest breaks inside the 10-hour day; add micro-breaks for safety-critical work.
Maintain minimum 11 hours rest between shifts where practicable; cap consecutive long days (e.g., 3–4 max).

⚠️ Long shifts increase fatigue risk; controls reduce incidents and errors

💡 You can run this pilot in Shiftbase: build staggered 4×10 templates, set daily/weekly overtime and break rules, publish open shifts to fill gaps, and track KPIs with hours, wage cost, and absence reports—all from one place.

How Shiftbase helps teams run a clean 4/10

Set up your 4×10 once and keep it compliant. With employee scheduling you can create rota templates for 10-hour shifts, stagger off-days to protect coverage, publish open shifts, and use conflict warnings to avoid overloads. Our time tracking enforces paid breaks, minimum rest, and daily/weekly overtime rules (useful where daily OT applies), while audit-ready timesheets make payroll reviews faster. Tie it together with absence management to handle holiday requests on compressed hours, prevent clashes, and keep entitlement accurate.

👉Try it free for 14 days: model your 4×10 against real demand, then roll it out with confidence — start your trial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Under federal FLSA, overtime starts after 40 hours in a workweek. Some states add daily rules (e.g., California, Colorado). Always check your state.
Yes. Compressed hours are a valid pattern under the Acas Code (2024). Follow the request process, assess business reasons, and record the decision.
Statutory entitlement stays at 5.6 weeks; a “day” of leave equals the length of a normal working day in your pattern (e.g., 10 hours on a 4×10). For irregular/part-year workers, 2024 reforms explain accrual and rolled-up holiday pay.

Written by:

Rinaily Bonifacio

Rinaily is a renowned expert in the field of human resources with years of industry experience. With a passion for writing high-quality HR content, Rinaily brings a unique perspective to the challenges and opportunities of the modern workplace. As an experienced HR professional and content writer, She has contributed to leading publications in the field of HR.

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