Work out how many staff are needed to cover a rota around the clock, including relief.
Round-the-clock cover needs far more people than positions, because each employee works only a fraction of the week and a further slice of their time is unavailable. The coverage factor for 24/7 working is typically between four and five employees per position. Rotas built without shrinkage look staffed on paper and collapse the first week someone takes leave, which is why the factor rather than the position count drives hiring.
Shift Coverage
Employees = coverage hours per week ÷ (contracted hours × (1 − shrinkage))
Employees = coverage hours per week ÷ (contracted hours × (1 − shrinkage)) Round-the-clock cover needs far more people than positions, because each employee works only a fraction of the week and a further slice of their time is unavailable. The coverage factor for 24/7 working is typically between four and five employees per position.
Rotas built without shrinkage look staffed on paper and collapse the first week someone takes leave, which is why the factor rather than the position count drives hiring.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Positions to staff on each shift, Shifts per day, Days per week to cover, Contracted hours per employee per week, Shrinkage for leave, sickness and training. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.