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Work schedules: coverage and staff needed

Enter when the company operates and how people work. The calculator shows how many people are needed, whether the whole schedule is covered, each person's hours, and the payroll cost.

Pre-sizing and estimating tool: the results do not replace a design, calculation, or report signed by a qualified professional, nor verification against the applicable standards.

VerificationRevision 12/11/2026

Technical responsibility. This calculator is under verification. The reference values and examples are hypothetical, to illustrate the calculation, and are not technical references. The user is responsible for the data entered, the choice of parameters, and the use of the results, and must validate them with a qualified professional before any decision, purchase, application, or construction work.

Indicative calculator. This gives an estimate for comparing schedules and costs. It does not reproduce each country's legislation exactly, nor the collective agreements or your company's rules. Labor legislation and the applicable agreements must be assessed and considered; this responsibility lies with the user. The calculator does not check legal limits.

1When the business operates

Mark the days the company operates, the opening and closing times, and how many people need to be working at the same time (positions).

DayOpensClosesPositions

A closing time earlier than the opening time runs past midnight (e.g., 18:00 to 02:00). An opening time equal to the closing time means 24 hours (e.g., 00:00 to 00:00).

2How people work

Unchecked: each shift has its own crew, sized for its positions. Checked: the crews rotate between shifts and all are sized to the largest shift.

Schedules in the study and hours worked per day (h:mm)

Mark the schedules to include in the comparison and the calendars. Each one shows the suggested pattern; change the hours if you want (accepts 7:20, 7h20, 7,5, or 720).

3Rules and cost
Settings: already come with typical values. Change only what is different in your company.

Overtime: premium by day of the week (%)

Suggested values for Brazil (CLT: overtime at least 50%; Sundays and holidays worked without a compensating day off, 100%; up to 2 extra hours per day; night premium of 20% from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., with a 52-minute-30-second night hour, which the calculator does not apply). The constitutional amendment ending the 6x1 schedule, enacted in October 2026, reduces the limit to 42 hours per week with 2 rest days per week from December 16, 2026, and to 40 hours afterward; the 44-hour limit and the 6x1 schedule remain here for comparison. Other countries have different rules; adjust according to the law and agreement that apply.

4Freelancers

Data stays only in this browser and is not sent. Uncheck to erase it.

—People and cost of the reference schedule
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People per team: rounding and optimization

People cannot be split: the calculated number is always rounded up. The optimization shows an option with fewer people.

Week coverage map

Each square is one hour. It shows whether the opening hours have enough staff.

Working and coveredMissing people (number = uncovered positions)Shift outside company hoursClosed

Schedule comparison

Schedules marked in step 2, with the same operation and the same rules. Tap a row to use the schedule.

Monthly payroll cost by schedule

Cost breakdown of each schedule compared: wages, charges and benefits, overtime, night premium, public holidays and day workers.

Tap the chart to see the values.

Schedule calendars (4 weeks)

One table per marked schedule, starting with the reference one. Each row is a group of people with the same days off. Swipe the table sideways to see all 28 days.

Excel .xlsx file with one tab per marked schedule (rest groups, reserve, overtime, freelancers and those present on all 28 days), a Summary tab (people, hours, overtime and cost) and a tab with the shift times.

What if the data changes?

Drag the controls to simulate data different from what you entered (from 30% less to 30% more) and watch the result change instantly.

Tap the chart to see the values.

Monthly cost by wage and charges

Monthly cost of the reference schedule for wages and charges near the ones entered. The highlighted row is the wage entered.

Step by step with your numbers

The calculation done in steps, with the values you entered.

    Next step

    Take this page's results to another calculator, with the fields already filled in.

    Operator hourly cost with all charges →

    The calculation memo gathers this page's inputs, results, equations, assumptions, and references, with fields for project, responsible person, and review. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print window, choose Save as PDF.

    How to use

    Fill in the four steps of the calculator, from top to bottom:

    1. When the business operates: mark the days, opening and closing times, and how many people must work at the same time (positions). A closing time earlier than the opening time runs past midnight.
    2. How people work: mark the schedules to compare (5x2, 6x1, 4x2, 6x2, 12x36, 2-2-3, Continental, 24x72 or custom) and adjust the hours per day if they differ from the standard. Accepts 7:20, 7h20, 7.5 or 720.
    3. Rules and cost: enter vacations, absences, weekly limit, overtime, holidays, night premium, salary and charges. The settings come with typical values; change only what differs at your company.
    4. Freelancers (optional): use day laborers on days when it costs less than hiring.

    The result shows the number of people per team, the hour-by-hour coverage for the week, each person's hours, the monthly payroll cost, and the 4-week schedules, which can be downloaded as Excel.

    Hypothetical example (illustrative values)

    Hypothetical values, to understand the calculation. They are not technical or market references.

    Industry Monday to Friday, 06h to 22h, with 6 positions; Saturday, 06h to 14h, with 4 positions. 6x1 schedule with 7h20 of work per day, 1 h unpaid break, salary of R$ 2,800 per month, 220 paid hours per month, and charges of 70%.

    The calculator sets up two shifts, at 06h and 14h20. Each team has 7 people, and the calculated number is 13.0. Rounding each team up, it is 14 people, with a cost of R$ 68,587 per month.

    With the same operating hours, the comparison shows: 5x2 with 17 people and R$ 83,506 per month; 4x2 with 21 people and R$ 102,546 per month; 6x2 with 16 people and R$ 77,545 per month.

    Precautions

    • The calculator does not check working-hour limits, breaks, weekly rest, public holidays or collective agreements. You need to check these yourself, with your HR department or accountant.
    • Working-hour legislation is changing. Check the current rules before setting a schedule.
    • For the hourly cost of a machine run by these people, see the machine hourly cost.
    • For the relationship between labor cost and production, also see the production cost per hectare.

    Method, assumptions, and references

    Equations used

    Hours worked per day = shift length − unpaid breaks; shifts built by the calculator = operating hours ÷ (hours worked + break), rounded up
    Fixed crew per shift: the smallest number of people, with the days-off groups from the schedule, that leaves present ≥ positions on every day of the 4 weeks
    Vacation and absence factor = working days in the year ÷ (working days in the year − vacations × days per week ÷ 7 − absences); people calculated = positions-days per week ÷ days worked per person × factor
    Rounded = Σ ⌈people per team⌉; optimized = ⌈Σ people⌉, distributed across the teams with the largest fractions
    Cost = wages × (1 + charges) + [hours above the limit × hourly rate × (1 + surcharge) + night hours × hourly rate × night surcharge] × (1 + charges) + cover overtime (with charges) + freelancers (no charges) + public holiday surcharge

    Assumptions and limits

    • Indicative calculator. It gives an estimate to compare schedules and costs; it does not exactly reproduce each country's laws, collective agreements or your company's rules. Applicable labour laws and agreements must be assessed and considered; this responsibility lies with the user. The calculator does not check legal limits.
    • In weekly schedules (5x2, 6x1), the days off in the week are consecutive and include the day the shift does not run. In cycle-based schedules (4x2, 6x2, 12x36, 2-2-3, Continental, 24x72), the calculator tests counting the closed day as a day off (with the second day off before, after, or alternating) or pausing the cycle, and uses the rule that needs fewer people. The result is a good arrangement, not necessarily the only or the optimal one.
    • Reinforcement: in each team, the calculator chooses the cheapest combination among hiring, overtime for off-duty staff (only if the shift hours fit within the daily overtime maximum and within the monthly day limit), and freelancers (per day or per hour; in automatic mode, keeps at least one hired person per position). Hours above the weekly limit use the Monday percentage; night hours are those worked within the band, without reduced night hours. Paid holidays use the holiday percentage applied to the average position-hours of a day.
    • The cost is an estimate for comparing schedules: it does not include paid weekly rest, reduced night hours, floors and premiums under collective agreements, provisions for the 13th salary and vacation beyond the charges entered, or the cost of recruiting and training.

    Standards and technical documents

    • Knauth, P. Designing better shift systems. Applied Ergonomics 27(1): 39–44, 1996
    • Health and Safety Executive (UK). Managing shift work: Health and safety guidance, HSG256, 2006
    • International Labour Organization. Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171)
    • International Labour Office. Introduction to Work Study, 4th ed., 1992

    Legislation and regulations in Brazil

    • Federal Constitution, art. 7, XIII and XIV: weekly working hours and uninterrupted rotating shifts
    • CLT (Decree-Law No. 5,452/1943): art. 59 (overtime), art. 59-A (12x36), arts. 66 to 72 (breaks and rest) and art. 73 (night work)
    • Law No. 605/1949: paid weekly rest and holidays
    • Union conventions and collective agreements for the category

    Frequently asked questions

    What does this calculator do?

    You enter when the company operates (days, hours and positions, or custom shifts) and how people work (schedule, hours per day, breaks). The calculator shows how many people each team needs with vacations and absences, whether all hours are covered, each person’s hours, overtime, payroll cost, a comparison of the marked schedules, and a 4-week calendar for each one.

    Does the calculator check whether the schedule is allowed by law?

    No. It is an indicative calculator: it gives an estimate for comparing schedules and costs and does not reproduce the legislation, collective agreements, or your company's rules exactly. Labor legislation and applicable agreements must be assessed and considered; this responsibility lies with the user.

    How to read the example result?

    In the example (an industry open Monday to Friday from 06h to 22h with 6 positions, and Saturday from 06h to 14h with 4 positions, on a 6x1 schedule of 7h20 with 1 h of unpaid break), the calculator sets up two shifts, 06h and 14h20, each with its own crew: 6.31 and 6.71 people with vacations and absences, rounded to 7 + 7 = 14 people, and the cost comes to about R$ 68.6 thousand per month with a salary of R$ 2,800 and 70% charges.

    Why round each team, and what is the optimization?

    People cannot be split. Rounding each team up always covers the need, but adds up the fractions. The optimization rounds only the total and places people in the teams with the largest fractions; in teams with one person fewer, vacations and absences are covered by people who rotate between teams or by occasional overtime.

    When is it worth using overtime or freelancers?

    When only a few days need more people, such as Saturday. In the 5x2 example, with freelancers at R$ 250 per day, the calculator ends up with 14 hired staff and 4 freelancers on Saturday (17 day-shifts per month). With overtime, it only works if the shift hours fit within the daily maximum: with a maximum of 2 h, it does not cover a full shift; with 10 h, there are 14 people and about 139 overtime hours per month.

    What is the difference between fixed teams and shift rotation?

    With fixed teams (default), each shift has its own team sized to its positions, and the same person always works the same hours. With rotation, teams change shifts (morning, afternoon, night) and all are sized to the largest shift, which usually requires more people when shifts have different numbers of positions.

    Can the 6x1 schedule still be used?

    The constitutional amendment enacted in October 2026 ends the 6x1 schedule: from 16/12/2026 the limit becomes 42 h per week with 2 rest days per week and, later, 40 h. The calculator keeps the 44 h limit and the 6x1 schedule for comparison; adjust the weekly limit and the schedules in the study to simulate the new rule.

    How to compare the cost of schedules?

    Mark the schedules in step 2. The monthly payroll cost chart shows, for each one, salaries, charges and benefits, overtime, night premium, holidays, and day laborers, with the total and the mark on the cheapest one that covers the whole schedule.

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