Seriously considering going 4 on 4 off, I know the main pitfall is working weekends and bank holidays, but that’s not a problem.
Is there any as to driving hours, like doing 2 x 10 and 2 x 9 hour drive days and 3 x 9 hour rest periods every week, could you work those hours all the time?
I’d kill for 4 on/off again. Did it for 6 years and loved it.
Best shift pattern in the world - IF you can get it.
Employers offering such hours seem to be in the minority though. Perhaps it’s because they use the senior “9-5” drivers as a sounding board, and of course they all want their final salary pensions, office hour shifts, and no overtime! 
Hint to Employers: Next time, ask everyone else. thanks.
I wouldn’t have left full-time if I could have got the 4x12 I was chasing at the time. 
Im not keen on 4 -4 im not sure why i just have a feeling i wouldnt like it. Hmm anyone else?
The only downfall is if yu dont like working weekends as you work 3/4 of the year on the weekend. When i was in the warehouse at clipper the best way to earn overtime was on 4on 4 off as you did the standard 48 hours you had the other 4 days to do overtime or if you took 4 off you got 12 off! And christmas time it certainly helped 
Just a shame the place i work don’t do 4 on 4 off, then again I’m glad to have my weekends back!
Cheers
Jonny 
Did 4on4off as a taxi controller, loved it.
4on4off would mean 3 days a week off, and a 48 hour week, which means 8 hours built in overtime if you are paid a base 40 hour week.
One commute less per week cuts your commute time/money overhead by 20% at a stroke.
If you decide to look for another job, you’ve not only got a mid-week day off every week in which to fit in an assessment, but you’ll also have some spare hours so that doing such an assessment isn’t going to make you “run bent” because you’ve done over a 90 hour fortnight or it’s the 7th day on the spin you’re driving…
Not working what used to be the 5th day of the week allows you to do an entire shift as overtime, or take it as a day off if the overtime isn’t there. Every other week you get the option perhaps to do TWO days of overtime if your duty doesn’t have you doing too many hours driving per day.
The best bit of all is if working full-time, you might get awarded “24 days holiday per year”.
That’s six weeks off if you work a 4 day week - right?
24 days entitlement is achievable even by the guy just starting out at many firms… If you’re a senior bod already on 30 days holiday, then you’ve got nearly 8 weeks off a year.
THIS is what “contracted to work across weekends & bank holidays” gets you, and perhaps why 4on4off is soooo popular. 
Dan_1986:
Im not keen on 4 -4 im not sure why i just have a feeling i wouldnt like it. Hmm anyone else?
Same here.
You could end up pushing on a bit hard to get back.
My mate loves it. He said it took some getting used to, But i don’t think it’s for me. I actually enjoy working.
Winseer:
4on4off would mean 3 days a week off, and a 48 hour week, which means 8 hours built in overtime if you are paid a base 40 hour week.One commute less per week cuts your commute time/money overhead by 20% at a stroke.
If you decide to look for another job, you’ve not only got a mid-week day off every week in which to fit in an assessment, but you’ll also have some spare hours so that doing such an assessment isn’t going to make you “run bent” because you’ve done over a 90 hour fortnight or it’s the 7th day on the spin you’re driving…
Not working what used to be the 5th day of the week allows you to do an entire shift as overtime, or take it as a day off if the overtime isn’t there. Every other week you get the option perhaps to do TWO days of overtime if your duty doesn’t have you doing too many hours driving per day.The best bit of all is if working full-time, you might get awarded “24 days holiday per year”.
That’s six weeks off if you work a 4 day week - right
24 days entitlement is achievable even by the guy just starting out at many firms… If you’re a senior bod already on 30 days holiday, then you’ve got nearly 8 weeks off a year.
THIS is what “contracted to work across weekends & bank holidays” gets you, and perhaps why 4on4off is soooo popular.
You probably will get about 20 days annual leave and sometimes you’d get 4 days off in a week. Also average hours will be about 42 per week because some weeks will be 3 days.
Fab arrangement but bugger all use if you play football every Sunday for example. If you don’t mind weekend work it’s great.
tried that shift at our work. loved the time off, 22 paid holidays a year. didn’t enjoy the £200 drop in wages a month. back on 5/6 shift again. problem at our bit is your days off keep moving forward every week. even on 5/6 shift your days off move a day forward every 2 weeks, so no sat&sun off for 8 weeks! so more money and no weekends or 4 days off but big drop in pay. tough choice eh.
Yes, on reflection I think it’s the 4 day week that I’m banging on about being cushy rather than a proper 4 on 4 off.
You won’t get any drop in pay working the same 48 hours every week base… that would be 4 on 3 off though per week. 
I’ve been on 4 on 4 off for nearly 10 years
we get 28 days leave even the lads taken on over the last couple of years they did talk of cutting the time off but after being told everyone of us would walk they changed their minds
when the new rules about bank holidays came in they just handed us the extra leave because and i quote ‘’ it’ll be to confusing and complicated to work it out for each driver’’ there was 6 of us at the time
we are on 48 hours per week and most weeks don’t work that but it if you go over it is meant to be unpaid but that all depends on who you get to sign the o/t sheet and how it gets to wages dept
I personally like it but we have lost a couple of good drivers due to the w/e working
Love it. 5th day always there as overtime. Overtime is my pocket money.
Only problem is that this week I took a overtime shift Monday, turned out to be 14 hours, first shift last night 13.5 hours. I now have 3 shifts left and only 1, 15 hour left.
Lets see how it pans out over the next couple of nights.
When I started for Nobbies I opted to do 6 on, 4 off (my own choice) and I absolutely loved it. Plenty of time off, no chasing reduced breaks, at least one prime rate day a week. The only reason I changed back to a traditional pattern is that they kept bugging me to come in on one or two of my days off, and as a tramper I never seemed to get “my” wagon back.
that would mean spending every other 4 days at home with my mrs …think ill stick to 5 n 6 days aweek
I’ve done it, great shift. AND we had the opportunity to do 3 of the 4 off on overtime, that was at an airport though. The company stopped it cos we were having to much time off…Don’t think they liked the fact we effectively only worked 6 months of the year
When I did 4 on 4 off me & the missus had nothing that tied us into the usual pattern of Mon to Fri & a 2 day weekend, like kids n skool & that sort of crap. Nothing that really inconvenienced us by me working the weekends.
So we learned how to enjoy my 4 day working week, closely followed by my 4 day weekend. Every week.
Day trips become much more enjoyable when the crowds are at work, 2 days in Prague is really cheap if its Tue & Wed, most restaurants are cut price Mon to Thurs. Need I go on?
Best thing was getting pi$$ed in the pub on a Wed night when all your mates have to stay sober 
I did two 9 hours days followed by two 15 hour nights and then three days off for 25 years I now have serious health issues so pitfalls a plenty in my view
if you can book well in advance you can get 12 days off using only 4 of your holidays days