First time on this forum and looking for a little help…can anyone who has or currently is doing 4 on 4 off please share their experience of the work (good or bad) compared with full on tramping?
As a rookie starting my first artic job next Monday, I have to decide whether I want to do Mon - Fri full tramping or go with the option of doing 4 on 4 off (followed by a fifth day shift if I want it). Any positive or negative feedback would be useful.
Obviously 4 days off is a nice thing as this gives me opportunities to see the missus some weekends, a bit of R & R and also I can still get to the gym on these days off. While out and about are any of you trampers able to do anything to help keep reasonably in shape when you’ve finished a shift? I’ve heard of some guys taking their bike with them and going for a ride in the evenings.
Everyone’s situation is different, you need to make the job suit your family & social life.
There’s no point doing a job if at the end of the day you never end up seeing your family & friends.
Been tramping 4 on 4 off for 5 years now im going back mon to Fri tramping it really depends how they pay as it’s a rolling week some weeks you only get 3 days wages and yes you can do an extra shift but that defeats the object as you back to doing5 days also you only get 3 weekends off in an 8 week period so I’d does depend on your lifestyle
4 on 4 off is fantastic whether tramping or not. Yeah you lose some of some weekends and work all weekend a few in a row but you don’t get that “oh god I’m back at work tomorrow” after you’ve had a day off and just getting into having a weekly rest. You can do an extra day’s overtime and still have 3 days off, a “long weekend”. Also 4 days holiday gets you 12 days off in a row.
Basically with a normal 5 day week you’ll work 232 days a year and with 4 on 4 off you’ll work 154 days. Because weekends are included usually you would expect to be paid the same salary or slightly higher than the normal 5 day week jobs.
Only thing if you have school age kids or a busy social life you miss out on a lot of stuff that goes on at weekends although during school holidays there’s a fair chance you will be around a lot in that time.
Your the only one who can decide if it suits you.
Decide what suits you, then do the wage calculation to see how they compare…divide top line by hours worked to give a mean average hourly rate, this is the only way to compare things and put them in perspective.
I liked 4 on 4 off, invariably ended up doing ot shifts in between but the money was brill.
I still do a shift pattern not 4/4 and i’d be reluctant to go back to a 5 day normal week, never had so much time off, its like being a part timer but paid more than 5 dayers.
I’ve been on 4on/4off nights since March and I love it. Short working weeks and long breaks make it worthwhile and you can have 12 days holiday by only taking 4 days off.
There are a few drawbacks such as working weekends and constantly forgetting what day of the week it is.
Depending on how you get paid you might find some weeks you only get paid three days but as I can please myself whether I do 4/4, 5/3 or even 6/2 it’s not a problem for me.
I’ve previously done 30 odd years tramping and often look back now and think why!!
I’ve done four-on four-off as an employee, and I thought it was fantastic. I’ve also tried taking somebody on as an employee doing four-on four-off for me and it all fell apart the first time it was his turn to work at the weekend because he was obsessed with Formula One racing and he decided at the last minute that he just couldn’t miss watching the Monaco Grand Prix on the television, as a result of which I ended up spending a compulsory 24 hour break in a lay-by in Goole, so I sacked him.
So all in all it depends whether weekends have special significance to you. If they don’t then go for it.
I’ve been tramping for the past 18 months 5 day week.
I was considering trying 4 on 4 off days or nights tramping too.
I would like to know what the average take home a week is doing the 4 on 4 off tramping to compare with what I’m on now.
If the money was the same I would seriously consider giving it a go.
Only thing for me is my wife works mon-fri same as me so we are in the routine.
So I would prob end up spending less time with her as daft as it sounds.
I work 4 on 4 off nights and love it! But I’ve always done shift work, whether it be 3 on 3 off etc. As the others say, it depends if you don’t mind working weekends - I would personally rather work weekends and bank holidays because I hate other people and it ■■■■■■ me off when I have stuff to do and others are in my way (I’m a busy lad,) so suits me perfectly! I have also never had a problem with pay, everywhere I have worked has always averaged the pay out over the year, so you get the same pay regardless each Friday! Give it a try!
The things to think about are the money, how is it paid, and the weekends. With 4 on 4 off you will be on an eight week rota, you will be working part of the weekend for 5 of those weeks. Do you get any extra pay for working weekend shifts as in my experience most don’t.
How will they pay you? Some pay the same every week while others pay what you work in a working week, that means for some weeks you will get 3 days pay.
4 on 4 off sounds great, because of the time off, but if you end up working some of the 4 off to make up money then it’s a waste of time, you might as well work mon-fri and get weekends off like normal people.
BillyHunt:
The things to think about are the money, how is it paid, and the weekends. With 4 on 4 off you will be on an eight week rota, you will be working part of the weekend for 5 of those weeks. Do you get any extra pay for working weekend shifts as in my experience most don’t.
How will they pay you? Some pay the same every week while others pay what you work in a working week, that means for some weeks you will get 3 days pay.
4 on 4 off sounds great, because of the time off, but if you end up working some of the 4 off to make up money then it’s a waste of time, you might as well work mon-fri and get weekends off like normal people.
BillyHunt:
The things to think about are the money, how is it paid, and the weekends. With 4 on 4 off you will be on an eight week rota, you will be working part of the weekend for 5 of those weeks. Do you get any extra pay for working weekend shifts as in my experience most don’t.
How will they pay you? Some pay the same every week while others pay what you work in a working week, that means for some weeks you will get 3 days pay.
4 on 4 off sounds great, because of the time off, but if you end up working some of the 4 off to make up money then it’s a waste of time, you might as well work mon-fri and get weekends off like normal people.
All very true, although choosing a four-on four-off shift pattern is more about shifting the work/life balance than about maximising income. It’s fairly self-evident that you won’t earn as much working half a year as opposed to 5/7ths of it. I suppose a lot of it depends on how important it is for a driver to have his days off at the weekend, and that depends on other factors, spouse/children etc.
Who you on for if you don’t mind sharing?