A ghost shift is a shift that starts less than 11 hours after the person’s last shift ended. On the roster it looks normal: the shift is covered and the hours add up. But the time left for sleep is short.
An example
Someone finishes a late at 22:00 and is back for an early at 07:00. That’s 9 hours between shifts. Take off the journey home and back, a meal and time to wind down, and there may be six hours or less left for sleep.
Most adult workers are entitled to 11 consecutive hours’ rest in each 24 hours under the Working Time Regulations 1998. There are exceptions, for example when shift workers change shift, but the worker should then usually get equivalent rest later.
Where they come from
- A late close followed by an early open
- Shift swaps and overtime added after the roster was published
- Coming off nights straight onto days
- Rosters split across sites or teams, so nobody sees the whole week
How to find them
Check the gap before every shift, not just the hours in the week. Include the last few shifts before the period you’re planning, or the first days can’t be checked.
RosterWise calls these short turnarounds. It checks the gap before every shift and marks those under 11 hours for review, with the times that caused it. See how it works.