How do I plan a security rota without coverage gaps under the Working Time Regulations

How do I plan a security rota without coverage gaps under the Working Time Regulations?

Short answer

List the posts each site needs and the hours each post must be covered.
Keep working time to an average of 48 hours a week, normally over 17 weeks, unless the officer agrees in writing to more.
Allow 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, 24 uninterrupted hours of weekly rest and a 20-minute break on days over six hours. First check whether an exception applies.
Open the coverage report before you publish the rota. Fill every interval with fewer officers than posts.

The Regulations extend to Great Britain only. Regulation 4: working time, including overtime, averages no more than 48 hours for each seven days, unless the worker agrees in writing. The reference period is normally 17 weeks.
Regulations 10 to 12: 11 consecutive hours of daily rest. An uninterrupted 24 hours of weekly rest, or two such periods or one of 48 hours in 14 days. A break of at least 20 minutes when the day exceeds six hours.
Night time is 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless agreed otherwise. A night worker's normal hours average no more than eight in 24 (regulation 6). A free health assessment must be offered first (regulation 7).
Regulation 21(b) switches off the night-work, daily-rest, weekly-rest and rest-break rules for some security work. That is work requiring a permanent presence to protect property and persons, as may be the case for security guards. The 48-hour limit still applies, with a 26-week reference period.
Regulation 22 covers a shift changeover with no rest between shifts. Regulation 23 lets collective or workforce agreements modify the rest rules. Where a rule is excluded, allow equivalent compensatory rest wherever possible (regulation 24).
Regulation 9: keep records showing you comply with the limits, and retain them for two years. Record workers who have agreed in writing to work beyond 48 hours.

Official sources consulted on 2026-11-01:

A late shift ends at 22:00 and the early shift starts at 06:00. That leaves 8 hours, short of the 11 in regulation 10. Only an exception such as regulation 22 allows it, with compensatory rest.
Five 12-hour shifts every week average 60 hours. That exceeds 48 unless the officer has agreed in writing to work more.
A night post runs 22:00 to 06:00. Its officers normally work at least three hours between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., so they are night workers.

Reading the 4guards default thresholds as legal limits.
Assuming every guard is exempt under regulation 21(b). Check whether the post really requires a permanent presence.
Cutting rest without allowing compensatory rest.
Keeping no records of hours or written agreements.

The coverage report lists every interval with fewer officers planned than posts required, and shifts with no named officer separately. You open it; nothing is sent.
From the Plus plan, saving a shift checks overlaps, daily rest and maximum shift length. It warns when a rolling 7 days exceeds a set number of hours and compares the typed licence date with the shift start.
These thresholds are settings. Set the values the law, your contract and any collective agreement require. The defaults (12 hours' rest, 12-hour shifts, 48 hours in 7 days, warning only) are not the legal limits.
Not checked: weekly rest, rest breaks, night-work averages, the reference-period average and written agreements. An override is confirmed in the panel and is not stored. It is a planning aid, not legal advice.