The shift-work glossary
The terms of UK shift work, defined plainly — no jargon explaining jargon.
Rota
A rota is a plan showing which employees work which shifts over a period, usually a week.
TOIL (Time Off In Lieu)
TOIL — time off in lieu — is paid time off granted instead of overtime pay for extra hours worked.
Bradford Factor
The Bradford Factor is a UK absence-scoring formula: B = S² × D, where S is the number of separate absence spells in a rolling period and D is total days absent.
Working Time Regulations
The Working Time Regulations 1998 are the UK rules governing working hours: a 48-hour average weekly limit (voluntary opt-out possible), 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, 24 hours of weekly rest, a 20-minute break on shifts over six hours, and stronger limits for night and young workers..
Open shift
An open shift is a shift published to a pool of eligible employees rather than assigned to one person.
Shift swap
A shift swap is an exchange of scheduled shifts between two employees.
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