Panama Work Schedule Calendar
See the 28-day Panama rotation for your crew, where the 2-2-3 blocks switch between days and nights, with hours and pay.
Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
How to use the Panama Schedule Calendar
- Open Schedule and choose the Panama (2-2-3) option. Its cycle is 28 days, with crews A to D.
- Use Crew to pick A, B, C or D. The calendar shows that crew’s shifts.
- Enter the date in Crew A starts the cycle on. The other crews follow the same cycle, delayed by a fixed number of days.
- Set First month and Months to show to choose the range of calendars.
- Open Shift times and breaks and check the start, end and unpaid break for each shift type. Defaults are 07:00 to 19:00 for days and 19:00 to 07:00 for nights, with no break. Hours and pay update from these times.
- Enter your Hourly rate, then pick the rule pack that matches your pay terms under What sets your overtime?.
- Read the result card for paid hours, shifts worked, overtime hours and estimated gross pay for the months shown.
- Use Find my crew with a chosen shift and date to see which crew works that slot.
- Tap a day to record what happened. On a work day, taps cycle through sick, vacation, off and swapped shift. On a day off, a tap marks a picked-up shift.
- Use Download calendar (.ics), Download CSV or Print to save or share the results.
Marks are stored only in the browser you use, so open the page in the same browser to keep them. Clear my marks removes them all. Print shows the calendar without the form.
How does a Panama schedule work?
A crew is on duty 7 days out of 14, always in runs of two or three 12-hour shifts. The four crews share a 28-day cycle, and they swap day and night shifts every 14 days, so the site always has someone on duty.
Crew A’s 28-day sequence, using the calendar codes, is:
D D O O D D D O O D D O O O N N O O N N N O O N N O O O
Here D is a 12-hour day shift, N is a 12-hour night shift and O is a day off.
| Measure | Panama (2-2-3) |
|---|---|
| Cycle length | 28 days |
| Work days per crew per cycle | 14 |
| Longest run on / off | 3 days / 3 days |
| Average paid hours per week | 42 (range 24 to 60 in a Monday to Sunday week) |
| Shifts and paid hours per year | about 182.5 shifts and 2,190 hours |
| Weekends fully off | 50% |
| 24/7 coverage with one crew | Yes, every hour is covered by exactly one crew |
Do you get overtime on a Panama schedule?
Often, yes, and the answer depends on the rule pack you choose. The federal rule looks at each workweek on its own, so the 48- and 60-hour weeks produce overtime that the light weeks do not cancel. Under a 28-day work-period rule, such as FLSA 7(k) fire, the same schedule can show no overtime.
The tool’s worked example uses Crew A from 1 Nov 2026 for four weeks to 28 Nov, at $30 an hour, with 14 shifts and 168 paid hours:
| Rule pack | Regular hours | Overtime | Estimated gross pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States: FLSA standard workweek (40 h) | 135 | 33 h at 1.5x | $5,535.00 |
| FLSA 7(k) fire (212 h in 28 days) | 168 | None | $5,040.00 |
A week cut by the edge of the month still counts as a whole workweek for overtime. The tool also offers California, FLSA 7(j) 8 and 80. For a rule from your own contract or union agreement, use the custom editor in the Overtime Calculator. These are estimates only, not legal or payroll advice, and your agreement may differ.
More questions
How many hours a week is a Panama schedule?
Each person averages 42 paid hours a week, or 84 hours per fortnight. In a Monday to Sunday week, the total can range from 24 to 60 hours.
What are the top benefits of Panama schedules?
Half of all weekends are fully off, and one crew covers each hour, so the site never runs short when the default times are used. The longest run is 3 days on and 3 days off, which keeps breaks predictable.
Can I track sick days, pickups and swaps?
Yes. Tap a work day to cycle it through sick, vacation, off and swapped shift, or tap a day off to mark a picked-up shift. These marks do not change the rotation, and Clear my marks removes them.
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
The calendar repeats the rotation from your crew’s start date and counts every shift minute by minute. Overtime and pay are worked out over whole workweeks (or the 7(k) and 7(j) work periods) under the rule pack you pick, following the official texts below. Results are estimates, not legal or payroll advice.
Sources
- 29 U.S.C. § 207 (FLSA § 7): overtime after 40 hours a week; § 7(j) hospitals (8 and 80); § 7(k) fire and police work periods (U.S. Code, 2023 Edition) · checked
- 29 CFR Part 778: overtime compensation (regular rate, workweek) (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 29 CFR § 778.105: the workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 29 CFR § 778.207(b): shift differentials are part of the regular rate (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- California Labor Code § 510: daily overtime over 8 hours, double time over 12, seventh day (as amended by Stats. 1999, ch. 134, effective 2000-01-01) · checked
- California Labor Code § 500: workday, workweek and alternative workweek schedule defined (added by Stats. 1999, ch. 134, effective 2000-01-01) · checked
- IWC Wage Order 5 (public housekeeping incl. health care), section 3(B)(8): 12-hour health care alternative workweek (effective 2002-07-01 as amended; sections 4(A) and 10(C) republished effective 2019-01-01) · checked
- California Labor Code § 511: alternative workweek schedules (up to 10-hour days without overtime) (as amended by Stats. 2012, ch. 46 (SB 1038), effective 2012-06-27) · checked
- 29 CFR § 553.230: maximum hours table, 212 h fire / 171 h police per 28 days and shorter periods (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 29 CFR § 553.224: the 7(k) work period (7 to 28 consecutive days) (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 29 CFR § 553.222: sleep time, excludable only on tours of duty of more than 24 hours (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(20) (FLSA § 13(b)(20)): fire and police agencies with fewer than 5 such employees (U.S. Code, 2023 Edition) · checked
- 29 CFR § 778.601: hospitals and residential care, 14-day period (8 and 80) (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: federal holidays (5 U.S.C. § 6103) · checked
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: overtime pay requirements of the FLSA (Revised October 2019) · checked
- California DLSE: overtime FAQ · checked
- California DLSE: overtime exceptions FAQ (alternative workweeks) · checked
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #8: law enforcement and fire protection employees (Revised March 2011) · checked
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #54: health care industry and overtime (8 and 80) (Revised July 2009) · checked
Frequently asked questions
What is a 2-2-3 schedule?
The numbers are the lengths of the blocks: 2 days on, 2 off, 3 on. The next week mirrors that with the blocks swapped. It is common in 24/7 work that uses 12-hour shifts.
What is a Panama schedule?
A Panama schedule is a 2-2-3 rotation run by four crews on a 28-day cycle. Crews swap day and night shifts every 14 days, and each person works 14 of the 28 days.
Why are they called Panama shifts?
The name is usually linked to the Panama Canal, which runs around the clock and needs staff at all hours. This is a common explanation, not a documented fact covered by the tool’s data.
What are other alternatives to the Panama schedule?
DuPont, Pitman with fixed crews, 4 on 4 off and three 8-hour shifts are the rotations sites compare it with most. Each trades off shift length, days off and weekend work differently, so compare them on the related pages below.
Is the Panama schedule healthy?
It can support work-life balance because of the regular blocks of days off. The 12-hour shifts can be tiring, especially on the 3-day runs, so sleep and rest matter as much as the pattern.
Is the Panama schedule good?
That depends on whether you prefer long shifts with more time off or shorter, steadier weeks. Its 42-hour average and 12-hour days are demanding, so weigh them against the rest blocks.
What is a rotating shift schedule?
A rotating shift schedule moves workers through different shift times, such as days, evenings and nights, on a repeating cycle. It lets a business cover every hour while sharing less popular shifts across the team.
What’s an example of a Panama schedule?
When the cycle starts on a Monday, crew A works Monday and Tuesday of week 1, are off Wednesday and Thursday, then work Friday to Sunday. The rest of the 28-day sequence is shown in the section above.
Related tools
- Shift Calendar Maker: build a shift calendar for a pattern that is not on this page.
- DuPont Schedule Calendar: compare a DuPont rotation against the Panama cycle.
- Pitman Schedule Calendar: check the Pitman rotation when you want a different mix of days and nights.
- 4 On 4 Off Schedule Calendar: plan a schedule with four days on and four days off.
- 12 Hour Shift Schedule Comparison: weigh 12-hour patterns side by side before you pick one.
- Overtime Calculator for Shift Workers: estimate overtime for hours you have already worked.
- Timesheet Calculator: add up hours from start and end times on a timesheet.
- How Many Work Hours in a Year: see how annual hours compare with your pattern’s yearly total.