Full-continuous shifts: system, example roster, pay
In a full-continuous system the work never stops: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays and public holidays. Several crews take turns on early, late and night and have longer blocks off in between. The roster is fixed far ahead, but your weekends and holidays follow the cycle, not the calendar.
Example roster, full-continuous with five crews (10-day cycle)
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | 6-14 | 6-14 | 14-22 | 14-22 | 22-6 | 22-6 | off | off | off | off |
| Crew B | off | off | 6-14 | 6-14 | 14-22 | 14-22 | 22-6 | 22-6 | off | off |
| Crew C | off | off | off | off | 6-14 | 6-14 | 14-22 | 14-22 | 22-6 | 22-6 |
| Crew D | 22-6 | 22-6 | off | off | off | off | 6-14 | 6-14 | 14-22 | 14-22 |
| Crew E | 14-22 | 14-22 | 22-6 | 22-6 | off | off | off | off | 6-14 | 6-14 |
Example: every company makes its own roster, with four, five or more crews and shifts of 8 or 12 hours. Here each crew works 2 early, 2 late and 2 night shifts and then has 4 days off; every day each shift is covered exactly once. That is 6 shifts of 8 hours per 10 days. How a company settles the difference with the contractual working time, for example with reserve shifts or training days, differs per company: ask.
In which sectors
Full-continuous runs where an installation cannot be interrupted for technical reasons: process industry such as chemicals and energy, but also production, maintenance, automation and quality control of those installations.
What this system asks of you
- Working on Sundays, public holidays and during family moments that happen to fall on a working day of your cycle.
- A quick switch between early, late and night within one cycle.
- Planning ahead: you know your days off months in advance, and the people around you have to work with that.
- Technical responsibility: a stoppage is costly, so you step in quickly and independently.
Advantages
- Long blocks of days off, including midweek.
- A roster that is fixed far in advance.
- You fall under agreements no. 46 and no. 49 for the night shifts.
Disadvantages
- Weekends and public holidays follow the cycle, not the calendar.
- The heaviest rhythm: early, late and night alternate quickly.
- Your social calendar has to bend to the roster.
Working shifts: honest about the pros and cons →
What does the law say?
Full-continuous combines everything: night performances between midnight and 05:00 (agreements no. 46 and no. 49), Sunday work in a company where the work by its nature cannot stop, and the limits for continuous work for technical reasons: up to 12 hours a day and 50 hours a week, averaged over the reference period.
What counts as night work
Work between 20:00 and 06:00 is night work. Since 1 June 2026 night work is in principle no longer prohibited in the sectors covered by the Labour Act of 16 March 1971 (Act of 18 May 2026). If you usually work between 20:00 and 06:00, always with work between midnight and 05:00, that is a work scheme with night performances within the meaning of article 38 of the Labour Act: your employer introduces it through a collective agreement or the work rules, after consultation. A roster that only falls outside midnight to 05:00, such as 14:00 to 22:00 or 05:00 to 13:00, is also night work, but not a night scheme within the meaning of article 38. In distribution and e-commerce, separate night premium rules apply to people who start from 1 June 2026.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Nachtarbeid (regels vanaf 1 juni 2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, Modernisering van het arbeidsrecht: vanaf 1 juni 2026 nieuwe maatregelen (wet van 18 mei 2026) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Agreement no. 46: your rights in night work
Agreement no. 46 of the National Labour Council applies to people who usually work a roster with performances between 20:00 and 06:00. People who only work between 06:00 and midnight, or who usually start from 05:00, fall outside it. At hiring you only enter such a roster voluntarily, unless your training led you to a profession that normally involves night work. If you are at least 50 and have worked at least 20 years in such rosters, you may ask for work without night performances for serious medical reasons recognised by the occupational physician; from 55 with 20 years you may ask without a medical reason. Your employer then has six months to offer you suitable work in writing. A pregnant employee can ask to leave the night roster. If you are away from home more than 12 hours a day or travel at least 4 hours a day, your employer provides transport or contributes to the cost, unless a sector or company agreement gives at least as much.
Source: Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 46 van 23 maart 1990 over begeleidingsmaatregelen bij ploegenarbeid met nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Agreement no. 49: an allowance per night hour
Agreement no. 49 guarantees a fixed financial allowance per hour on top of your hourly wage for people working a roster with night performances, with the same scope as agreement no. 46, and a higher amount from age 50. It only applies on the days you work those hours, and only if your sector or company had not already settled the matter before 1 January 1995 by agreement or collective arrangement. The current amount and the sector premiums per joint committee are in the shift premium hub.
Source: Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 49 van 21 mei 1991 over de financiele vergoeding bij nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
The 38-hour week and the reference period
The Labour Act sets the limit at 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week; since 1 January 2003 the weekly working time has been reduced to 38 hours (Act of 10 August 2001). Those 38 hours need not add up every week: they may be an average over a reference period of in principle one quarter, which can be extended to one year. If you work 40 hours every week, you get the difference back, for example as compensatory rest days. In successive shifts a day may run to 11 hours and a week to 50; in continuous work for technical reasons to 12 hours a day and 50 a week, or 56 if the work is spread over seven days of 8 hours. The average over the reference period must still add up.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Arbeidsduur en vermindering van arbeidsduur (Arbeidswet van 16 maart 1971, art. 19 tot 26bis) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Rest between two shifts
Between the end of your work and the restart there are in principle at least 11 consecutive hours of rest (article 38ter of the Labour Act; agreement no. 46 says the same). Together with the weekly rest that gives a break of 35 consecutive hours a week. In shift and continuous work the rest may be shorter at the moment you change shifts, but working two shifts back to back is always prohibited.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Rusttijden (Arbeidswet van 16 maart 1971, art. 38ter); Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 46 van 23 maart 1990 over begeleidingsmaatregelen bij ploegenarbeid met nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Sunday work and weekly rest
Working on Sunday is in principle prohibited (article 11 of the Labour Act). In successive shifts it is allowed if the work stops each week for 24 consecutive hours, at least 18 of them on Sunday (article 17): the last shift therefore stops at 06:00 on Sunday at the latest and the first shift of the new week starts at 18:00 on Sunday at the earliest. Companies where the work by its nature cannot be interrupted or postponed may have people work on Sunday (article 66). Whoever works on Sunday gets compensatory rest in the six days after; that does not apply to shift work within the 24-hour rule above.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Zondagsrust (Arbeidswet van 16 maart 1971, art. 11 tot 17 en 66) (checked on 23 October 2026)
What it pays
A shift premium is not in the law but in the agreement of your joint committee or company. The shift premium hub shows per sector what applies; look at the column "Full-continuous".
Open shift vacancies
These vacancies mention shift work in their text; those with this system are listed first. Each vacancy states which system it is.
- Process Operator Energy Installation · Permanent · Full-continuous · Halle, Flemish Brabant · €3,200 – €4,100 gross per month
- Process Operator Power Plant · Permanent · Full-continuous · Halle, Flemish Brabant · €3,000 – €3,800 gross per month
- Production Operator Energy Installation · Permanent · Full-continuous · Seraing, Liège · €3,000 – €3,800 gross per month
- Production Leader Power Plant · Permanent · Full-continuous · Beersel, Flemish Brabant · €4,000 – €5,400 gross per month
- Shift Supervisor Energy Production · Permanent · Full-continuous · Machelen, Flemish Brabant · €4,000 – €5,400 gross per month
- Line Technician Filling Lines · Permanent · Shifts · Zoersel, Antwerp · €3,650 – €4,200 gross per month
Frequently asked questions
What is a full-continuous system?
A full-continuous system is a shift roster in which the work runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, including Sundays and public holidays. Several crews, for example four or five, alternate in a fixed cycle of early, late and night shifts with blocks of days off. The short definition is in the knowledge base.
What does a full-continuous system look like? An example
In the example roster on this page five crews work a 10-day cycle: each crew does 2 early shifts from 06:00 to 14:00, 2 late from 14:00 to 22:00 and 2 nights from 22:00 to 06:00, and then has 4 days off. Because the crews start two days apart, every shift is covered every day. Other companies work with four crews or with 12-hour shifts.
What full-continuous jobs are there?
Wherever an installation may not stop: operators and process operators, maintenance technicians and electromechanics, breakdown technicians, automation specialists and quality inspectors. The vacancies at the bottom of this page mention shift work in their text; the vacancy itself states which system it is.
Are there full-continuous jobs in Limburg?
That depends on what is open right now. The vacancy page for Limburg shows all open vacancies in the province; each vacancy states whether it is full-continuous, another shift system or day work.
How much shift premium do you get in full-continuous?
For the night shifts at least the hourly allowance of agreement no. 49 applies, unless your sector or company arranged it before 1995. A separate premium for full-continuous or weekend work comes from your sector or company agreement. What your joint committee provides is shown in the shift premium hub.
May you work Sundays and public holidays in full-continuous?
Yes. Sunday work is in principle prohibited, but companies where the work by its nature cannot be interrupted or postponed may have people work on Sunday. How public holidays are compensated is set by the public holidays act and your agreement; the knowledge base explains it.
This page summarises the legal rules and is not legal advice. Your work rules, your sector agreement and your payroll provider remain the final word.
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