Second shift is the afternoon-into-evening shift in an operation that runs more than one shift a day. In most plants, warehouses and hospitals it starts between 2 and 4 in the afternoon and ends between 10 at night and midnight, taking over from first shift and handing on to third. The exact 2nd shift hours are set by the employer, not by any law, and they follow the length of the shift: eight-hour operations run 3 to 11, twelve-hour operations run 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning and call it nights rather than second. This page sets out what second shift is, the hours it usually runs, how it is scheduled against the other shifts, and what a manager has to think about when it is the shift that never has enough people.
What second shift is and the hours it runs
In a three-shift day, first shift covers the morning, second the afternoon and evening, and third the night. Typical second shift hours on an eight-hour pattern are 3 in the afternoon to 11 at night, with 2 to 10 and 4 to midnight common variations that depend on when the day shift starts. Retail and restaurants often call the same window the closing shift. On twelve-hour patterns there is no second shift as such: the day is split into a day shift and a night shift, and the afternoon belongs to the day crew. Whether second shift starts at 2, 3 or 4 is decided by the handover the operation needs, not by a rule.
How second shift is scheduled against the others
Second shift is the shift most operations find hardest to staff, because it takes the evening from people with families, and the schedule has to allow for that. The common approaches are a fixed crew that always works seconds with a shift premium, a rotation that moves everyone through first, second and third over a cycle so nobody owns the evening, and a split where part-timers take the late hours. Each choice changes the hours a person averages and the crews an operation needs, and the rotating schedule generator on this site shows both from the shift length and the days worked in a cycle before any name goes on the schedule.
What the schedule has to get right for a second shift crew
The handover with first shift, so that the first hour of seconds is not spent finding out what happened. The rest between a second shift and a first shift the next day, which on a rotation that turns a person from an 11 at night finish to a 7 in the morning start leaves eight hours, and some states and most union agreements treat that as too short. Overtime, which under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act is owed on hours over forty in a workweek regardless of which shift they fall on. And the shift premium, if one is paid, which is set by the employer or the agreement rather than by federal law. The published schedule is the record all four are checked against.
Questions people ask about 2nd shift hours
What time is second shift?
Usually from 2, 3 or 4 in the afternoon to 10, 11 or midnight, depending on when the day shift starts and whether shifts are eight or ten hours. The employer sets it; no law fixes it.
Is second shift the same as swing shift?
Often, yes. Swing shift is the older name for the afternoon-to-evening shift, and many workplaces use the two interchangeably. Some use swing for a shift that rotates between the others, which is a different thing.
Does second shift pay more?
Only if the employer pays a shift differential, which is common in manufacturing and healthcare and rare in retail. Federal law does not require a premium for afternoon or evening hours; it requires overtime on hours over forty in the workweek.