> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.planmyrounds.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How rest and consecutive-duty limits work

> Max consecutive work days, minimum rest days per week, minimum rest hours between shifts, and post-shift recovery time — all hard constraints the engine never violates.

PlanMyRounds enforces four separate rest-related rules. They overlap in purpose but apply differently, and all of them are **hard constraints**: the engine will not produce a schedule that violates any of them.

## The four rules

| Rule                              | What it limits                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Max consecutive work days**     | The longest unbroken run of working days a doctor can have. Set per roster in the [creation wizard](/docs/rosters/creating-a-roster).                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Min rest days per week**        | The minimum number of days off every doctor must get in each Monday to Sunday window. Also set per roster.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Min rest hours between shifts** | The minimum gap between the end of one shift and the start of the next, for any doctor. Always enforced, regardless of other settings.                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Recovery time**                 | How much rest a doctor needs after working a specific shift, before being assigned again. Set per [Shift Requirement](/docs/shifts/overview) — not per roster. A longer recovery window applies after two consecutive shifts in a row, when [Allow back-to-back duties](/docs/rosters/roster-constraints#work-and-rest-rules) is turned on. |

<Note>
  Recovery time is configured on the shift itself, so it travels with that shift into every roster and Shift Schedule that uses it — you don't set it again per roster.
</Note>

## Why a doctor might still look overworked

If a doctor is working what looks like too many nights or too tight a rotation despite these rules, check:

* Whether **Allow back-to-back duties** is on for that roster — it permits some consecutive-day patterns (like night into day) that would otherwise be blocked.
* Whether the shift's recovery time is actually set to a meaningful value, not left at a default that's too short for your policy.
* Whether the perceived overload is actually workload **imbalance** rather than a rule violation — see [Fairness](/docs/concepts/fairness) for how the engine balances total hours, which is a separate, softer mechanism from these hard rest limits.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Roster constraints" icon="shield-halved" href="/docs/rosters/roster-constraints">
    The full rule set, including these alongside leave and staffing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create a shift" icon="plus" href="/docs/shifts/creating-shifts">
    Set a shift's recovery time settings.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>