Here in the Middle East we work basically the same as the first reply. Supervisors and Deputy Supervisors work the 6 on (2 Morning, 2 Afternoon, 2 Afternoon), Sleep, 3 off. The rest of the guys here though get screwed by at least once a month working the 6 days on, having sleep day and one day off and then back for another 6. Still with the long break when changing from Mornings to afternoons and from afternoons to nights, it craps all over any of the horrible rosters I worked in Australia where you had the minimum break between shifts, trying to cram 4 shifts into 3 days. That was no way to live!!!!
To chevvron, you are barking up the wrong tree if you think you will get sympathy for working 6 on 3 off with no nightshifts. Nightshifts are what kill shiftworkers and I would easily give up my beloved sleep day for doing no nights shifts. In reality us "lucky" 24 hr units are working 7 days on and 3 days off cos I count a sleep day where I finish at 730am on my last nightshift as a work day.
BTW unlike the UK even though our nightshifts are also 9 hours long, it is our busiest shift. Go figure????
Oh and as far as annual leave goes we get 56 days a year, but that is Serco leave days, which are a bit strange. You don't burn leave for your rostered days off at the start of the leave period, but then burn leave for every subsequent day (including days you would have been rostered off) of your leave period. So if you take 14 days off you get the first sleep day and three days off for "free" and then burn 10 days leave for the next 6 rostered days and 4 days off. It works out you get more value for you leave if you take lots of single cycle leave periods than one big chunk. But again at least here there is a rule that all leave must be used every year, versus Oz where I just kept accumulating leave and never got to take it. No way to live again!!