Scheduling Meetings Across UK and US Time Zones
UK and US teams overlap for only a few working hours a day, and the gap changes at different times of year.
Find the overlap
The UK working day is 09:00 to 17:30. The US east coast starts five hours later, at 14:00 UK time, so the overlap is from 14:00 to 17:30. For the US west coast, which is eight hours behind, the overlap is much smaller: from 17:00 UK time, when it is 09:00 in California.
Rules that save time
Always send invitations in a calendar app using the sender's real time zone, such as Europe/London, so each attendee sees their own local time. Avoid abbreviations in the subject line, and add 'UK time' when a time is quoted by hand.
Check meetings in the weeks around the clock changes in March and October, when the UK-US gap is four hours instead of five, and plan a flexible rota for the busy weeks.
Frequently asked questions
When is the UK to US gap not five hours?
In the weeks when only one side has changed its clocks, in March and late October to early November, when it is four hours.