Why recurring meetings move when clocks change
A meeting can stay fixed on one person’s calendar and shift on another’s.
Decide what must stay constant
A recurring appointment can be anchored to a local clock, such as 09:00 every Monday in Paris, or to a fixed UTC time. Those are different intentions when the location changes its UTC offset. Neither choice is automatically correct for every team. Decide whether the organizer’s local routine, a global operational deadline or a shared period of availability is the priority before creating a long series.
Use a named time zone for a local routine
A calendar event with a named geographic time zone gives the scheduling system the information needed to follow that place’s rules. A bare fixed offset cannot express future seasonal changes. The iCalendar standard supports time-zone information and recurring events, but application behavior still depends on correct data and settings. After creating a series, inspect later occurrences rather than assuming that the first one proves the entire year is correct.
Different transition dates create exceptions
When participants change clocks on different dates, a regular difference can temporarily change. The 2026 London–New York autumn example shows a week when a London-anchored meeting appears one hour later in New York. A third participant may see a different pattern again. Check the relevant dates in city comparisons and agree whether the group will keep the original anchor or deliberately reschedule particular occurrences.
Correct the invitation, not each attendee’s guess
If a meeting needs to move, the organizer should update the shared invitation and state which occurrences are affected. Avoid asking everyone to manually add an hour to an event that their calendar may already have adjusted. Preserve the original intended location and local time while diagnosing discrepancies. If the location recently changed its law, consult the data-update guide and check whether the calendar service has received the new rules.
Sources
Related reading
How to find a fair meeting time across time zones
Start with real availability, compare a specific date and share inconvenient hours fairly.
The late-October week when London and New York are four hours apart
A worked scheduling example for the gap between the UK and US autumn transitions.
Why time-zone data updates matter even when your clock looks right
A policy change has to reach your software before future local times can be calculated correctly.