How to communicate roster changes so nobody misses them
A roster change only works if the person whose shift moved knows about it, and so does everyone it touches. Sort each change by how soon it matters, tell the people affected directly instead of the whole team, wait for a reply, and keep the award’s rules on notice and agreement in view.
Most roster mistakes are not in the roster. They happen after it is published, when a shift moves and the news reaches some people and not others. The person who picked up Thursday knows. The person who used to have Thursday may not. The supervisor planning Thursday’s close has no idea. Communicating a change well means working out who it affects, telling each of them directly and knowing they have seen it.
If your weekly routine for getting the roster seen is not settled yet, start with getting staff to check and confirm their shifts. This article picks up from there, with what to do when a published roster changes.
Sort each change by how soon it matters
| Kind of change | Examples | How to tell people |
|---|---|---|
| Today or tomorrow | A sick call, a shift cut short, an early start for a delivery | A call or direct message to each person affected, and a reply before you treat it as done |
| Later this week or next | A swap, an extra shift, a moved start time | A direct message to each person affected, the roster updated at the same time, and a reply by a set time |
| A lasting change to someone’s pattern | New regular days, different opening hours, a change to part-time hours | A conversation first, then written notice or a written agreement, and the roster changed once that is settled |
The first two are everyday operations: they need speed and a reply. The third is different in kind, because awards set rules about notice, agreement and consultation for it, as the table further down shows.
Work out everyone the change affects
A single moved shift usually touches more than one person. Before you send anything, list:
- The person whose shift changed, with the old and the new times
- Anyone taking over or giving up a shift, in a swap or a cover
- The person in charge of that shift, who is planning breaks, sections and the close
- Anyone whose break or handover depends on it, such as the person due to relieve them
Everyone else does not need a message. Telling the whole team about one person’s changed Tuesday teaches people to skim roster messages, which is how the important ones get missed.
Write the message so it cannot be misread
A roster change message has one job: to leave no doubt about what changed. Put these in every one:
- The day and the date, not just "tomorrow"
- The old shift and the new shift, both with start and finish times
- Why, in a few words, if it helps
- What you need back, and by when
Change to your shift on Thursday 19 November: it was 9:00 to 15:00 and is now 10:00 to 16:00, because the delivery has moved. Can you reply to confirm by 5 pm today?
Compare that with "can you come in a bit later on Thursday?". Three people will read it three ways, and nobody will have written down what was agreed. For a change to a part-time employee’s agreed pattern the reply matters for a second reason: several awards require the agreement to be recorded in writing, as the table below sets out. The shift change request form is there when a change needs more than a message.
Tell people directly, then keep the record
- Make the change on the rosterThe roster is the record. A change that exists only in a message is lost by next week.
- Tell each person affected directlyUse the message format above: one message to each person, not one message to the team.
- Wait for a replyA change is not done until the person has replied. No reply to a change for today or tomorrow means a phone call.
- Update anything printedReplace the copy on the noticeboard, or cross out the old shift and write in the new one with the date and your initials, so the wall matches the roster.
- Keep the messagesKeep the messages and replies with that week’s roster. They show what changed, when, and who agreed.
The award rules on changing a roster
Rosters change every week, but awards set limits on how, particularly for full-time and part-time employees, and the rules differ between awards. These are from four awards that cover many small food and retail businesses, as consolidated to 1 July 2026. Check which applies to you with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Find my award tool, and read its rostering clause.
| Award | Rule | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Industry Award 2020 | A full-time or part-time employee’s roster can be changed at any time by mutual agreement, or by the employer giving 7 days’ notice of the change | 15.3(d) |
| Restaurant Industry Award 2020 | Where practicable, at least 2 weeks’ notice of a rostered day off. A day off can be changed by agreement, or for a reason beyond the employer’s control such as sickness | 15.4 |
| Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 | The roster can be altered by mutual consent at any time, or by amending the roster on 7 days’ notice | 15.5(d) and 15.6(a) |
| General Retail Industry Award 2020 | For employees other than part-time employees, a roster can be changed by agreement before the employee arrives for work because of unexpected operational requirements. A permanent change needs at least 7 days’ written notice, extended to at least 14 days in total if the employee disagrees | 15.9(d) and (e) |
| General Retail Industry Award 2020 | Where a roster changes for a one-off event that is not an emergency and goes back to normal the next week, extra time worked because of the change is paid at the overtime rate. A roster must not be changed to avoid paying penalty rates, loadings or other benefits | 15.9(g) to (i) |
| General Retail Industry Award 2020 | A part-time employee’s regular pattern of work, other than their guaranteed hours, can be changed with 7 days’ written notice, or 48 hours’ in an emergency, but not from week to week or fortnight to fortnight. Guaranteed hours change only by agreement, recorded in writing | 10.10 and 10.6 |
| Fast Food Industry Award 2020 | A part-time employee’s rostered shift can be varied by agreement, recorded in writing, including by text message, at or by the end of the affected shift. Without a record, hours beyond the regular pattern are paid at overtime rates | 10.5 and 10.6 |
Separately, if you propose to change someone’s regular roster or ordinary hours, the consultation clause applies. You must give the employees affected information about the change, invite their views about its impact on them, including on family or caring responsibilities, and consider what they say. It is clause 33 of the Restaurant Industry Award, 39 of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, 35 of the General Retail Industry Award and 29 of the Fast Food Industry Award, and it does not apply to employees whose working hours are irregular, sporadic or unpredictable. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s rosters page summarises it.
Changes to casual shifts, including cancelling a shift a casual has accepted, raise their own questions. Check the casual employment clause of your award before you do it.
Urgent changes outside working hours
Changes for today or tomorrow often have to reach people at home. The Fair Work Ombudsman notes that the right to disconnect does not make out of hours contact unlawful, but employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to it unless the refusal is unreasonable. Whether a refusal is unreasonable takes into account the reason for the contact, how it is made and how disruptive it is, whether the employee is paid to be available or for extra hours, their role and level of responsibility, and their personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
So plan for urgent changes rather than hoping for a reply:
- Agree with the team, in advance, how urgent roster changes will reach them and when a reply is expected, and record the arrangement in writing
- Call rather than message when a change affects someone’s next shift, so you know at once whether it has landed
- Have a fallback: if a person cannot be reached, cover the shift another way instead of relying on a reply. Filling open shifts covers how
- Keep changes that are not urgent for working hours
The Fair Work Ombudsman also points out that awards may set out how the right to disconnect works with emergency roster changes, stand-by and call back, so read the relevant clauses of your award if you ever expect people to be on call.
A worked example: one sick call, four messages
At 6:15 am on a Saturday, a cafe’s cook rings in sick for a 7:00 to 15:00 shift. This is an example of the sequence, not a script.
| Time | Who | What was sent | Reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:20 am | A casual cook who had said they could pick up weekend shifts | A call offering 7:30 to 15:00 | Accepted on the call |
| 6:25 am | The same cook | A message with the day, the date and the shift times agreed on the call | Confirmed at 6:27 am |
| 6:30 am | The supervisor opening at 6:30 | A message: the cover cook starts at 7:30, not 7:00 | Replied at 6:31 am |
| 6:40 am | The kitchen hand rostered 8:00 to 14:00 | A message: your break moves from 10:30 to 11:00 so the kitchen stays covered | Replied at 7:55 am, on arrival |
The manager updated the roster at 6:25 am, before the confirming message went out. Nobody else working that day needed to know, so nobody else was told. The change took one call and four messages, each to someone whose shift or plan actually moved. What to do when an employee calls in sick covers the rest of that morning, and hospitality sick calls covers the pattern across a busy week.
Common mistakes
- Changing the roster without telling anyone. The roster is right and the person turns up at the old time.
- Telling the person but not the roster. The message is right and next week’s copy is wrong.
- One message to the whole team. The person affected reads it last, if at all.
- "Tomorrow" instead of a date. A message read after midnight means a different day.
- No reply, no follow-up. A change nobody acknowledged is a change nobody knows about.
- Treating a lasting change like a quick swap. A new regular pattern needs notice or agreement, and often consultation.
Roster Flow covers the week around those changes: availability and leave from staff phones, the roster published to everybody at once, clock ins that become timesheets, and approved hours sent to Xero, MYOB or a CSV file.
A checklist for every roster change
- The change is made on the roster first
- Everyone affected is listed: the person, anyone swapping or covering, and the person in charge
- Each gets a direct message with the day, the date, the old times and the new times
- Each has replied, and a change for today or tomorrow with no reply gets a call
- The noticeboard copy matches the roster
- A lasting change to a pattern has the notice or written agreement the award requires, and consultation where it applies
- Messages and replies are kept with that week’s roster
Questions
How much notice do I have to give for a roster change?
It depends on the award and the employee. Under the Restaurant and Hospitality awards, a full-time or part-time employee’s roster can change by agreement at any time or with 7 days’ notice. The General Retail Industry Award requires at least 7 days’ written notice of a permanent change, or 14 days in total if the employee disagrees.
Can I change a roster at short notice if the employee agrees?
The four awards checked here all allow some changes by agreement, within their own limits. Record the agreement in writing, because some awards require that for part-time employees and it settles any later disagreement.
Should I send roster changes to the whole team?
No. Tell the people the change affects directly: the person whose shift moved, anyone swapping or covering, and whoever is in charge of that shift. Team-wide messages about one person’s shift get skimmed.
Can I contact staff about roster changes outside working hours?
Contact outside working hours is not unlawful, but employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to it unless the refusal is unreasonable. Agree in advance how urgent changes will reach people, and keep other changes for working hours.
Do I need to consult staff before changing their regular roster?
Yes, under award consultation clauses such as clause 33 of the Restaurant Industry Award. Give information about the change, invite their views, including about family or caring responsibilities, and consider them.
How do I know a roster change was received?
Ask for a reply that confirms the new day and times. For a change to someone’s next shift, call if no reply arrives quickly instead of assuming the message was read.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: rosters
- Fair Work Ombudsman: right to disconnect
- Fair Work Ombudsman: discussing the right to disconnect
- Fair Work Commission: Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119]
- Fair Work Commission: Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009]
- Fair Work Commission: General Retail Industry Award 2020 [MA000004]
- Fair Work Commission: Fast Food Industry Award 2020 [MA000003]
- Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award