How to manage hospitality roster changes and sick calls
The phone goes at 5:45 on a Saturday and the opening barista is sick. In hospitality that call decides whether the morning runs or falls apart. Here is a routine for sick calls that works before service, the leave and award rules behind each choice, and how to handle the roster changes the business makes itself.
Roster changes in hospitality come from two directions. Some come from staff: a sick call, a sick child, a swap. Others come from the business: a quiet forecast, a large booking, a function that moved. They follow different rules, and treating them the same way is how venues end up paying for cover they did not need, or changing someone’s roster without the notice the award requires.
This article is about the hospitality side: covering stations before service starts. For building the roster those changes land on, see the restaurant rostering guide, the cafe rostering guide or the pub and club rostering guide.
The leave rules behind a sick call
Sick and carer’s leave comes from the National Employment Standards, and the Fair Work Ombudsman sets out how it works. Full-time and part-time employees can take paid sick leave when they cannot work because of a personal illness or injury, and paid carer’s leave to care for or support an immediate family or household member who is sick, injured or affected by an unexpected emergency. Casuals are not entitled to paid sick and carer’s leave.
| Employee | Paid sick and carer’s leave | Unpaid carer’s leave |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 10 days a year, building up from the first day of work, with unused leave carried over | Available once paid sick and carer’s leave has run out |
| Part-time | Pro rata, based on ordinary hours of work | Available once paid sick and carer’s leave has run out |
| Casual | Not entitled | 2 days each time an immediate family or household member needs care or support |
An employer can ask for evidence, even for 1 day or less off work. The Ombudsman gives medical certificates and statutory declarations as examples, and says the evidence has to convince a reasonable person that the leave was genuine. An employee who does not give evidence when asked may not be entitled to be paid for the leave. The Ombudsman also says it does not consider it reasonable for an employer to contact the employee’s doctor, and an employer cannot take negative action against an employee for taking unpaid carer’s leave.
Set up the sick call routine before you need it
- One way to call in. A phone call to the duty manager, not a message in the group chat, so somebody confirms it was received.
- As early as possible. Ask staff to call as soon as they know, so there is time to find cover before the doors open.
- The same questions every time. Which shifts it affects, how long they expect to be away, whether it is sick or carer’s leave, and whether you will ask for evidence.
- A cover list for every station. Written down before the day, so the person taking the call is not working it out at 5:45.
- One place to record it. The sick leave notification form records who called, when, the shifts affected and who covered.
If someone does not call and does not turn up, that is a no-show, which is a different conversation from a sick call made properly.
Cover by station, not by name
In hospitality the question is rarely "who is free?". It is "who can run the machine, the grill or the pass?". Build a cover list for each station from the skills on your team, and keep it with the roster.
| Station | Who can step in | What to check before you call |
|---|---|---|
| Opening supervisor | Another keyholder who knows the opening checklist | Keys and alarm codes, and whether they closed last night |
| Barista | Anyone trained on the machine, including a supervisor | Whether the morning can run on one person at the machine |
| Cook on the line | A cook who knows that section of the menu | Whether the menu can be trimmed for the day |
| Kitchen hand | A casual, or floor staff in a quiet spell | The dish and cleaning routine |
| Floor | A casual, or a part-time employee inside their availability | Bookings and section sizes |
| Bar | Staff allowed to serve alcohol under your state or territory rules | Your licence conditions |
The same list works for the kitchen and front of house split described in rostering kitchen and front of house: cover inside a team first, and borrow across teams only where the skills genuinely overlap.
Work through a sick call in order
- Confirm and record the callNote the shifts affected and the type of leave, and tell the employee if you will need evidence.
- Look at the serviceDecide whether the shift can run one short: a trimmed menu, a closed section or a supervisor on the machine may be enough.
- Look at who is already onAn earlier start or a later finish for someone already rostered is often the cheapest cover. Check breaks and overtime before you ask.
- Call in cover from the station listOffer the gap as an open shift to the people who can work that station, casuals first where they fit.
- Check the rulesMinimum engagement, part-time availability, rostered days off and the gap before the next shift, as set out below.
- Update the roster and tell the teamMake the change on the roster itself so the latest version is the one everybody sees, including the kitchen.
What each cover option means under the awards
Every way of filling a gap has a rule attached. The table compares the Restaurant Industry Award, which covers many cafes and restaurants, with the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, which covers hotels and pubs, as consolidated to 1 July 2026. Confirm your award with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Find my award tool; an enterprise agreement may set different terms.
| Cover option | Restaurant Industry Award | Hospitality Industry (General) Award |
|---|---|---|
| Call in a casual | Engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time (11.3) | Engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time (11.3) |
| Keep a casual on longer | Overtime rates beyond 12 hours a day or shift (11.2 and 11.5), and the break table for the longer shift (16.2) | Overtime rates beyond 12 hours a day or shift (11.2 and 11.4), and the break table for the longer shift (16.2) |
| Keep a part-time employee on longer | Overtime rates for time worked beyond their rostered hours (10.13(b)) | Overtime rates for time worked beyond their rostered hours (10.13(b)) |
| Offer a part-time employee more hours | Never outside their written availability (10.7(a)) | Never outside their written availability (10.7(a)) |
| Call someone in on a rostered day off | Overtime rate, with a minimum of 4 hours unless the work is part of, or continuous with, a roster that started the day before (23.1(d) and (e)) | For full-time and part-time employees, overtime rate with a minimum of 4 hours, with a similar exception (28.2(d) to (f)) |
| Move someone’s next shift earlier | At least 10 hours between days for employees other than casuals (15.1(e)) | At least 10 hours between days for full-time and part-time employees (15.5(e)) |
Rates for each of these are on the Restaurant Award pay rates and Hospitality Award pay rates pages.
A worked example: a Saturday sick call in a cafe
A cafe under the Restaurant Industry Award opens at 7:00 on Saturday. The roster has a full-time supervisor from 6:30 to 15:00, a part-time barista from 6:30 to 14:30 with a meal break at 10:30, a part-time cook from 7:00 to 15:00, and Tom, a casual on the floor, from 9:00 to 13:30. At 5:45 the barista calls in sick.
Replacing her like for like would mean finding someone for a 6:30 to 14:30 shift, 7.50 paid hours after the break. Instead the supervisor works through the list. The supervisor can open and run the machine until 7:30. Mia, a casual barista, is available from 7:30 to 12:00, which is 4.50 hours: over the 2 hour minimum and under the 5 hour point where a meal break is needed. After 12:00 the lunch rush eases and the supervisor goes back on the machine, while Tom stays on the floor until 14:30 instead of 13:30.
| Person | Before the call | After the call | Paid hours added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mia, casual barista | Not rostered | 7:30 to 12:00 | 4.50 |
| Tom, casual floor | 9:00 to 13:30, 4.50 hours | 9:00 to 14:30 with a meal break 11:30 to 12:00, 5.00 hours | 0.50 |
| Supervisor, full-time | 6:30 to 15:00 | Unchanged, covering the machine before 7:30 and after 12:00 | 0.00 |
The cover adds 4.50 + 0.50 = 5.00 paid hours, against 7.50 for a like for like replacement. One detail is easy to miss: stretching Tom’s shift from 4.5 to 5.5 hours takes it past 5 hours, so under clause 16.2 he now needs an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes after his first hour and within his first 6 hours. That is why his added pay is half an hour, not a full hour. The barista is paid from her sick leave balance if she has one, and the day is recorded as leave taken.
Roster changes the business makes
When the change comes from you rather than the employee, different rules apply. For full-time and part-time employees, the roster can change by agreement or with 7 days’ notice: clause 15.3(d) of the Restaurant Industry Award, clauses 15.5(d) and 15.6(a) of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, and clause 16.2 of the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award.
Changing someone’s regular roster or ordinary hours also means consulting first. The Fair Work Ombudsman says you need to give information about the change, invite the employee’s views about its impact and consider those views. The consultation clauses are clause 33 of the Restaurant Industry Award, clause 39 of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award and clause 33 of the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award.
- Days off. Give at least 2 weeks’ notice of rostered days off where practicable. Under the Restaurant Industry Award a rostered day off can change by agreement or for a reason beyond the employer’s control, including sickness (clause 15.4).
- Quiet shifts. A casual who comes in must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours under both awards (clause 11.3), so sending someone home after an hour does not save the second hour.
- Big bookings and functions. Plan them into the roster early rather than as a change; rostering functions and events covers how.
Record it so payroll is right
A sick call touches three records: the leave taken, the cover shifts and any overtime. The Fair Work Ombudsman lists leave taken and leave balances among the records employers must keep, so the sick day belongs on the timesheet as leave, not as a blank. Cover shifts added at 6:00 in the morning are also the ones most likely to be missing a clock in; fixing missing clock ins covers how to catch them before the pay run.
Roster Flow keeps the pieces in one place: 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 sick calls and roster changes
- Staff know how to call in, and who to call
- Every station has a written cover list
- The service is checked before anyone is called in
- Casual cover is at least 2 hours, and longer shifts have their breaks
- Part-time cover sits inside written availability, with overtime priced for any extension
- Calling someone in on a rostered day off is costed at overtime with the 4 hour minimum
- Business-driven changes get agreement or 7 days’ notice, and consultation for regular rosters
- Leave, cover shifts and overtime are recorded before payroll
Questions
Can I ask for a medical certificate for a single sick day?
Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman says an employer can ask for evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work, as long as the type of evidence asked for is reasonable. A statutory declaration can also be acceptable evidence.
Do casual hospitality staff get paid sick leave?
No. Casuals are not entitled to paid sick and carer’s leave, but they are entitled to 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave each time an immediate family or household member needs care or support.
Is it overtime if a part-time employee stays back to cover a sick call?
Under both the Restaurant Industry Award and the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, time a part-time employee works beyond their rostered hours is paid at overtime rates (clause 10.13(b)).
What does it cost to call someone in on their rostered day off?
Under the Restaurant Industry Award, the work is paid at the overtime rate with a minimum of 4 hours, unless it is part of or continuous with a roster that started the day before (clause 23.1). The Hospitality Industry (General) Award has a similar rule for full-time and part-time employees in clause 28.2.
How much notice do I need to change a hospitality roster?
For full-time and part-time employees, a change needs agreement or 7 days’ notice under the Restaurant, Hospitality and Clubs awards. Changing someone’s regular roster also needs consultation.
Can I send a casual home early if a sick call makes the day quieter?
A casual must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they are required to attend work under both the Restaurant and Hospitality awards, so plan any early finish around that minimum.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: sick and carer’s leave
- Fair Work Ombudsman: paid sick and carer’s leave
- Fair Work Ombudsman: notice and medical certificates
- Fair Work Ombudsman: unpaid carer’s leave
- Fair Work Ombudsman: rosters
- Fair Work Ombudsman: record-keeping
- Fair Work Commission: Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119]
- Fair Work Commission: Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009]
- Fair Work Commission: Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020 [MA000058]
- Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award