The Roster Flow blog, page 5
Writing about the week between the roster and the pay run, from the point of view of the person who has to build both. Short, specific, and free of anything we cannot back up.
What to do when an employee calls in sick before a shift
The phone goes at 6:05 and your opener is not coming in. What you do in the next hour decides whether the shift runs short, costs more than it should or ends in an argument about pay. Here is a plan to follow every time, with the rules on notice, evidence and sick pay, and the award rules for whoever covers the shift.
How to handle employee shift swap requests
A swap looks like the easiest roster change there is: two people agree and the shift is still covered. The trouble is in what they cannot see, such as a skill the shift needs, the break before the next shift or extra hours that change the pay. Here is a process that says yes quickly to the swaps that are fine and catches the ones that are not.
How to prevent double-booking employees
A double booking wastes a wage, leaves a gap somewhere else or sends home a person who made the trip for nothing. It is almost always a process problem rather than a people problem. Here are the ways double bookings happen, the checks that catch them before the roster goes out, and the rules that stop them creeping back in through swaps, cover and second venues.
How far in advance should you publish a staff roster?
A roster that arrives the night before the week starts forces everyone into last minute swaps and missed shifts. One published too far ahead goes stale before it is used. Here is what the awards say about lead times and notice, why two weeks suits most small businesses, and a publishing rhythm you can keep every fortnight.
How to create a rotating roster without double-booking staff
A rotating roster sets the pattern once and moves people through it, so weekends, closes and early starts come round in turn. It saves rebuilding the week, but a pattern with a flaw repeats the flaw every cycle. Here is how to design one, the checks that stop anyone being booked twice, and a worked four week rotation for a small cafe.
How to roster part-time and casual employees together
Most small teams mix part-time employees, who have agreed hours and availability, with casuals, who pick up the rest. The two follow different rules, so a roster that treats everyone the same will break some of them. Here is the order to build a mixed roster in, the award rules side by side and a worked week for a small cafe.
How to build a fair roster for casual employees
Casual staff can’t count on a set number of hours, which is exactly why the way you share them matters. A roster feels fair when casuals know how shifts are offered, see the good and bad shifts move around, and get enough notice to plan. Here is a system for that, the award rules that shape it and a worked example of sharing a week’s casual hours.
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.
How to roster staff for functions, weddings and busy events
A function is a night you can see coming. The guest numbers, the menu and the timings are known weeks ahead, which makes it one of the few shifts you can roster almost exactly. Here is how to turn a run sheet into a roster, what the award rules mean for long nights, and a worked wedding for 120 guests.
How to fix missing clock ins without delaying payroll
Somebody opens the cafe at 6:00 and forgets to clock in. Somebody else closes and never clocks out. Neither is unusual, and neither should hold up the pay run. Here is how to find the gaps early, confirm the times, record the fix properly and get everyone paid on the day they expect.
How to record unpaid breaks on employee timesheets
An unpaid meal break is the one part of a shift that comes off the pay, so it is the part of a timesheet most worth getting right. Here is what a break record should show, the ways to capture it, how paid hours follow from it and what to write down when a break does not go to plan.
How to calculate fortnightly hours from employee timesheets
A fortnightly pay run needs one total for each person, but getting it right takes more than one number: week one, week two, and the hours inside them that are paid at different rates. Here is the method step by step, with a worked fortnight for a part-time cook and the free fortnightly hours calculator doing the adding up.
