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.
Functions go wrong on the roster in two predictable ways. Either the venue rosters the whole team from set up to pack down and pays for hours of standing around, or it rosters for the peak and finds itself short when the speeches run late and the bar gets busy. Both come from rostering the event as one block instead of as the stages it actually runs in.
This article covers functions held in your own venue or reception centre: weddings, 21sts, corporate dinners and wakes. For the everyday roster around them, see the restaurant rostering guide or the pub and club rostering guide.
Start from the run sheet, not the head count
The booking tells you more than how many people are coming. Before you roster anyone, get these from the client or the function coordinator in writing:
- Final guest numbers and how many tables, with a date after which numbers are locked
- Service style: plated, shared platters, buffet or cocktail
- The run sheet: arrival, each course, speeches, cake, dancing, last drinks and when guests leave
- The drinks package, and whether the bar runs on a tab, cash or both
- Set up and pack down: who does the room, the linen and the decorations, and by when
- Anything unusual: dietary meals, children’s meals, a band that needs the floor cleared
The run sheet is the roster’s skeleton. Every change in what guests are doing is a change in who you need.
Service style changes who you need
The same 120 guests need a very different team depending on how they are fed. There is no single right ratio, so work one out for each style from functions you have run, write it down and adjust it after each event.
| Service style | What drives staff numbers | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Plated sit-down | Tables per waiter for each course, and plates per cook at the pass | Every course leaves the kitchen at once, so the floor peaks three or four times |
| Shared platters | Tables per waiter, with fewer plates to carry | Refilling and clearing between courses |
| Buffet | Stations to keep stocked and tables to clear | Fewer waiters, more kitchen and runner time |
| Cocktail and canapés | Trays in circulation and guests per tray | A long, even service, with drinks carried as much as food |
| Bar | The drinks package and guest numbers | The busiest times are arrival and after dinner |
The staff coverage calculator turns guests by the hour into people on shift once you have settled your own ratios.
Roster the event in stages
Break the night into stages and roster each one, so people arrive when their stage starts and leave when it ends.
| Stage | Who | Roster tip |
|---|---|---|
| Set up | A small crew, the function manager | Tables, chairs, linen and place settings take longest; start them early with few people |
| Briefing | Everyone on the service team | Start service staff 30 minutes before guests arrive so the briefing is paid time, not a favour |
| Arrival and canapés | Bar, canapé waiters, kitchen | The bar’s first peak |
| Courses | The full floor and kitchen team | The peak for waiters and cooks |
| Speeches, cake and dancing | Bar, a reduced floor team | Stagger the first finishes here, and use the speeches for breaks |
| Last drinks and pack down | Bar, a pack down crew, the function manager | A fresh crew for pack down often costs less than keeping the service team on |
Build the function roster step by step
- Lock the detailsConfirm numbers, service style and the run sheet, and note the date numbers are final.
- Draft roles by stageWrite the roles each stage needs and the times each role starts and finishes, before any names go in.
- Offer the shifts earlyAsk for availability as soon as the date is booked. Offer each function shift as an open shift to the people with the right skills.
- Check the rulesCheck minimum engagements, part-time availability, breaks and the gap before the next day’s shift against your award.
- Confirm a week outConfirm names when numbers lock. For full-time and part-time employees, a roster change needs agreement or 7 days’ notice.
- Brief, run and recordBrief the team on the run sheet, then record actual start, break and finish times on the night, because functions rarely finish on time.
Which award covers function staff
Where the function happens changes the award. Under the Restaurant Industry Award, the restaurant industry includes reception centres and catering by a restaurant business (clause 4.2), but not contract caterers whose principal business is catering (clause 4.4). The Hospitality Industry (General) Award lists caterers and function areas operating in connection with hotels and similar premises in its industry (clause 4.2). Confirm yours with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Find my award tool. The rules below are from both awards as consolidated to 1 July 2026, and an enterprise agreement may set different terms.
Award rules that matter on a long night
| Rule | Restaurant Industry Award | Hospitality Industry (General) Award |
|---|---|---|
| Casual minimum engagement | At least 2 consecutive hours each time (11.3) | At least 2 consecutive hours each time (11.3) |
| Casual long days | Overtime rates for time beyond 12 hours a day or shift, or an average of 38 hours a week (11.2 and 11.5) | Overtime rates for time beyond 12 hours a day or shift, or an average of 38 hours a week (11.2 and 11.4) |
| Part-time extra hours | Not rostered outside written availability (10.7); overtime rates for time beyond rostered hours (10.13(b)) | Not rostered outside written availability (10.7); overtime rates for time beyond rostered hours (10.13(b)) |
| Changing the roster | By agreement, or with 7 days’ notice, for full-time and part-time employees (15.3(d)) | By agreement, or with 7 days’ notice, for full-time and part-time employees (15.5(d)) |
| Gap before the next shift | At least 10 hours between days for employees other than casuals, or 8 at a roster changeover (15.1(e)) | At least 10 hours between days for full-time and part-time employees, or 8 at a roster changeover (15.5(e)) |
| Employees under 18 | Not required to work more than 10 hours in a shift (13.3) | Not required to work more than 10 hours in a shift (13.3) |
| Late work | An additional hourly amount from 10pm to 6am, Monday to Friday (24.2) | An additional hourly amount from 7pm to 7am, Monday to Friday (29.2) |
The part-time rule catches venues out most. A part-time waiter rostered until 22:00 who stays until midnight to help pack down is paid overtime rates for those 2 hours under both awards. That may still be the right call, but make it on purpose, and check the function shift sits inside their written availability before you offer it. Weekend and public holiday hours cost more again; see the Restaurant Award pay rates and Hospitality Award pay rates pages.
Breaks during a function
Breaks are the first thing to disappear on a function night, and missed breaks can cost extra. Under the Restaurant Industry Award (clause 16.2), a shift of 5 hours or more includes an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, taken after the first hour and within the first 6 hours, and a shift of more than 10 hours adds two 20 minute paid rest breaks. Under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (clause 16.2), the unpaid meal break applies to shifts of more than 6 hours, or more than 5 hours if the employee asks in writing (clause 16.4), and clause 16.7 adds a paid 20 minute rest break when an employee works more than 2 hours of overtime after their rostered hours.
The speeches are the natural break window: the floor is quiet and the kitchen is between courses. Roster breaks there, and keep shifts that do not need a meal break under the threshold where you can. Recording unpaid breaks covers getting them onto the timesheet.
A worked example: a Saturday wedding for 120 guests
A reception centre under the Restaurant Industry Award hosts a plated wedding dinner for 120 guests at 12 tables of 10. Guests arrive at 18:00 for canapés, entrée is at 19:15, main at 20:00, speeches follow, dessert is at 21:15, and the bar closes at 23:30. The venue’s own rule, built from past weddings, is one waiter for every two tables for plated courses, which gives six waiters.
| Role | Shift | Paid hours |
|---|---|---|
| Function manager, full-time | 14:30 to 00:30, meal break 17:00 to 17:30 | 9.50 |
| Chef, full-time | 13:00 to 22:30, meal break 16:30 to 17:00 | 9.00 |
| Cook, casual | 16:00 to 20:30 | 4.50 |
| Kitchen hand, casual | 18:00 to 22:30 | 4.50 |
| Set up crew, 2 casuals | 14:00 to 17:00 | 3.00 each, 6.00 |
| Waiters, 6 casuals | 17:30 to 22:00 | 4.50 each, 27.00 |
| Bar staff, 2 casuals | 17:30 to 23:45, meal break 20:30 to 21:00 | 5.75 each, 11.50 |
| Pack down crew, 2 casuals | 22:00 to 00:30 | 2.50 each, 5.00 |
That is 9.50 + 9.00 + 4.50 + 4.50 + 6.00 + 27.00 + 11.50 + 5.00 = 77.00 paid hours across 16 people. Every casual engagement is at least 2 hours. The waiters, cook and kitchen hand work 4.5 hours, under the 5 hour point where a meal break is needed. The bar staff take their break during the speeches, 3 hours after starting, and the two full-time employees take theirs before guests arrive. Waiters start at 17:30, so the briefing is inside paid time.
Two checks remain. The function manager finishes at 00:30, so their earliest ordinary start on Sunday is 10:30, because of the 10 hour gap in clause 15.1(e). And if the bride and groom extend the bar by an hour, the bar staff move to 6.75 paid hours and the pack down crew to 3.50 each, which is easy to price now and hard to argue about on the night.
Cost the function before you confirm it
Put the roster into a cost estimate before the booking is final, so the quote covers it. The roster cost calculator estimates the wage cost of a set of shifts, and the weekend and public holiday hours calculator separates the hours paid at higher rates. Compare the estimate with the function’s revenue, not with a normal Saturday, because a function brings its own labour and its own sales.
After the event
Functions finish late and people go home tired, which is when clock outs get missed. Check the night’s timesheets the next day, fix any gaps while the function manager remembers the finish times, and approve them before payroll. Fixing missing clock ins covers the routine. Then compare the hours worked with the roster and note what you would change: the ratio, the set up time, the pack down crew. That note is what makes the next wedding easier to roster.
Roster Flow helps with the parts of this that repeat: 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. See how it works for a function centre.
A function roster checklist
- Numbers, service style and the run sheet are confirmed in writing
- Roles are drafted by stage before names go in
- Casual engagements are at least 2 hours
- Part-time function shifts sit inside written availability, with overtime priced for any late finish
- Meal breaks are rostered for shifts that need them, ideally during speeches
- Closers have the gap their award requires before the next shift
- Staff under 18 are not rostered for more than 10 hours in a shift
- The roster is costed against the function’s revenue
- Actual finish times are recorded and checked the next day
Questions
How many staff do I need for a wedding?
It depends on the service style, the menu and the room. Set a ratio for each style from functions you have run, such as tables per waiter for plated courses, and adjust it after every event.
What is the minimum shift for casual function staff?
Under both the Restaurant Industry Award and the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, a casual must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they are required to attend work (clause 11.3).
Do part-time staff get overtime when a function runs late?
Yes. Under both awards, a part-time employee is paid overtime rates for time worked beyond their rostered hours (clause 10.13(b)). Price the late finish before you ask them to stay.
Which award covers staff at a reception centre?
The Restaurant Industry Award includes reception centres in the restaurant industry, while function areas connected with hotels fall under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award. The Find my award tool will confirm yours.
Can I change the roster once a function is booked?
For full-time and part-time employees, a roster change needs agreement or 7 days’ notice under both awards. Offering function shifts early and confirming a week out avoids most last minute changes.
Can staff under 18 work a long wedding shift?
An employee under 18 must not be required to work more than 10 hours in a shift under both awards. Junior staff can work in a bar only where the law permits.
Sources
- Fair Work Commission: Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119]
- Fair Work Commission: Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009]
- Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award
- Fair Work Ombudsman: breaks