How to roster staff with second jobs
Plenty of casual and part-time employees have a second job, and it decides when they can work for you. Here is what to ask, how to build shifts around hours that are already taken, what the National Employment Standards and four common awards say, and a worked week for a cafe casual who also works in a bar.
A second job is common among casual and part-time staff: the barista who pours beers three nights a week, the retail assistant who also does weekend deliveries, the cook who starts early at a bakery before coming to you. The other job is not a problem for your roster in itself. The trouble starts when you do not know about it, and a shift you offer clashes with a start somewhere else, a close runs into an early morning, or someone arrives for a four hour shift after eight hours on their feet.
None of this means managing the other job. It means knowing which hours are taken, building shifts that fit around them and keeping an eye on fatigue. This article covers what to ask, what the National Employment Standards and the awards say, and a worked week for a casual who also works in a bar.
Ask for times, not details
The simplest way to find out about a second job is to ask about it the same way you ask about anything else that affects availability: when someone starts, and whenever their availability changes. What the roster needs is the time the other job takes up, not who it is for or what it pays.
- The fixed hours. Which days and times belong to the other job, and whether they follow a set pattern or change from week to week.
- Travel time. How long it takes to get from one workplace to the other, so a shift does not start before they can arrive or finish after they need to leave.
- When they find out. If the other employer publishes its roster on a Thursday for the week after, their availability for you is not settled until then.
- The hours they want from you. How many hours a week they are after from your business, and whether they would take more when the other job is quiet.
- How they will tell you about changes. Ask them to update their availability as soon as the other job changes, not on the morning of a clash.
Record the answers as availability, alongside classes, caring responsibilities and anything else that is fixed. A staff availability template gives everyone the same form to fill in, and the glossary explains staff availability if you are setting it up for the first time.
What the National Employment Standards say about weekly hours
Maximum weekly hours are part of the National Employment Standards (NES), which apply to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s maximum weekly hours fact sheet says an employer must not request or require an employee to work more than these hours in a week, unless the additional hours are reasonable:
- Full-time employees: 38 hours, unless their award or enterprise agreement specifies different hours.
- Everyone else: the lesser of 38 hours and the employee’s agreed ordinary hours of work in a week.
An employee may refuse to work additional hours if they are unreasonable. The fact sheet lists what must be taken into account in deciding that, including any risk to employee health and safety, the employee’s personal circumstances including family responsibilities, the needs of the workplace, any notice given, the usual patterns of work in the industry and any other relevant matter.
Notice how the rule is framed: it limits what an employer requests or requires. The fact sheet does not say an employer has to find out or track the hours someone works for another business, and nothing here suggests you must. If a decision turns on hours worked across two employers, such as whether the extra hours you want to ask for are reasonable, get advice or contact the Fair Work Ombudsman rather than guessing.
Fatigue is the real rostering risk
Safe Work Australia’s fatigue page says fatigue arises from work-related and non-work-related sources, and that persons conducting a business or undertaking, such as employers, must eliminate or minimise the risk of fatigue so far as is reasonably practicable. Workers have a duty too, to take reasonable care for their own health and safety.
Its guidance on managing fatigue risks gives examples of controls, and notes that not all of them will be reasonable in every workplace. Several apply directly to staff with a second job:
- Limit the length of shifts and allow at least 12 hours for workers to recover between shifts.
- Avoid long hours over a week, limit the number of consecutive workdays and allow at least one full day off a week.
- Keep shift patterns as regular as possible and avoid last minute changes.
- Have clear fatigue policies that set out expectations, such as policies on second jobs.
- Have a way for workers to report fatigue, and talk with them about individual factors such as travel time between work and home.
Look at the whole day, not just your shift
On your own roster, a four hour shift looks light. For someone with a second job, it might be the second half of a twelve hour day. When you place a shift for someone who has told you about other work, check three things.
- The total for the day. Add the hours they have told you about to the shift you are placing. Seven hours elsewhere and five with you is a twelve hour working day before travel.
- The gap before and after. A close that finishes at 23:00 ahead of a 6:00 start somewhere else leaves 7 hours, less the trip home and back.
- The days in a row. Two part-time jobs can add up to seven days a week without either employer rostering more than four.
None of these needs you to see the other roster. They need the availability you already asked for, and a manager who reads it before offering an extra shift.
Check short windows against minimum shifts
People with second jobs often offer short windows: 15:00 to 17:00 before an evening job, or two hours on a Saturday morning. Before you roster one, check the minimum engagement in your award, because a shift that fits the window may be shorter than the award allows. The minimums differ between awards. These are from four common awards as consolidated to 1 July 2026.
| Award | Casual employees | Part-time employees |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Industry Award 2020 | Engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they attend work (11.3) | Not rostered for fewer than 3 hours in a day (10.7(b)) |
| Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 | Engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they attend work (11.3) | At least 3 ordinary hours on any day, not counting meal breaks (15.2(a)) |
| General Retail Industry Award 2020 | A minimum daily engagement of 3 hours, or 1.5 hours in the limited circumstances for secondary school students in clause 11.3 (11.2) | A minimum daily engagement of 3 consecutive hours (10.9) |
| Fast Food Industry Award 2020 | A minimum daily engagement of 3 consecutive hours (11.3) | Rostered for a minimum of 3 consecutive hours on any shift (10.2) |
If a window is shorter than the minimum in your award, look for a longer window on another day or give that slot to someone else, rather than rostering a shift below the minimum. If you are not sure which award applies, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Find my award tool will tell you.
Part-time employees who take on a second job
For part-time employees, availability is written into the employment arrangement under several awards, which matters when a second job starts or changes. Under both the Restaurant Industry Award and the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, the employer and employee agree in writing on the guaranteed hours and the employee’s availability when they start (clause 10.4), and the employee must not be rostered to work any hours outside that availability (clause 10.7(a)).
Both awards also deal with a change in circumstances. If there is a genuine and ongoing change in a part-time employee’s personal circumstances, they may alter the times they are available by giving 14 days’ written notice (clause 10.11). If the employer cannot reasonably accommodate the change, the guaranteed hours cease to apply and a new set must be agreed (clause 10.12). The General Retail Industry Award (clauses 10.5 and 10.6) and the Fast Food Industry Award (clause 10.3) work differently: they set a regular pattern of work in writing, with start and finish times, and changes are recorded in writing.
If a part-time employee tells you they have taken a second job, sit down with the written agreement before you change anything on the roster. Rostering part-time and casual employees together covers the wider differences between the two.
A worked example: a cafe casual who also works in a bar
Sam is a casual at a cafe covered by the Restaurant Industry Award 2020. The cafe trades from 6:30 to 16:00 every day. When Sam started, they told the owner about a bar job on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 18:00 to midnight, which is 18 hours a week, and said they wanted about 30 hours a week in total, so around 12 from the cafe. It takes Sam 30 minutes to get between the two. The owner’s first draft of next week gave Sam 16.5 hours.
| Day | Bar job, as Sam told the cafe | First draft at the cafe | Final cafe shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | None | 7:00 to 11:00 | 7:00 to 11:00 |
| Tuesday | None | None | 7:00 to 11:00 |
| Wednesday | None | None | None |
| Thursday | 18:00 to midnight | None | None |
| Friday | 18:00 to midnight | None | None |
| Saturday | 18:00 to midnight | 7:00 to 15:30, with a 30 minute unpaid meal break | None |
| Sunday | None | 6:30 to 11:00 | 12:00 to 16:00 |
| Hours | 18 | 16.5 | 12 |
Reading the draft against Sam’s availability showed three problems. On Saturday, 8 hours at the cafe (7:00 to 15:30, less the 30 minute unpaid break) and 6 at the bar made 14 hours of work between 7:00 and midnight. On Sunday, a 6:30 start came 6.5 hours after the bar closed, before the trip home and back. And 16.5 hours was 4.5 more than Sam had asked for.
The final roster drops the Saturday shift, adds a Tuesday morning to match Monday, and starts Sunday at 12:00, 12 hours after the bar finishes, in line with Safe Work Australia’s example of at least 12 hours to recover between shifts. Sam works 12 hours at the cafe and 30 in total, every cafe shift is 4 hours, above the 2 hour casual minimum in clause 11.3, and Wednesday is a full day off from both jobs. The owner never needed to see the bar’s roster: Sam’s availability had everything required.
When the other job changes
The other roster will change, sometimes at short notice. A few habits stop that turning into a missed shift on yours.
- Set a cut-off for availability. Ask everyone to update their availability by a set day before you build the next roster, and publish early enough that people with two jobs can plan around both. How far in advance to publish a roster covers the timing.
- Use your normal swap process. When the other job calls them in, a swap with a colleague is better than a no-show. Handling shift swap requests sets out the checks before you approve one.
- Make it safe to say no. Safe Work Australia notes that workers are more likely to report fatigue accurately if they know how you will respond and are confident they will not be punished. The same goes for turning down an extra shift after a long day elsewhere.
- Review availability regularly. Second jobs start and stop. The availability and leave guide covers keeping it current from week to week.
Keep the roster fair for everyone else
Staff with second jobs often have the narrowest availability, which can push the weekend closes and early opens onto the people without one. Agree what share of the harder shifts each person takes, based on the availability they have given, and rotate the rest. Fair weekend and closing-shift rotations shows one way to set that up. It also helps to be open with the team that availability, not favouritism, decides who can be rostered when.
If you are thinking about restricting what other work staff can do, for example work for a direct competitor, take that to a workplace relations adviser as a contract and policy question. It is not something to settle on the roster.
Roster Flow handles the routine around this: 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 staff with second jobs
- Everyone is asked about fixed commitments, including other work, when they start and whenever availability changes
- Availability records days, times and travel time, not details of the other employer
- Each shift is checked against the whole day and the gap before the next start
- Short windows are checked against the minimum shift in your award
- Part-time rosters match the written agreement on hours and availability
- Extra shifts go to people with room in their week, not whoever replies first
- Staff know how to tell you they are too tired to work safely
- The harder shifts are shared fairly across the team
Questions
What should I ask a new starter about a second job?
Ask which days and times the other job takes up, how long they need to travel between workplaces and how many hours they want from you. The roster needs the times; it rarely needs the name of the other employer or what they pay.
Do I have to track the hours an employee works at another job?
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s maximum weekly hours fact sheet sets a limit on the hours an employer requests or requires, and it does not say an employer must track hours worked for another business. Fatigue is still a safety risk, so ask staff to keep their availability current and to tell you when they are too tired to work safely.
What are the maximum weekly hours under the National Employment Standards?
For a full-time employee, 38 hours unless their award or agreement specifies different hours. For other employees, the lesser of 38 hours and their agreed ordinary hours, and an employer can ask for more only where the additional hours are reasonable.
Can a casual with a second job work a two hour shift?
It depends on the award. The Restaurant and Hospitality awards set a 2 hour casual minimum, while the General Retail and Fast Food awards set 3 hours, with a 1.5 hour exception in the General Retail award for some secondary school students.
Can an employee refuse extra hours because of their other job?
An employee may refuse additional hours beyond the NES maximum if they are unreasonable, and their personal circumstances and any risk to health and safety are among the factors taken into account. Rostering inside the availability they have given you avoids most of these conversations.
How long should someone have between a shift elsewhere and a shift with me?
Safe Work Australia’s fatigue guidance gives at least 12 hours to recover between shifts as an example control, while noting that not every control suits every workplace. Add travel time on top, and check your award for any break it sets between your own shifts.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: maximum weekly hours fact sheet
- Fair Work Ombudsman: hours of work
- Safe Work Australia: fatigue
- Safe Work Australia: managing fatigue risks
- 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