How to roster hospitality staff
A complete guide to rostering hospitality staff in Australia, including Hospitality Award compliance, split shift rules, penalty rates, demand forecasting, and strategies for cafes, restaurants, and bars.
Written by
Georgia Morgan
Free hospitality payroll cost calculator
Calculate true staff costs including super, penalty rates, and casual loading for accurate hospitality roster budgeting.
General information only – not legal advice
This guide provides general information about rostering under the Hospitality Award. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
Why hospitality rostering is different
Hospitality rostering isn't like rostering for other industries. Customer demand fluctuates daily—Monday lunch is quiet, but Friday dinner is packed. A booking for 60 cancels last minute. Mother's Day needs triple the staff. Christmas breaks all your patterns.
Unlike retail or office environments with predictable hours, hospitality operates on split shifts, late-night loadings, and complex penalty rates that vary by day, time, and employment type. The Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 sets strict rules on minimum shifts, split shift allowances, and break requirements that must be followed.
Industry reality: Hospitality businesses typically operate on 25-35% labour cost targets—meaning every rostering decision directly impacts profitability. Overstaff by one shift per day and you could lose $50,000+ annually. Understaff and you lose customers to poor service.
This guide shows you exactly how to build hospitality rosters that maintain service levels, comply with the Hospitality Award, and keep labour costs under control—using both proven strategies and specialized hospitality workforce management software.
Hospitality rostering challenges
The unique staffing challenges facing cafes, restaurants, bars, and hotels in Australia.
Challenge
Variable demand by day and season
Impact
Overstaffing wastes budget, understaffing hurts service quality
Solution
Use historical booking data and forecasting analytics to predict covers
Challenge
High casual workforce turnover
Impact
Constant recruitment and training costs, inconsistent service
Solution
Build relationships with reliable casuals, use availability management
Challenge
Complex award with split shifts and loadings
Impact
Underpayment risk, compliance breaches, Fair Work claims
Solution
Use award interpretation software with Hospitality Award rules built-in
Challenge
Late-night and weekend trading
Impact
High penalty rate costs, difficulty filling shifts
Solution
Plan penalty costs upfront, offer incentives for late/weekend shifts, track labour budgets live
6 steps to hospitality staff rostering
Follow these steps to create compliant and effective hospitality rosters.
Map your service periods and peak times
Identify when you need staff based on your trading hours and customer flow patterns.
Key considerations:
- Breakfast service: 6am-10am (early start penalties)
- Lunch service: 11am-3pm (peak midday demand)
- Dinner service: 5pm-10pm (evening peak)
- Late night: After 10pm (attracts additional loadings)
- Use booking data and POS history to forecast covers
Understand split shift rules
Know when split shifts can be used and the allowances that apply under the Hospitality Award.
Key considerations:
- Maximum spread of hours: 12 hours total
- Split shift allowance must be paid per the award
- Each work period needs minimum engagement (typically 2-3 hours)
- Document employee agreement for split shifts
- Consider staffing gaps - who covers between services?
Plan around break requirements
Ensure meal breaks and rest periods comply with the award without disrupting service.
Key considerations:
- Unpaid meal break: 30-60 min after 5 hours worked
- Paid rest break: 10 min per 4 hours worked
- Breaks can be staggered during service periods
- Staff on break cannot be counted in floor coverage
- Document when breaks were taken for compliance
Apply penalty rates correctly
Calculate correct penalty rates for evening, weekend, and public holiday work.
Key considerations:
- Saturday: 125% for permanent staff, 150% for casuals
- Sunday: 150% for permanent staff, 175% for casuals
- Public holidays: 225% + day in lieu option
- Late night (after 10pm): Additional 10% loading
- Use payroll software with built-in award interpretation
Manage consecutive day limits
Ensure rosters comply with maximum consecutive days and recovery time to prevent staff burnout.
Key considerations:
- Maximum 10 consecutive days without a day off
- Maximum 20 days work in 4-week period
- 48-hour break after 3+ consecutive days of 10+ hours
- Maximum 8 days of 10+ hours in 4-week cycle
- Track fatigue patterns for late-night workers
Build flexibility for variable demand
Create systems to handle fluctuating covers, seasonal changes, and unexpected demand spikes.
Key considerations:
- Maintain a reliable casual pool
- Use availability management for shift offers
- Cross-train FOH and BOH where possible
- Plan for seasonal peaks (Christmas, Easter, events)
- Enable shift swapping with approval workflows
Hospitality penalty rates reference
Key penalty rates under the Hospitality Award for rostering calculations.
| Period | Full-time/Part-time | Casual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday-Friday (ordinary) | 100% | 125% | Base rate applies |
| Saturday | 125% | 150% | All hours worked |
| Sunday | 150% | 175% | All hours worked |
| Public Holiday | 225% | 250% | + day in lieu for permanent |
| Late night (after 10pm Mon-Fri) | +10% | +10% | Loading on base rate |
| Late night (after midnight Sat) | +15% | +15% | Loading on base rate |
Common hospitality shift patterns
Typical shift structures for cafes, restaurants, and bars.
Morning/Breakfast
6:00am - 2:00pm
Suitable for: Full-time, part-time
Focus: Breakfast service, prep, early lunch
Mid/Lunch
10:00am - 6:00pm
Suitable for: Full-time, part-time
Focus: Lunch service, afternoon prep, early dinner
Evening/Dinner
4:00pm - 12:00am
Suitable for: Full-time, part-time, casual
Focus: Dinner service, late trading, cleanup
Split shift
10am-2pm + 5pm-10pm
Suitable for: Agreement required
Focus: Covers both lunch and dinner service peaks
Weekend casual
Varies (min 3 hours)
Suitable for: Casual only
Focus: Peak period coverage with higher penalties
Tip: Stagger your shifts
Instead of having all staff start at the same time, stagger start times to match customer volume. For example, have kitchen staff arrive at 5pm, floor staff at 5:30pm, and bar staff at 6pm for dinner service. This optimizes labour costs while maintaining coverage.
Forecast staffing needs
Use historical data to predict how many staff you need per service period and avoid over or understaffing.
Track historical booking patterns
Analyze your reservation system or POS data to identify patterns: which days are busiest, which services have most covers, and seasonal variations. For example, you might find:
- Friday and Saturday dinners average 120 covers vs 60 on Monday
- December bookings are 40% higher than July
- Mother's Day requires triple your normal Sunday staffing
- Lunch service is 30% quieter since working-from-home increased
Calculate staff-to-covers ratios
Determine how many staff you need per number of customers. A typical fine dining restaurant might need 1 server per 10-15 covers, while a busy cafe might manage 1 per 20-25. Track your actual ratios over time to optimize.
Example calculation:
Staff needed: 100 ÷ 12 = ~8 floor staff
Plus: 3 kitchen, 2 bar, 1 host = 14 total
Use rostering software with analytics
Manual forecasting is time-consuming and error-prone. Rostering analytics software tracks historical patterns, shows labour cost per cover, and suggests optimal staffing levels based on your booking data. RosterElf's forecasting helps hospitality businesses reduce overstaffing by an average of 15%.
Manage your casual workforce
Most hospitality businesses rely on casual employees for 50-70% of their workforce. Here's how to manage them effectively.
Build a reliable casual pool
Develop relationships with 8-12 reliable casuals who know your venue, your service style, and your expectations.
Best practices
- Offer consistent hours to your best performers
- Pay on time, every time (builds loyalty)
- Give first pick of shifts to reliable casuals
- Provide proper training and onboarding
Use availability management
Let casual staff submit their available days and times through an app, then roster around confirmed availability to reduce no-shows.
How it works
- Casuals set their availability weekly in the app
- You roster only available staff (preventing conflicts)
- Broadcast unfilled shifts to available casuals instantly
- First to accept gets the shift (no phone tag)
Casual loading and penalty rates
Remember: casual employees receive 25% casual loading on top of base rates, plus higher penalty rates (e.g. 150% on Saturdays vs 125% for permanent staff). Use our payroll cost calculator to estimate true casual costs including all loadings.
Control labour costs
With labour typically 25-35% of revenue, controlling rostering costs is critical for hospitality profitability.
Track costs as you roster
Don't wait until payroll runs to see what you spent. Use labour budgeting software that shows real-time wage costs including all penalty rates as you build rosters.
Target: 25-35% of revenue
Fine dining 30-35%, casual dining 25-30%, cafes 25-28%
Minimize penalty rate exposure
Plan rosters that finish before late-night loadings kick in (10pm weekdays). Use staggered shifts. Track penalty costs per shift to identify high-cost patterns.
Example savings
Finishing at 9:55pm vs 10:05pm saves 10% loading on that 10 minutes
Calculate hospitality staff costs
Use our free Payroll Cost Calculator to estimate true employee costs including super, penalty rates, casual loading, and leave entitlements for accurate hospitality budget planning.
Hospitality rostering best practices
Proven strategies for effective and compliant hospitality rostering.
Forecast from bookings
Use reservation data and POS history to predict staffing needs and avoid over/under rostering.
Build master rosters
Create template rosters for typical weeks that meet award requirements and adjust for variations.
Stagger start times
Use varied start times to match staffing to customer flow throughout the day for better efficiency.
Track penalty costs live
Monitor weekend and public holiday labour costs in real-time as you build rosters.
Cross-train staff
Train FOH staff on multiple positions (bar, floor, host) to increase flexibility.
Use shift swapping
Enable staff to swap shifts with manager approval to reduce callouts and improve coverage.
Maintain casual relationships
Build a reliable pool of qualified casuals who know your venue and can fill gaps quickly.
Plan for peak seasons
Anticipate Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, and local events with increased staffing plans.
Document everything
Keep records of rosters, timesheets, split shift agreements, and penalty calculations for audits.
Common hospitality rostering mistakes
Avoid these costly errors in hospitality staff rostering.
Not paying split shift allowance
Consequence: Underpayment claim and potential wage theft prosecution with penalties up to $93,900
Solution: Always pay the split shift allowance when shifts are broken with unpaid gaps over 1 hour
Exceeding 12-hour spread for split shifts
Consequence: Time beyond 12 hours becomes overtime at double time rates
Solution: Track shift spread automatically and ensure it stays within 12 hours total span
Ignoring consecutive day limits
Consequence: Employee fatigue, <a href="/glossary/occupational-health-safety" class="text-primary-700 underline hover:text-primary-800">WHS risks</a>, and award breach
Solution: Build roster templates that automatically respect the 10-day consecutive limit
Missing late night loadings
Consequence: Underpayment for evening and overnight workers
Solution: Apply 10% loading after 10pm weekdays, 15% after midnight Saturday automatically
Insufficient break time during service
Consequence: Break compliance issues, fatigued staff, and potential Fair Work complaints
Solution: Stagger breaks to maintain service while ensuring everyone gets required rest
No attendance forecasting
Consequence: Overstaffing during quiet periods or understaffing during rush
Solution: Track historical covers-per-shift data and adjust rosters based on booking patterns
Technology solutions for hospitality rostering
Modern rostering software solves hospitality challenges that spreadsheets can't handle.
Live labour budgeting
See real-time wage costs including all penalty rates as you build rosters
→ Control labour costs before publishing, compare actual vs budget
Award-compliant calculations
Built-in Hospitality Award interpretation with split shift allowances, loadings, and penalties
→ Eliminate underpayment risk and Fair Work compliance issues
Demand forecasting
Analyze historical booking and sales data to predict staffing needs by day and service period
→ Optimize staffing levels and reduce wasted labour dollars
Shift broadcasting
Offer unfilled shifts to qualified staff instantly via mobile app notifications
→ Fill gaps faster without phone calls or text messages
Availability management
Casual staff set their availability, you roster around it with conflict detection
→ Reduce no-shows and scheduling conflicts
Multi-venue support
Manage multiple restaurants, bars, or cafes from one dashboard with per-site budgets
→ Compare labour costs across venues and share staff between locations
Integrated payroll processing
The best hospitality rostering software integrates with Xero and MYOB for seamless payroll processing. Learn more about transitioning to digital rostering.
How RosterElf handles hospitality rostering
Built specifically for Australian hospitality businesses with Hospitality Award compliance, split shift management, and live labour budgeting.
Live labour cost tracking
See real-time wage costs including all penalty rates, split shift allowances, and loadings as you build rosters. Compare against your budget and adjust before publishing.
Hospitality Award automation
Built-in Hospitality Award interpretation with automatic split shift allowances, penalty rate calculations, and late-night loadings. Eliminate underpayment risk.
Casual availability management
Let casual staff set their availability in the app. Roster around confirmed availability with conflict detection. Broadcast unfilled shifts instantly to available staff.
Multi-venue management
Manage multiple restaurants, bars, or cafes from one dashboard. Compare labour costs across venues. Share staff between locations. Includes integrated multi-site rostering guide.
Trusted by hospitality businesses across Australia
RosterElf manages rosters for hundreds of restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels nationwide with built-in Hospitality Award compliance. Join 30,000+ Australian businesses rostering smarter.
Free hospitality rostering tools
Free calculators, templates, and tools to help you manage hospitality rosters, costs, and compliance.
Payroll cost calculator
FEATUREDCalculate true employee costs including super, penalty rates, and casual loading
Shift cost calculator
Calculate cost per shift including penalties and overtime
AI roster generator
Generate optimized hospitality rosters using AI
Labour cost %
Calculate optimal labour percentage for hospitality
Penalty rate calculator
Calculate Hospitality Award weekend and holiday rates
Break compliance
Check if your hospitality shifts meet break requirements
Frequently asked questions
- A split shift is when an employee's work day is divided into two or more separate periods with an unpaid break of more than one hour between them. For example, working 10am-2pm, then returning 5pm-10pm. The total span cannot exceed 12 hours, and a split shift allowance must be paid under the Hospitality Award.
- The split shift allowance is an additional payment required when an employee works a split shift. The amount is specified in the Hospitality Award and compensates for the inconvenience of working across an extended span with a significant unpaid break. Check the current award rates for exact amounts.
- Any time worked beyond a 12-hour spread must be paid at overtime rates (double time). The 12-hour limit includes all working time and the unpaid break. If an employee starts at 10am, they cannot work past 10pm without overtime applying.
- Employees can decline to work split shifts unless it is a regular pattern of work agreed in writing for part-time employees, or the employee has agreed to work split shifts. For new rosters, proper consultation is required before implementing split shifts.
Regulatory sources & compliance
This guide is aligned with official Australian workplace regulations and hospitality industry standards.
Streamline hospitality rostering
RosterElf helps hospitality businesses manage variable demand, casual staff, and award compliance. Built for Australian small businesses.
Related guides & resources
Learn more about rostering and compliance for hospitality businesses.
How to create a roster
Learn roster creation basics using Excel, Sheets, or software.
Hospitality Award rates
Current pay rates and penalty calculations for 2025-2026.
Roster public holidays
Navigate public holiday rostering with confidence.
Schedule breaks compliantly
Ensure compliant break scheduling for your staff.
Manage shift swaps
Handle employee shift swap requests efficiently.
Communicate roster changes
Keep your team informed of schedule updates.
Common roles in hospitality
Download free job description templates for your hospitality team
Simplify your rostering today
Join thousands of Australian businesses using RosterElf to create compliant rosters in minutes. Built for Australian small businesses.