How to roster office, admin and call-centre staff
Create compliant rosters for office, admin and call-centre teams under the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002), including the 3-hour minimum, part-time hours, overtime, penalties, and hybrid coverage.
Written by
Steve Harris
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Cost weekend, public-holiday and overtime shifts for office, admin and call-centre staff under the Clerks Award before you publish.
This guide provides general information about office, admin and call-centre rostering under Australian awards. Some businesses are covered by an industry-specific award or an enterprise agreement with different provisions. 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.
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Key takeaways
- Office, admin and call-centre staff are generally covered by the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002); call-centre operators sit in the award call-centre stream (Schedule B)
- Part-time and casual shifts must be a minimum of 3 hours, and part-time guaranteed hours must be agreed in writing
- Overtime applies after 38 hours a week or 7.6 hours a day, with Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday penalties on top and a 25% casual loading
- Roster around coverage - staggered, multi-shift and hybrid patterns plus skills-based routing for call queues - not just fixed 9-to-5
Office, admin and call-centre rostering in Australia
Not all office work is a fixed 9-to-5. Call centres run extended and multi-shift hours, hybrid teams split their week between home and the office, and admin functions often need part-time cover across peaks — see office & administration rostering. Rostering these teams well means planning around coverage and getting the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002) right. For call-centre workforce management in particular, demand rises and falls through the day, so shift design, skills-based routing, and the award 3-hour minimum all matter.
Pure back-office admin often has fixed hours, so the rostering challenge is coverage, part-time patterns and hybrid days rather than round-the-clock shifts. Get the classification and stream right for each role - general clerical work and customer-contact call-centre roles are classified differently - so base pay and every penalty are calculated correctly from the start.
Industry reality: Office and call-centre teams face changing daily demand, part-time and hybrid arrangements, and the need to keep phones and queues covered without breaching the 3-hour minimum or missing overtime. Poor rostering leads to understaffed peaks, underpayment claims, and disputes over unclear part-time hours.
This guide provides a comprehensive approach to creating compliant rosters for office, admin and call-centre staff that meet award requirements, keep coverage tight, and control labour costs. Learn more about call-centre rostering software.
Clerks Award rostering rules at a glance
The Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002) sets the minimum rostering rules for office, admin and call-centre staff. These are the provisions that shape your roster.
| Provision | Detail | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum shift engagement | 3 consecutive hours | Applies to part-time and casual staff |
| Ordinary hours | 38 hours per week | Worked within the award span of hours |
| Daily overtime threshold | After 7.6 hours a day | Or after 38 hours in the week |
| Part-time hours | Agreed in writing | Guaranteed days, times and hours at engagement |
| Casual loading | +25% | In lieu of paid leave entitlements |
Critical: The award sets the floor, not the ceiling. Some businesses are covered by an industry-specific award or an enterprise agreement instead of MA000002. Confirm which award applies and check current pay rates in the Clerks Award pay guide before you roster.
6 steps to compliant office and call-centre rostering
Follow these steps to create compliant and effective rosters under the Clerks Award.
Confirm the award and coverage
Check that your staff are covered by the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002) before you build a roster.
Key points:
- MA000002 covers private-sector clerical and administrative employees
- Call-centre operators sit in the award call-centre stream (Schedule B)
- Some businesses are covered by their own industry award instead
- The award is the floor - a contract or agreement cannot pay below it
Classify staff by level and stream
Assign each employee the correct classification so their base pay and penalties are right - see our Clerks Award classification levels guide.
Key points:
- General clerical roles run across the award classification levels
- Customer-contact roles use the dedicated call-centre stream
- Match each role to the classification descriptors, not just job title
- Casual employees receive a 25% casual loading on the base rate
Set the coverage model and shift pattern
Decide how you cover the day - fixed hours, staggered starts, multi-shift call-centre cover, or a hybrid on-site and work-from-home split.
Key points:
- Fixed daytime hours suit core back-office and admin roles
- Staggered and multi-shift cover keeps phones and queues staffed
- Hybrid rosters split on-site and remote days across the week
- Agree part-time guaranteed hours, days and times in writing
Apply the 3-hour minimum, overtime and penalties
Calculate the correct minimum engagement, overtime and weekend or public-holiday loadings for each shift.
Key points:
- Part-time and casual shifts must be at least 3 consecutive hours
- Overtime applies after 38 hours a week or 7.6 hours a day
- Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday work attract penalty rates
- Add the 25% casual loading before any penalties are applied
Plan hybrid coverage and skills-based routing
Build rosters that keep reception, phones and call queues covered while matching agents to the right work by skill.
Key points:
- Route inbound and outbound queues to agents with the right skills
- Map who is on-site and who is remote on each day
- Cover peaks without dropping below the 3-hour minimum shift
- Keep enough overlap for handovers between shifts
Publish and sync to payroll
Share the roster and send approved hours to payroll with award interpretation applied.
Key points:
- Publish shifts to the mobile app so staff see their roster instantly
- Export approved hours to Xero or MYOB without re-keying
- Apply automatic award interpretation to loadings and penalties
- Refresh classification rates each 1 July
Clerks Award penalties and loadings
Weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties that apply on top of the base rate under the Clerks Award.
| When staff work | Typical penalty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 125% | Ordinary hours worked Saturday (permanent staff) |
| Sunday | 200% | Ordinary hours worked Sunday (permanent staff) |
| Public holiday | 250% | Work performed on a public holiday |
| Overtime (Mon-Sat) | 150% first 3hrs, 200% after | Once ordinary hours are exceeded |
| Overtime (Sunday) | 200% | All overtime hours worked Sunday |
| Shiftwork loadings | Loading applies | For designated afternoon and night shiftworkers |
| Casual loading | +25% | Added to the base rate before penalties |
Figures are indicative and vary for casuals and shiftworkers. Confirm exact, current rates in the Clerks Award pay guide, and use our penalty rate calculator for accurate shift cost planning.
Common office and call-centre shift patterns
Coverage models for admin, hybrid and call-centre teams - from fixed hours to multi-shift phone cover.
Fixed hours
Standard weekday office hours
Core admin and back-office roles
Staggered cover
Overlapping start and finish times
Reception and phones across the day
Call-centre shifts
Multi-shift cover across extended hours
Inbound and outbound contact queues
Hybrid / WFH
Split on-site and remote days
Hybrid admin and support teams
Part-time patterns
Agreed guaranteed hours in writing
Job-share and school-hours roles
Where the cost sits
In call centres and hybrid teams, cost sits in the coverage model: weekend and public-holiday penalties on extended-hours phone cover, overtime on long days, and the 3-hour minimum on short peak-cover shifts. Track hours by pattern so peak, weekend and overtime costs are visible before you publish the roster.
Hybrid, remote and compliance considerations
Office, admin and call-centre rostering has specific award rules that must be factored into every roster.
Key compliance factors for office and call-centre rostering:
Common office and call-centre rostering mistakes
Avoid these costly errors that lead to compliance issues, coverage gaps, and underpayment claims.
Rostering shifts under 3 hours
Consequence: Award breach and underpayment claims from part-time and casual staff
Solution: Never roster a part-time or casual shift below the 3-hour minimum engagement in the Clerks Award, even to cover a single call-centre peak
Not agreeing part-time hours in writing
Consequence: Disputes and back-pay exposure when guaranteed hours are unclear
Solution: Record part-time guaranteed hours, days and start and finish times in writing, and change them only by agreement
Treating call-centre staff like general clerks
Consequence: Wrong classification and incorrect base pay for customer-contact roles
Solution: Classify call-centre operators under the call-centre stream using our classification levels guide
Missing overtime thresholds
Consequence: Systematic underpayment when long days or busy weeks are not tracked
Solution: Track daily and weekly hours so overtime is paid after 7.6 hours a day or 38 hours a week, and automate it with award interpretation
Keeping long-term casuals on a regular roster
Consequence: Casual conversion disputes and entitlement claims
Solution: Review casual arrangements regularly and consider permanent conversion for staff on a stable, regular roster
Not updating rates each July
Consequence: Underpayment claims once the annual wage review takes effect
Solution: Refresh classification rates every 1 July and let rostering software apply the new figures
Advanced office and call-centre rostering strategies
Strategies for complex coverage scenarios across call centres and hybrid teams.
Extended-hours and multi-shift coverage
Call centres and support desks that run beyond standard hours need staggered and overlapping shift lines, with the right pay treatment applied to weekend and after-hours work.
- Staggered lines: Overlap start and finish times so peaks are covered without gaps between shifts
- Penalty awareness: Apply weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties to extended-hours cover, not a single blended rate
- Minimum shifts: Keep every peak-cover shift at or above the 3-hour minimum engagement
Learn more: Calculate overtime and penalty costs
Skills-based call-queue allocation
Match agents to the right queues by skill and classification level. Different contact types need different training, seniority and access on every shift.
Example routing by contact type:
- Inbound support: Agents with product and system skills
- Outbound and sales: Trained outbound agents
- Escalations: Senior agents and team leaders
- Back-office admin: General clerical staff
Tip: Use rostering software with skills tagging so the right agents are assigned to each queue and you get roster warnings when a queue is short on qualified staff.
Hybrid coverage and contingency planning
Absences and demand spikes are common across hybrid and call-centre teams. Build flexibility into rosters to cover them without pushing staff into unnecessary overtime.
- Relief pool: Maintain a pool of trained casual and part-time staff to cover absences and peaks
- Hybrid mapping: Track who is on-site and who is remote each day so coverage is never left to chance
- Fast fill: Use instant notifications to fill open shifts and inform staff of changes quickly
Free Clerks Award rostering calculator
Cost weekend, public-holiday and overtime shifts accurately for office, admin and call-centre staff.
For full pay rates, penalties and classifications, see the Clerks - Private Sector Award pay guide.
Office and call-centre rostering software
How rostering software simplifies coverage planning, hybrid scheduling, and Clerks Award compliance.
Automatic award interpretation & compliance
Built-in Clerks Award interpretation applies the 3-hour minimum, weekend and public-holiday penalties, overtime after 38 hours a week or 7.6 hours a day, and the casual loading.
Coverage, hybrid & skills-based rostering
Plan staggered, multi-shift and hybrid rosters from one platform, tag agents by skill for call-queue routing, and see which shifts are over or under staffed at a glance.
Accurate time capture & labour costing
Capture accurate clock-ins for on-site and remote staff and see real-time wage costs including all penalty rates and loadings before you publish the roster.
Built for contact centres
Purpose-built coverage planning for inbound and outbound queues, extended-hours cover, and hybrid support teams that need the phones staffed all day.
Trusted by Australian office and contact-centre teams
RosterElf helps office, admin and call-centre teams manage coverage, hybrid days and on-call queues with support for Clerks Award compliance. Join 30,000+ Australian businesses rostering smarter.
Right to disconnect (New from August 2025)
From 26 August 2025, employees of small business employers have the right to disconnect - meaning they can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from their employer outside of working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. This applies to office, admin and call-centre staff and should be considered when planning after-hours contact, hybrid work and any on-call arrangements.
Regulatory sources & compliance
This guide is aligned with official Australian clerical and administrative workplace regulations.
Streamline office and call-centre rostering
RosterElf helps office, admin and call-centre teams manage coverage, hybrid days and skills-based routing, and support your compliance efforts with the Clerks Award. Built for Australian businesses.
How RosterElf helps with office and call-centre rostering
Purpose-built tools to make office and call-centre rostering faster, easier, and compliant for Australian businesses.
Related guides & resources
Learn more about office, admin and call-centre rostering and compliance.
Clerks Award rates guide
Current MA000002 pay rates, penalties, and classifications.
Clerks Award classification levels
How the clerical and call-centre levels work.
Handle casual conversion
Move regular casuals to permanent the right way.
Call centre rostering
Coverage planning and scheduling for contact centres.
Common roles in call centres
Download free job description templates for your call centres team
Simplify your rostering today
Join thousands of Australian businesses using RosterElf to create compliant rosters, apply award interpretation, and manage office, admin and call-centre coverage. Built for Australian businesses.
Frequently asked questions
- Most private-sector clerical and administrative employees are covered by the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002). It applies to office and admin staff whose main duties are clerical, and to call-centre operators through the award call-centre stream. Some businesses are instead covered by an industry-specific award, so always confirm coverage before you roster or set pay.
- Yes. Call-centre and customer-contact roles are covered by the dedicated call-centre stream (Schedule B) of the Clerks Award, which sets classification levels for these roles separately from general clerical work. Getting the stream and level right matters because base pay and every penalty build on it - see our Clerks Award classification levels guide.