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FREE TEMPLATE Last updated 18 August 2026

Free weekly staff rota template (Excel)

A Monday-to-Sunday rota grid for a shift-based team, with roles, shift times and a weekly hours total that adds itself up.

Weekly staff rota

Excel (.xlsx) • Ready to download

Monday to Sunday, the UK way round
Names, roles and shift times
Automatic weekly hours total
UK shift codes: AL, BH, TOIL, SICK

No signup required. Works in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

This rota template is a planning tool, not legal or payroll advice. It does not check working time limits, rest breaks or minimum wage for you. Check GOV.UK, or take advice, before relying on a rota for compliance. 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.

References HR Hub disclaimer UK employment guides GOV.UK Acas

What's in this template

A weekly grid that is ready to use

Employee name and role

One row per person, with roles including zero-hours so you can see contract types at a glance.

Monday to Sunday

Columns run Monday first, which is how UK rotas are normally written.

Automatic hours total

Enter hours as numbers and the Total hours column adds them up, with a daily total across the bottom.

Shift code legend

AL, BH, TOIL, SICK and TR are defined on the Instructions tab so everyone reads the rota the same way.

Working time reminders

The 48-hour average, the 20-minute break and the 11-hour daily rest rule are printed on the Instructions tab.

Notes column

Room to record cover arrangements, swaps or the reason someone is off.

How the rota reads

Each day column takes either a shift time or a code. Enter hours as numbers if you want the totals to calculate.

EmployeeRoleMonTueWed…Hours
Amelia Clarke Manager 09:00–17:00 09:00–17:00 OFF … 32
Zainab Ahmed Zero-hours OFF 17:00–23:00 17:00–23:00 … 18
Liam Docherty Staff AL AL AL … 0

Codes are spelled out on the Instructions tab. Marking annual leave as AL rather than leaving a blank means the rota doubles as an absence record.

How to make a weekly rota in Excel

Four steps, if you would rather build your own

1. Set up the grid

Names in column A, roles in column B, then Monday to Sunday across C to I. Freeze the panes so names stay visible as you scroll.

2. Decide times or hours

Either shift times (09:00–17:00) or hours as a number. Pick one — mixing them breaks the totals.

3. Add the totals

Put =SUM(C6:I6) in the Total column and copy it down, then a daily total row underneath.

4. Add a code legend

Agree what OFF, AL, BH and TOIL mean and write them on the sheet, or people will invent their own.

Or skip all of that — the template above already has the grid, the formulas and the legend. See our shift patterns guide if you need a repeating pattern rather than a fresh rota each week.

How to use this template

Download and go in four steps

1. Download

Grab the Excel file — no signup, and it opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice.

2. Add your team

Replace the sample names and roles with your own staff.

3. Fill in the shifts

Enter start and end times, or hours, using the shift codes on the Instructions tab.

4. Share it

Print it, email it or pin it up — and give staff reasonable notice of their shifts.

Who uses a weekly rota

Built for teams whose week changes week to week

Pubs, cafés and restaurants

Plan front of house and kitchen around trade, and mark up bank holiday cover.

Retail

Match staffing to footfall across a seven-day trading week.

Care and healthcare

Keep cover visible where a gap on the rota is a safety problem, not just an inconvenience.

Paying people for the hours on the rota is not the same as paying them for the hours they work — see the minimum wage checker.

When the spreadsheet starts costing you time

A rota in Excel works until someone swaps a shift, calls in sick, or asks what they are owed. RosterElf keeps the rota, the clock-in record and the payroll export in one place.

Start free trial See rota software

UK rota guides

The rules that shape what you can put on a rota

Rota laws in the UK

The 48-hour week, the opt-out, rest breaks and the notice you owe staff before a shift.

Read the guide

Shift patterns explained

4 on 4 off, continental, Panama and DuPont — how each one covers the week.

Read the guide

Holiday entitlement

The 5.6 weeks, what it comes to in days, and where bank holidays sit.

Read the guide

Other free rota templates

Same conventions, different planning horizon

Monthly staff rota

All 31 days on one row per person — for spotting leave clashes a month ahead.

Get the template

Rolling rota (4 on 4 off)

Two rolling patterns worked out across four teams, with a live cover count.

Get the template

Blank rota

An empty Monday-to-Sunday grid, set to print on one landscape page.

Get the template
FAQ

Weekly rota template questions

  • Put employee names down the left, the days of the week across the top, and shift times in the cells where they meet. Add a =SUM() in a Total column so hours calculate themselves, and agree a set of codes for OFF, annual leave and bank holidays. The template above already has all of that.

  • Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets — the layout and the SUM formulas carry over. The same is true of LibreOffice Calc.

  • Because that is how UK rotas are normally written. It also lines up with how weekly rest and the 48-hour average are counted, so the rota and the working time calculation stay in step.

  • Yes — insert rows anywhere in the grid and copy the Total hours formula down. If you add rows below the daily total row, extend its range to include them.