Advice on staff rota…

[MajorTom]

Hi all,

I’m trying to sort a rota for a new shop.

Hours are:

Monday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Tuesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Wednesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Thursday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Friday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Saturday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Sunday 9:30-9 (11.5 hours)

Total of 92.5hrs

We only need one member of staff on at once - unless the idea would be 12hr shifts. Then we’d need someone extra for breaks?

Just looking for advice on how someone with experience would staff those shifts.

Many thanks.

 

[StrategyDoctor]

Hi all,

I’m trying to sort a rota for a new shop.

Hours are:

Monday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Tuesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Wednesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Thursday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Friday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Saturday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Sunday 9:30-9 (11.5 hours)

Total of 92.5hrs

We only need one member of staff on at once - unless the idea would be 12hr shifts. Then we’d need someone extra for breaks?

Just looking for advice on how someone with experience would staff those shifts.

Many thanks.

Start with “it depends” rather than jumping straight to 12-hour shifts. In the current market you’ll often find very different people want very different patterns – some will love early starts and school-hours, others only want evenings/weekends, semi-retired happy for a few ad-hoc hours. Not everyone is chasing full-time hours.

A few thoughts:

1. Avoid defaulting to 12-hour shifts : You can do them, but for a customer-facing shop they’re tiring, you’ll need proper breaks, and it becomes hard to cover sickness/holidays if you only have 2 people who know the job.

Think about something like:

Mon–Sat: Early: 09:30–16:00 (6.5h)
Late: 16:00–23:00 (7h)

Sun: Early: 09:30–15:00 (5.5h)
Late: 15:00–21:00 (6h)

All shifts are 5.5–7 hours, easier for breaks and less brutal than 12s.

2. Build the rota around 3–5 people, not 1–2: Rather than hunting for the unicorn who’ll do 90+ hours, consider 3–5 staff, with a mix of:

2 people at ~30–35 hours (your “core” team)
Others on 15–25 hours (students, parents, second-jobbers)

You can then fill early and late shifts around their availability: School-hours parent may prefer the early shifts. Student / younger staff? Lates and some of the weekends.

Build in resilience? Make sure at least 3 people can cover each shift (e.g. Friday late, Sunday late), so you’re not stuck if someone’s ill, holidays, resignations, etc

If you imagine the ideal week, what works best? One almost-full-timer plus a couple of reliable part-timers, or a bigger pool of 4–6 part-timers you can flex around?

 

[WaveJumper]

Sensible advice above in my opinion a bigger pool of people are better than a couple, don't under estimate cover that might be required for un-planned absence, plus of course as mentioned above holidays etc. Something I always made sure of back in my retail days is, staffing cover always overlapped so there was good communication between shifts

Also worth mentioning, security if money involved how will this be accounted for between shifts etc, any weak spots in your procedures can easily be taken advantage of, something to think about.

You might also want to visit the ACS website for rules on breaks etc they have all the info you might need

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Will there not be busy times where one is not enough, Xmas, Saturdays etc?

What happens if someone wants to go to the toilet?

How do you cover breaks?

You are open 7 days a week, so will need 4-5 people, more if you take holidays into consideration.

 

[Newchodge]

Start with the law on hours.

1. 48 hours maximum per week (averaged over 17 weeks) unless opt out is signed. Health and safety suggests not to exceed 48.
2. Minimum break of 11 hours between shifts
3. Minimum break of 24 hours every 7 days or 2 x 24 hours over 14 days. Must be additional to 11 hours between shifts
4. Minimum 20 minute breaks if shift exceeds 6 hours (even by 1 minute)

Rule 4 means you need someone extra if anyone works (or may need to stay) beyond 6 hours, not for 12 hour shifts.
Are you sure it is safe to have single working up until 11:00 pm?

Definitely look at 4 minimum number of staff, probably 5 as you will need cover for holidays. With 5 staff there will be someone on holiday for 28 weeks.

Try to avoid an absolute set rota pattern - staff work better if their needs are taken into account.

 

[fisicx]

I’d not be happy with a 12 hour shift. 8 hours would be my limit. And I’d expect flexibility to cover appointments, holidays and other necessary time off.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

What happens about customer service do you shut the shot to have your one person deal with a problem
Are you risking someone's life if a robbery occurs
Why do you think that modern shops use plenty of part time staff and a full time manager
are you shutting up for mis morning breaks, Lunch and afternoon breaks, then supper
Who covers on sick days

 

[syedsheraz]

Hi all,

I’m trying to sort a rota for a new shop.

Hours are:

Monday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Tuesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Wednesday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Thursday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Friday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Saturday 9:30-11 (13.5 hours)
Sunday 9:30-9 (11.5 hours)

Total of 92.5hrs

We only need one member of staff on at once - unless the idea would be 12hr shifts. Then we’d need someone extra for breaks?

Just looking for advice on how someone with experience would staff those shifts.

Many thanks.

With a schedule totalling 92.5 hours and only one person needed at a time, you could cover it with two full-timers plus a part-timer, or three part-timers depending on availability. If you choose 12-hour shifts, you’ll need overlap to allow for breaks, because legally staff must have uninterrupted rest periods. It’s often easier to split the day into two shorter shifts (e.g., morning/afternoon) to stay compliant and avoid burnout. A simple rotating weekly pattern usually works well for small shops.

 

[fisicx]

You need at least one person spare so you can cover holidays and sickness.

Where my sister works they do 4 hour shifts with options for overtime. It means more staff on the books but it opens up a wider selection of candidates (such as mums with children in school).

 

[pentel]

Where my sister works they do 4 hour shifts with options for overtime. It means more staff on the books but it opens up a wider selection of candidates (such as mums with children in school).

More staff on shorter hours = reduced company NI and more flexibility.

 

[Newchodge]

With a schedule totalling 92.5 hours and only one person needed at a time, you could cover it with two full-timers plus a part-timer, or three part-timers depending on availability. If you choose 12-hour shifts, you’ll need overlap to allow for breaks, because legally staff must have uninterrupted rest periods. It’s often easier to split the day into two shorter shifts (e.g., morning/afternoon) to stay compliant and avoid burnout. A simple rotating weekly pattern usually works well for small shops.

With a 13.5 hour day and 12 hour shifts how would an overlap work to cover breaks, given the first break will need to be taken around 1:00 pm?