Free staff rota templates for Excel and Google Sheets

How to use the weekly rota

1. Enter the date the week starts in cell B2. The day headers update on their own. The template starts the week on a Sunday; if your rota runs Monday to Sunday, enter the Monday and read the columns from there.
2. One row per person. Type start and finish times. Leave both blank for a day off.
3. Column Q is the unpaid break deducted from every shift (30 minutes by default). Set it to 20 if you deduct the statutory break, or 0 if breaks are paid.
4. Column R adds the week per person, breaks deducted. Compare it with contracted hours; check nobody averages more than 48 hours a week unless they have opted out.
5. Copy the sheet for next week and change B2.

New to rotas, or writing the first one for a new team? What a rota is and how to make one covers the systems and the eight steps. The rules the rota has to respect are short: 20 minutes on any shift over 6 hours, 11 hours between shifts, 24 hours off a week or 48 a fortnight. They are in UK rest breaks and your rota. Annual leave to plan around it: the holiday entitlement calculator. What an hour of staff costs: the UK employee cost calculator. Running 24/7 on 12-hour shifts? The 4 on 4 off and Continental patterns have their own calendar and template.

What a rota template does not do

A template holds the plan. It does not warn you that Friday's closer is on the Saturday open with nine hours of rest, it does not tell the team the rota changed, and it lives on one computer while the team is on the floor. When the file starts changing several times a day, the online rota planner keeps one live rota that everyone opens on their phone, with the breaks and rest checked as you type.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a staff rota in Excel?

Start from the weekly template: one row per person, two columns per day for start and finish, a break column and a formula that adds the week. Enter the week start date once and the day headers update. Copy the sheet for next week.

Do the rota templates work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Each template has a "Copy to Google Sheets" link that creates your own editable copy in your Google Drive, with formulas, formatting and the instructions tab.

Does the weekly rota work out overtime?

It adds the hours for the week per person, breaks deducted, so anyone over their contracted hours is visible. UK law sets no overtime rate: what is paid for extra hours is in the contract. The 48-hour average limit under the Working Time Regulations still applies unless the person has opted out.

How far in advance should a rota be published?

There is no statutory notice period in the UK. Two weeks is the common practice that reduces swaps and no-shows, and the contract may set a minimum. Whatever you choose, publish on the same day every week.

When does a rota template stop being enough?

When the rota has to be on the team's phones, when someone has to check the 11 hours of rest between shifts and the 20-minute break on shifts over 6 hours, or when swaps and sickness mean the file changes several times a day. A spreadsheet holds the plan; it does not tell anyone the plan changed.