Rotas · 1 min read
How to build a fair rota for a small café
Five rules that stop the same people always getting Saturdays, and a weekly routine that takes ten minutes.
By Maya Chen ·
Sample content. The author is fictional. The advice is general, so check your local rules.
Why fairness matters more than you think
In a team of six, one unfair rota is all it takes for someone to start job hunting. Staff rarely complain about hours. They complain about always closing on Fridays while someone else always gets Sunday off.
A fair rota isn't one where everyone gets what they want. It's one where everyone can see the pattern and trust that bad shifts move around.
Five rules that keep it fair
- Rotate closing and weekend shifts in a visible cycle, for example every third weekend
- Give each person at least one fixed day off they can plan around
- Cap back-to-back close-then-open shifts at one a week
- Ask for availability once a month, not every week
- When you break a rule, say why in the shift note
A ten-minute weekly routine
Pick one time to build next week, for example Thursday after the lunch rush. Copy this week, apply holidays and availability, move the shifts that changed, and check the hours against contracts.
Then publish at the same time every week. Staff stop asking "is the rota out yet?" when they know it always arrives on Thursday at four.
Common mistakes
- Building the rota around whoever complains loudest
- Leaving gaps to "sort out later" (they become sick-day panics)
- Changing a published rota without telling the person affected