What should a staff rota include?

Each person's name, the shift times for all seven days, and a weekly hours total - plus explicit OFF, HOL and SICK markers rather than blank cells, and a check that everyone has 11 hours' rest between shifts.

How far in advance should a rota be published?

There is no statutory minimum in the UK yet. Two to four weeks is the practical standard so people can arrange childcare and other commitments. Statutory shift-notice rights are expected in 2027.

What working time rules constrain a rota?

Eleven consecutive hours' rest between shifts, 24 hours' uninterrupted rest per week (or 48 per fortnight), a 20-minute break when a shift exceeds 6 hours, and an average working week under 48 hours unless the worker has opted out.

Is a spreadsheet rota good enough?

It works for small, stable teams. It tends to break down around fifteen people or when more than one manager edits it - published and edited versions drift apart, holiday is not visible against shifts, and rest breaches are only spotted after they have been worked.

Weekly rota template

A rota grid that catches the eleven-hour rest breach before your staff do - free to download, no sign-up.

By Abi Thomas · Template · Rotas & working time · Updated 8 August 2026

In short

A usable rota needs six columns: who, the seven days, and a weekly hours total - plus a rest check before you publish. Download the template below (opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets), or copy the structure from the page. The compliance checks are built into the file, because a rota that breaches the 11-hour rest rule is the single most common - and most avoidable - working time mistake.

Download the weekly rota template CSV · opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets

What's in the template?

The weekly rota layout.
Name	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Total
A. Okafor	09:00-17:00	09:00-17:00	OFF	12:00-20:00	09:00-17:00	30
B. Reid	OFF	12:00-20:00	09:00-17:00	09:00-17:00	12:00-20:00	30

Use OFF, HOL and SICK rather than blanks - an empty cell is ambiguous, and ambiguity is what produces the “I didn't know I was working” conversation.

The four checks before you publish

Run these every week - they're in the download too

11 hours between shifts. A 22:00 finish can't be followed by a 07:00 start. This is the one that catches people out.
24 hours' rest a week (or 48 per fortnight), uninterrupted.
A 20-minute break for any shift over 6 hours - and it must be a real break.
Under 48 hours a week on average across 17 weeks, unless the person has signed an opt-out.

The detail behind each is in rest between shifts.

How far ahead should a rota be published?

There's no statutory minimum in the UK yet, but two to four weeks is the practical standard - enough for people to arrange childcare and second jobs around it. New statutory shift-notice rights are expected in 2027; until then, notice is a contract and goodwill question (can my employer change my shifts?).

Running a rotating pattern instead?

If your team works a repeating cycle rather than a fresh rota each week, the 4-week rolling rota template handles that - including the early/late clash that breaks the 11-hour rule.

When a spreadsheet stops working

Roughly around fifteen people, or the first time two managers edit the same file. Spreadsheet rotas fail in predictable ways: the published version and the edited version drift apart, holiday isn't visible against shifts, and nobody spots the rest breach until someone's already worked it. If any of that is familiar, the file below is a stopgap rather than a system - CoDash shows rotas, leave and default hours in one place, with the gaps checked automatically.

More to download: All 30 templates · 66 guides explaining the rules · 24 calculators

One rota everyone can see

CoDash puts rotas, leave and default hours on one screen - shifts prefilled from each person's usual pattern, clashes visible before you publish.

See rotas and hours in the demo See the product