Shift scheduling for restaurants and QSR chains

Straight and split shifts in a casual dining outlet

Take an outlet serving lunch from 12 noon to 3:30 pm and dinner from 7 pm to 11:30 pm. The kitchen can run two straight shifts: a morning shift from 9 am to 6 pm covering prep and lunch, and an evening shift from 3 pm to 12 midnight covering dinner and the kitchen close, each with an hour's break. The floor works split, 11:30 am to 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm, which is eight working hours around the two services. Stewarding runs 4 pm to 1 am, so the pot wash is covered until the last pan is clean.

QSR crews by daypart

A QSR outlet open from 8 am to 1 am rosters crews rather than services. An opening crew from 7 am to 3 pm sets up the kitchen and handles the morning and lunch, a mid crew from 11 am to 7 pm doubles the team through lunch and the evening snack peak, and a closing crew from 5 pm to 1:30 am takes dinner, the late delivery rush and the close. Crew members rotate across stations, from the counter to the fry station to assembly, within the shift. Outlets that stay open all night add a night crew under the night shift flag, and its hours are filed to the day the shift began.

Weekly offs from Monday to Thursday

Friday, Saturday and Sunday carry the week, so weekly offs belong on Monday to Thursday. Give each person a personal weekly off and spread the offs by section. In a kitchen of eight, two cooks are off each day from Monday to Thursday. On a floor of nine, three are off on Monday and two on each of the next three days. Never let a section's only specialist and their back-up share an off day, so the tandoor or the bar is not left with a trainee alone. Staff see their weekly off and shifts in the mobile app once the roster is assigned.

Swaps, cover and women on late shifts

Stewards swap shifts constantly, usually with a word in the kitchen, and that is how a station ends up empty. Route swaps through the app instead. The steward picks a colleague and either one date or two dates to exchange, weekly offs included; once the colleague agrees, the restaurant manager and then HR approve. The roster changes only on the final approval, so the outlet manager always knows who is actually coming.

Closing crews and late floor shifts often include women. The OSH Code lets women work night shifts with their consent and under the safety conditions set by the government. Record consent, arrange a drop home or other safe transport after closing, and check any conditions your state adds before you roster women on the 1:30 am close.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Switch on Shifts & Roster and create the kitchen straight shifts, the floor split shift with both windows and the stewarding shift, each with its grace.
2. For QSR outlets, add opening, mid and closing crew shifts, and flag any shift that runs past midnight as a night shift.
3. Set each shift's weekly off pattern, then give every staff member a personal weekly off between Monday and Thursday.
4. Use a rotation template to move crew between opening and closing weeks, staggered per person, and assign festival weeks in bulk.
5. Let staff raise shift swaps in the mobile app, approved by the restaurant manager and then HR before the roster changes.

Read more about shifts and rosters in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions