staff rotas

8/7/2019 staff rotas

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Staff rotasKey skills in hospitality and catering

Preparing a rotaAn example rota

Keeping within the law


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Without staff, a hospitality business simply could not operate. Making sure thatthe right staff, with the right skills, are available when they are needed is vital toproviding good service. This involves a lot more than just ensuring that there are

enough bodies about the place, because as well as making the business tick, theyalso cost a lot of money.

A staff rota can help you get the right balance, so that the service is deliveredproperly at busy times as well as when its quiet, staff are busy but notoverstretched, and costs are kept under control.

Preparing a rotaA rota enables managers to plan their staffing, taking into account the expected

type and level of business from week to week, day to day and even hour to hour.Its not a perfect science, but planning a staff rota based on as good a forecastas possible is essential. It can also be the most challenging part of any operationbecause it could be very costly to the business if it is not correct.

There are lots of questions to ask when you draw up a staff rota:

Do you have all shifts covered?

How many staff are needed to serve the expected number of guests?

Are all staff trained or do they need supervision?

What is your total staff budget?

Do you have a contingency plan if someone calls in sick?

Have you taken into consideration days off and holidays?

Are you complying with the law?

Staff/customer ratios

To plan a staff rota, you have to know how many staff you need to meetcustomer demand. Some organisations use ratios for example, a restaurantmay plan to have one member of staff for every 15 customers, which is a ratio of1:15. So:

if you had up to 15 customers, you would need one member of staff

if you had up to 30 customers, you would need two members of staff

and so on.

How does your organisation work out how many staff are needed? Do youuse staff/customer ratios?

Staff rotas | Key skills in hospitality and catering | 3

Making surethat the rightstaff, with the

right skills, are

available when

they are needed

is vital to

providing good

service


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A rotaenablesmanagers

to plan their

staffing

4 | Key skills in hospitality and catering | Staff rotas

An example rotaThe next page shows an example rota for the Berkshire Restaurant, which seats

a maximum of 60 people and is part of a family-run hotel. The restaurant is opento both hotel guests and the public, and requires a booking to be made.

The beginning of the week is normally quiet, but business picks up on Wednesdayand Thursday and peaks at the weekend. Most weeks, business guests stay at thehotel from Monday to Thursday, and tourists stay for weekend breaks fromFriday to Sunday.

There are four full-time staff (each working over 35 hours a week) and two part-time weekend staff. In addition, two casual staff members are available to workwhen required. Full-time staff have 2 days off per week. The ratio of staff tocustomers at the Berkshire Hotel is one member of staff to every 15 guests.

This enables the high level of customer service expected at the Berkshire tobe provided.

Use the provisional staff rota for Week 26 at the Berkshire (opposite) towork out the following:

Calculate the number of hours each member of staff is planned to work.

Calculate the total wage cost using the hourly rates given.

Work out what fraction this wage cost is of the forecast revenue asfollows:

Total wage cost4,250

Calculate the percentage of hours worked by part-time staff as follows:

Number of hours worked by part-time staff x 100Total hours worked

Given the staff/customer ratio of 1:15, what is the maximum number ofcustomers who could be served for the following meals?

Monday dinner:

Saturday dinner:

If the restaurant was fully booked on Saturday night (60 customers),would there be enough staff booked to work? What action would the

manager need to take?


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When planningstaff rotas, youmust make sure

that you stay

within

employment

law

The Berkshire Restaurant

Staff rota Week 26

Breakfast served 07.3010.00

Lunch served 12.0014.30

Afternoon tea served 15.0017.30

Dinner served 19.0021.30

Staff member

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Total hours

Karen (full-time)

07.0015.30

07.0015.30

07.0015.30

07.0015.30

07.0015.30

OFF

OFF

Am

anda (full-time)

OFF

OFF

09.0015.00

09.0015.00

09.0017.00

07.0015.30

07.0015.30

19.0021.30

19.0021.30

Keeley (full-time)

15.0022.30

15.0022.30

OFF

OFF

15.0022.30

15.0022.30

15.0022.30

Sim

on (full-time)

OFF

OFF

15.0022.30

15.0022.30

07.3010.00

07.0011.00

07.0011.00

18.0022.30

18.3022.30

18.3022.30

Nicola (part-time)

18.0022.30

18.0022.30

11.3021.00

Andy (part-time)

07.3016.00

07.3016.00

Michelle (casual)

Kelvin (casual)

Total revenue from the restaurant forecast for the week = 4,250

Em

ployment hourly rates = 7 full-time, 5.50 part-time


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The WorkingTime Regulationswere introduced

to safeguard

employees from

being forced to

work long hours

that could

damage their

health

Think about how your organisation plans its staff rotas.

How do you estimate the number of staff needed?

How do you deal with unexpected events like extra bookings or staffoff sick?

Keeping within the lawWhen planning staff rotas, you must make sure that you stay within employmentlaw. In particular, the Working Time Regulations were introduced to safeguardemployees from being forced to work long hours that could damage their health.

Look through the article on the next page to find the answers to thesequestions.

1 What is the maximum average working week?

a 24 hours

b 40 hours

c 48 hours

2 How many days off must an employee have each week?

a 1 day

b 2 days

c 3 days

3 When can an employer ask a worker to work more hours?

a If they have agreed this with a trade unionb If the employee has voluntarily signed an opt-out

c If their terms and conditions state they must

4 What is an employee able to opt out of?

a The maximum working hours

b The special rules for night working

c The provision for rest periods

You can find out more by looking up the DTI website athttp://www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/


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The Working Time Regulations

The introduction of the Working Time Regulations in 1998 meant that, for thefirst time, controls on working hours were applied by law generally across theUK economy. The Regulations implemented the Working Time Directive,which introduced:

a maximum average working week of 48 hours

a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours

an uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours every 7 days

a compulsory rest break where the working day is over 6 hours

special rules for those who work at night, including a restriction onthe number of hours that can be worked, and entitlements to freehealth assessments.

The Regulations apply to all workers with only a few exceptions. Self-employedworkers are not subject to the provisions, and the working time limit does not cover workers with autonomous decision-making powers.

The Working Time Directive gave Member States the ability to allow individualsto opt out of the 48-hour working time limit. DTI guidance states that, even if an individual worker agrees to work more than 48 hours, their employer must not allow them to do so unless they sign an opt-out, which they can cancel at any time. Employers cannot force a worker to sign an opt-out, and workerscannot be dismissed or suffer detriment for refusing to sign. Employers must keep a record of who has agreed to work long hours.

Workers are not allowed to opt out of the provisions on rest periods and breaks

and night working, presumably because the risks to health and safety aregreater if these are not complied with. There are also specific regulations for workers in sectors where there is a clear link between hours of work and healthand safety for example, lorry drivers and airline pilots.

Because of the focus on the health and safety of workers, enforcement of theWorking Time Regulations is mainly undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive, although some rights can be individually enforced throughEmployment Tribunals.

(Adapted from: Working time: widening the debate , DTI, June 2004)

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Answers to the questions on page 6:

1 c, 2 a, 3 b, 4 a

This workbook will help with the following parts of your qualifications:

NVQ level 3 units

HS2 Establish and develop positive working relationships in hospitality

HS3 Contribute to the control of resources

NVQ level 2 units

2GEN1(ALB2/4) Create and maintain effective working relationships

Key skills

Communication: C2.2, 2.3

Application of number: N2.2

Technical certificates

Health and Safety

Lin

ks to qualifications

Crown copyright 2005

staff rotas

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