Free rota template
A free rota template you can print or edit
Week commencing, day, shift, who’s on and who covers. Print it for the staff room, or download it for Excel or Google Sheets and keep it on the shared drive.
| Week commencing | Day | Shift | On | Cover if needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov | Monday | Early 8:00–14:00 | Callum | Shirin |
| Mon 2 Nov | Monday | Late 14:00–20:00 | Shirin | Ewan |
| Mon 2 Nov | Tuesday | Early 8:00–14:00 | Ama | Callum |
| Mon 2 Nov | Tuesday | Late 14:00–20:00 | Ewan | Ama |
| Mon 2 Nov | Saturday | All day 9:00–17:00 | Harriet | Shirin |
The printed version has 18 blank rows under the example ones. The download opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
How to use the rota
Each row is one shift on one day. The Week commencing column lets you sort and filter in a spreadsheet, so a whole year can live in one file and you can still pull out next week in a click. Cover if needed is the first person to ring, agreed in advance, which saves the duty manager working through the contacts list at 7 am.
The example comes from a small garden centre in Shropshire with five staff, two shifts on weekdays and one long Saturday. The same columns suit a dental reception, a village shop or a community library.
Getting the rota fair
People notice three things on a rota: how many shifts they get, how many of them are the unpopular ones, and whether they ever get a weekend off. Count all three. A simple way is a tally on the back of the printout: one mark per shift, a circled mark for a late or a Saturday.
Lates
Share closing shifts round. The person who closes on Monday shouldn’t open on Tuesday.
Weekends
Aim for everyone to have at least one full weekend off in four, and write it on the rota so it’s seen.
Bank holidays
Keep a running list of who did the last one. Next one goes to the person who has gone longest without.
If you’re making it from scratch, the rota maker shares a list of names across dates for you and gives you a sheet like this one to print.
When the spreadsheet gets too much
A rota in a spreadsheet works until it has three versions: the one on the drive, the one someone printed on Thursday and the screenshot in the group chat. FairTurns keeps a single rota on one link. Click a day to add a shift, choose “Every week on Monday”, and the shifts stay up to 12 months ahead. Fill gives each empty shift to whoever has had the fewest turns, and staff mark the days they’re away so they’re left off. When someone leaves, Redistribute shows exactly who picks up their shifts before anything changes. Free, with no limit on people.
Questions
Is there a rota template in Excel?
Download for Excel or Sheets gives you a file that opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, with the columns and example rows ready to edit.
What’s the difference between a rota and a roster?
Nothing much. Rota is the usual word in the UK and Ireland, roster in Australia and New Zealand, schedule in the US. They all mean a list of who is on and when.
How far ahead should a staff rota be published?
Two weeks is a common minimum, and many staff ask for more. A four-week rota with changes kept to a minimum is easier for everyone to plan around.
Can I use this rota template for volunteers?
Yes. Rename Shift to Session and Cover to Reserve, and it works for a charity shop, a food bank or a church rota.
Read next
Free rota maker
A rota maker for the UK: names in, a fair rota out, ready to print or open in Excel.
Free rota apps in the UK
Free and cheap rota apps for UK teams, households and volunteers, checked against each one’s own pages.
Roster vs rota vs schedule
Three words for the same list of who is on and when, and which one to use where.
Make your roster free
Click a day, add people, share one link. No card, no limit on people or dates.