Weekly staff rota
Staff down the side, Monday to Sunday across. Type each shift and its hours: weekly totals, staff on each day and wage cost fill in for you.
Free staff rota templates: Excel, Google Sheets and printable PDF
Weekly and 4-week rolling rotas that add up hours and wage cost for you, a printable A4 grid, and a 24/7 security rota. No sign-up, no email.
Download a rota template
4-week rolling rota
Four weeks of shift codes (early, late, night, long day, off). Names carry down, hours add up, and a summary flags anyone averaging over 48 hours.
24/7 security guard rota
Four guards on a 4-on-4-off pattern of 12-hour days and nights, with a check that every day and night is covered.
How the 24/7 pattern worksBlank rota template
A blank weekly grid you can print straight from this page, or download as an A4 PDF.
| Employee | Role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4-week rolling rota template
A rolling rota repeats on a fixed cycle, so staff know their pattern weeks ahead and you set it once. The template uses a shift code for each day. Change the code key to match your own shift times and the weekly hours recalculate, with a four-week average beside each name so you can spot anyone going over 48 hours a week.
| Code | Shift | Times | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | Early | 06:00-14:00 | 8 |
| L | Late | 14:00-22:00 | 8 |
| N | Night | 22:00-06:00 | 8 |
| D | Long day | 08:00-20:00 | 12 |
| O | Off | Off | 0 |
Staff rota template for Google Sheets
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01
Download the Excel file
Pick the weekly or 4-week template above. The .xlsx keeps its formulas when it moves to Sheets.
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02
Upload it to Google Drive
Drag the file into Drive, then open it with Google Sheets. Choose File, Save as Google Sheets to keep an editable copy.
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03
Share one version
Share the sheet with your managers so everyone edits the same rota instead of passing files around.
Staff rota example
A filled-in week at a small café with a supervisor, a barista, a part-time front of house and weekend cover. Shifts of 6 hours or more include a 30-minute unpaid break, so the hours are paid hours, and nobody works more than 48 in the week.
| Employee | Role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priya | Supervisor | 07:00-15:30 | 07:00-15:30 | Off | 07:00-15:30 | 11:00-19:30 | 07:00-15:30 | Off | 40 |
| Sam | Barista | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | Off | Off | 09:00-17:00 | 10:00-16:00 | 35.5 |
| Jess | Front of house | Off | Off | 11:00-15:00 | 11:00-15:00 | 11:00-17:00 | 11:00-17:00 | Off | 19 |
| Leo | Weekend cover | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | 15 |
How to make a staff rota
01
List staff and roles
Put each person and their role down the first column.
02
Fill in the days
Add start and finish times (or shift codes) under each day of the week.
03
Check breaks and total hours
Build in the rest breaks the law requires, then check each person’s weekly total.
04
Share it
Print it for the staff room or send the file, so everyone works from one version.
Not sure what the law expects of a rota? Read UK rota laws for employers, or check a shift with the break entitlement calculator and the 48-hour week checker.
Stop rebuilding this every week
The spreadsheet works, until it doesn’t
A template is a fine start, but it can’t copy last week in a tap, warn you about a holiday clash, publish to everyone’s phone, or turn into an approved timesheet. WagePilot does all of that: free for one site of up to 3 staff, then a flat £29 a month per site, never per head.
- Copy last week and tweak, no retyping
- Holiday-clash and double-booking warnings
- Publish to staff phones instantly
- Becomes an audited timesheet, ready for payroll
Rota templates by trade
Free rota template: common questions
Is the staff rota template really free?
Yes. Every template on this page is free to download with no sign-up and no email: the weekly rota and 4-week rolling rota in Excel, the printable PDF and the 24/7 security rota. If you would rather not rebuild a spreadsheet every week, WagePilot’s rota builder is free for one site of up to 3 staff, with no card.
Does the rota template work in Excel and Google Sheets?
Yes. The .xlsx files open in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and LibreOffice with their formulas working. In Google Sheets, upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it, or use File, Import with the CSV version for a plain grid.
What is a 4-week rolling rota?
A rota that repeats every four weeks, so staff know their pattern well in advance. You set the cycle once with shift codes (early, late, night, long day, off) and it rolls on. It is common in care, security and manufacturing, where cover runs around the clock.
How do I make sure a rota is legal in the UK?
Build in a 20-minute break for shifts over 6 hours, 11 hours’ rest between shifts, 24 hours off each week (or 48 each fortnight), and keep hours to 48 a week on average unless the worker has opted out. Our guide to UK rota laws covers notice, night work and Sunday working too.
Can I print the rota?
Yes. Download the printable PDF: an A4 landscape weekly grid with 16 rows, space for the site and week, and the key break rules along the bottom. The Excel versions are also set up to print one page wide on A4 landscape.
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