How far in advance should you give employees their work roster? - Planday

How far in advance should you give employees their work roster? 

Trying to manage your employees’ schedules is time-consuming and difficult. Planning their work shifts, creating a roster, and sending it out takes a lot of time and effort. You might also be balancing a workforce who are looking for flexibility in their shifts to suit their lifestyle post COVID-19 lockdowns. Does planning and providing your roster in advance help employee retention? 

We’re here to answer all your questions about providing employees with their roster. Including how far in advance you should send employees their work roster. By providing it in plenty of time it can increase your employee satisfaction and help your business grow. 

What should a work roster look like?

In its most basic form, a work roster is a schedule that lists: 

• Each employee’s name 
• The shifts they’re scheduled to work during a certain week (days and times) 
• Any scheduled breaks (if relevant) 
• The location where they’ll complete those shifts (if relevant). 

You might also choose to list your employee’s responsibilities and tasks during their shifts. A roster needs to be displayed (or provided) in an easy to access place for employees and given in advance.

In Australia, rosters should be provided at least seven days before the start of the roster. 

There are rules about when employees can work, what hours they work and how often they must have a break. These rules can be set out in different places such as an award or an employment contract. Ensuring you’re compliant with scheduling rules under the award your employees are on can be tricky. An automation feature that prevents accidental mistakes when creating rosters can be ideal and help improve compliance confidence. 

What are the benefits of giving your employees their work roster in advance?

Planning a work roster a couple of weeks in advance could initially be a lot of work up front, but the benefits should outweigh this. 

By providing your staff their roster in advance, they can compare it to their personal calendar to see if they can do all their planned shifts. It also gives them enough time to tell you if they can’t do a shift. Or even swap shifts with a co-worker if needed. Rostering functionalities like shift swap requests, communication and setting availability in advance can lead to increased rates of employee happiness and satisfaction. This can lead to a more stable work environment, and hopefully lead to more revenue growth. 

So, how far in advance should you give your employees their work roster? 

How far in advance should you provide a work roster?

As mentioned above, rosters should be provided at least seven days before the start of a roster. However, by giving your employees their roster at least two weeks (14 days) in advance, this will help your team manage their life outside of work. 

It’s still a good idea to set expectations up front with your team. Whether you provide the roster on time or in advance – let them know. Then make it a point to send out the roster when you say you will. Employees are managing a life outside of work including childcare, shifts for a second job or studying, so they’ll appreciate the consistency. 

By having all the information your staff needs in one place, everyone should know where they need to be at the right place and the right time, and hopefully there should be fewer misunderstandings. 

As we’re on the go more and more, your employees will appreciate it if they’re able to access the roster from anytime, anywhere and from any device.