Free rota template for UK teams
A clean, pre-formatted weekly staff rota you can fill in straight away. Download the Excel version to edit on your laptop, or the PDF to print and pin in the back-of-house.
No credit card required · UK-built & hosted
Prefer not to fill in a spreadsheet?
Build the same weekly rota online in minutes. WorkSchedule adds up hours, flags rest-break issues and sends it to staff phones.
What’s in the template
A simple Monday-to-Sunday grid built for UK hospitality and small business teams. Add staff names, roles, and shift times — the structure is already done.
- Monday–Sunday columns, named roles column
- Up to 20 employee rows (more if you copy-paste)
- Notes section for absences, holidays and manager comments
- Landscape A4 — fits cleanly on a single printed sheet
When a rota template stops being enough
Templates work fine for tiny teams. They start to break down once you have 8+ staff, regular swap requests, or anyone bumping up against the 48-hour week. At that point, online rota software pays for itself the first month.
How to use it
Open the Excel file, type your business name and the week beginning Monday. Add each employee on their own row with their job title. Fill in shifts as HH:MM-HH:MM (e.g. 09:00-17:00). Use OFF for non-working days. Print the PDF version if your team likes a paper rota in the kitchen.
What you get
Two formats
Excel for editing on a laptop, PDF for printing and pinning up in-store.
Pre-formatted
No setup. Open and start typing — colours, gridlines and headers are already done.
UK working week
Monday-start layout that matches how UK employers think about the week.
Free, forever
No email signup, no paywall, no watermarks. Yours to keep and share.
FAQs
Is this rota template really free?+
Yes. No email or signup required. Just download the file you want and use it.
Can I edit the Excel file?+
Yes. It opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice. All cells are unlocked.
Will it total the hours for me?+
No — Excel can’t reliably parse "09:00-17:00" text into hours. If you want automatic totals, use WorkSchedule online (free Starter plan).
Can I share it with staff?+
Yes. Email the PDF, print it, or share the Excel file. For instant updates and mobile access, use the online rota tool instead.
More questions? See pricing & plan FAQs or email us.
Related guides
All guidesUK hospitality labour cost benchmarks (2026)
Typical labour cost percentage benchmarks for UK hospitality venues in 2026 — pubs, restaurants, cafés, QSR and hotels — and how to interpret your own number.
Read guideUK shift hours explained: 1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts in hospitality
A plain-English UK guide to 1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts in hospitality — typical start and end times, handover practice, and how to keep shift transitions inside Working Time Regulations.
Read guideThe 4-day work week in UK hospitality: a practical guide
How to implement a 4-day work week in UK hospitality — shift rotation patterns (4-on-3-off, compressed hours), holiday accrual, the 48-hour opt-out, and what changes on the rota.
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