Staff rota template (Excel, UK)

What is in the workbook

• Rota tab: staff rows with an hourly rate column, start and end times for Monday to Sunday, automatic total hours and total cost per person, and week totals for the team.
• Clash highlight: a name that appears on more than one row turns red, so you spot the same person carrying more than one shift line per day before it becomes a double booking.
• Week View tab: a formula-linked, printable version showing shifts as "09:00 - 17:00" per person per day. Landscape, fits one page wide.
• README tab: how to use it, the assumptions, and what each formula does.

How the rota maths works

• Hours per person: the sheet sums (end time minus start time) across all seven days. An end time earlier than the start time is treated as an overnight shift, so 22:00 to 06:00 counts as 8 hours.
• Cost per person: total hours multiplied by that person's hourly rate, shown in pounds. The bottom row gives the full weekly staffing cost, which is the number that actually matters when you are deciding whether Saturday needs three people or two.
• Breaks: times are taken as paid time. If breaks are unpaid, enter the shift as two lines or knock the break off the end time.
• Pairing it with leave: before you rota someone in, check they are not on holiday. The holiday entitlement calculator works out what leave your staff are actually due.

Rates and thresholds referenced on this page were last checked: 15 July 2026. Example pay rates in the workbook are illustrative; check current National Minimum Wage rates on gov.uk before setting pay.

How do I make a staff rota in Excel?

Set up a grid with one row per staff member and a start and end time column for each day of the week. Add a formula that sums (end minus start) across the days to get hours, and multiply by an hourly rate for cost. This free staff rota template excel download has all of that built already, plus clash highlighting and a printable week view.

How does the rota work out hours and cost per person?

Each row sums the shift lengths across the seven days, handling overnight shifts where the end time is past midnight. Hours are then multiplied by that person's hourly rate to show their staffing cost for the week, and the bottom row totals hours and cost for the whole team.

What does the clash highlight do?

If the same name appears on more than one row, both cells turn red. One person on two rows means they hold more than one shift line, so they could be double-booked on the same day. Merge their shifts onto one row or check the days do not overlap.

Can I print the rota for the wall?

Yes. The Week View tab is a formula-linked, print-ready copy of the rota showing each person's shifts as start to end times. It is set to landscape and scaled to fit one page wide, so you can print it or save it as a PDF and stick it up in the staff room.

Does the free staff rota template work in Google Sheets?

Yes. It only uses portable functions (IF, TEXT, ROUND, SUM, COUNTIF), so it opens cleanly in Google Sheets. The conditional formatting for clashes carries across too. There are no macros.

How far in advance should I publish a rota?

There is no single UK legal minimum notice for rotas, but contracts and fairness expectations matter, and reasonable notice of shifts is good practice. Many employers aim for at least a week ahead. A template that takes minutes rather than hours to fill in makes that much easier to stick to.

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