Free download
Free rota template
A weekly staff rota you can use today: days across the top, people down the side, shift times in the middle, hours totalled per person and a column for notes. There is a worked example to show the shape and blank rows underneath to start on.
No email address, no sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers with nothing to convert. Free to use, change and share.
The whole week on one sheet
Monday to Sunday across the top, one row per person, shift times written the way you already say them.
Hours added up per person
A total hours column so a 48-hour week is visible before you send the rota out, not after payroll.
Example plus blank rows
Five filled rows to copy the pattern from and 12 empty rows below. Delete the example when you are ready.
Weekly staff rota
Week commencing: ______________________
What the template looks like
This is the same grid as the file, with the worked example filled in. Printing this page gives you the blank version on landscape paper, if a sheet on the wall is what your team actually reads.
| Name | Role | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Doyle | Supervisor | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | Off | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | 10:00-14:00 | Off | 36 | Opens up Monday to Friday |
| Priya Shah | Team member | Off | 12:00-20:00 | 12:00-20:00 | 12:00-20:00 | Off | 10:00-18:00 | 10:00-18:00 | 40 | Lates and weekends |
| Tom Whelan | Team member | 09:00-17:00 | 09:00-17:00 | 09:00-17:00 | Annual leave | Annual leave | Off | Off | 24 | Two days booked off, cover arranged |
| Grace Okafor | Apprentice | 09:00-15:00 | Off | 09:00-15:00 | 09:00-15:00 | 09:00-15:00 | Off | Off | 24 | College on Tuesdays |
| Dan Reilly | Weekend cover | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | 08:00-16:00 | 08:00-16:00 | 16 | Weekends only |
Showing four of the 12 blank rows in the file. Total hours count the full shift span, so take off unpaid breaks yourself.
How to use it
- Put each person on their own row and type their shift times under each day, for example 08:00-16:00.
- Write Off for a day not worked, or Annual leave, Sick or Training where the reason matters.
- Total hours is the week per person. Overnight shifts are fine: 22:00-06:00 counts as 8 hours.
- The totals here count the full shift span. Take off unpaid breaks yourself if your team has them.
- Delete the five example rows once you have the shape, and add as many rows as you need.
- Insert a row above the header for the week commencing date before you print it or send it round.
The same notes sit at the bottom of the downloaded file, below the grid, so you can delete them in one go once you have the hang of it.
When the spreadsheet stops scaling
A template is fine until the week starts changing after you send it
A spreadsheet is honestly good enough for a small, steady team, and if that is you, take the file and get on with your week. It starts costing you when someone books leave after you have shared it, when you are not sure who has seen the latest version, or when the hours only add up to a surprise once payroll runs.
One version, on their phones
Publish once and everyone gets the rota on their own phone. Change it afterwards and only the people whose shifts moved are notified.
Leave blocks the grid
Approved holiday and bank holidays are in the same grid as the shifts, so you cannot accidentally roster someone who is away.
Cost as you plan
Each draft adds up its own wage cost while you build it, with overtime flagged per person before you publish.
Gaps fill themselves
Post uncovered hours as open shifts for staff to claim, and let them arrange swaps between themselves with you keeping the final say.
Free plan for up to 10 people at one location, with no time limit and no card. Paid plans have a 14-day trial.
About this template
Is this rota template actually free?
Yes. Click the download button and the file arrives. There is no email address to hand over, no account to create and no watermark, and you are free to change it, rename it and share it inside your organisation.
What format is the template in?
CSV, which opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and Numbers with nothing to convert and no macros to trust. Save it as a spreadsheet in whichever of those you use if you want colours and formulas on top.
Can I print a blank rota instead?
Yes. Use the Print button next to the grid on this page: the print layout drops the website around it and the worked example, and gives you the blank grid across a landscape sheet, ready for a pen and the staff room wall.
How are the total hours worked out?
Each shift counts the time between the start and the finish, so 08:00 to 16:00 is 8 hours, and an overnight shift such as 22:00 to 06:00 is also 8. Days marked Off, Annual leave or anything else that is not a time range count as zero. Unpaid breaks are not deducted, so take those off yourself if your team has them.
What is the difference between a rota and a schedule?
Nothing but vocabulary. A rota, a schedule and a roster are the same thing: who is working, when and where. This template works whichever word your team uses.
When is a spreadsheet no longer enough?
Usually at the point where the rota changes after you have shared it. If leave requests, swaps and last-minute cover mean you are re-sending the file and answering "is this the latest one?", the version control is costing you more than the tool would. Until then, a template is a perfectly sensible answer.