Free restaurant template · Sheet
Restaurant weekly staff schedule template
Free to use and edit. These are starting drafts, not legal advice: have an employment attorney review any policy before you rely on it.
The template
[Restaurant name]
Weekly Staff Schedule
Week beginning:
Location:
Prepared by:
Date posted:
Forecast
| Row | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast sales ($) | ||||||||
| Scheduled hours | ||||||||
| Scheduled labor ($) | ||||||||
| Labor as % of sales |
Front of house
| Name / role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Total hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Back of house
| Name / role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Total hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before posting
- Nobody is scheduled for seven days in a row
- Shifts longer than six hours have a meal break planned
- Each minor's hours and end times are within the limits for their age
- An adult supervisor is on every shift where a minor works past 8 p.m.
- Anyone over 40 hours has been approved for overtime
- Time-off requests and known sick time are covered
Starting draft from Back of House Ops (backhousehr.com). Edit it to fit your restaurant. It is not legal advice.
Massachusetts rules
The rules that apply to this document
Does Massachusetts have a predictive scheduling or split-shift law?
We found no statewide predictive-scheduling law and no split-shift premium for adults as of September 2026. The state says schedules are generally a matter of agreement between employer and employee, apart from the rules for minors.
Full answer and official sourceIf I send someone home early on a slow night, what do I owe them?
If they were scheduled for three or more hours and arrived on time, you owe at least three hours of pay at no less than the $15.00 minimum wage, even if they worked only one. If you agreed in advance that their regular shifts are shorter than three hours, you pay only the hours worked.
Full answer and official sourceDo Massachusetts restaurants have to pay overtime?
State law does not require it: the Massachusetts overtime statute excludes anyone employed in a restaurant. Federal law has no restaurant exemption, so a restaurant covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act still owes time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek.
Full answer and official sourceDo restaurant employees have to get one day off in seven?
Very likely yes. The Massachusetts day-of-rest law requires 24 consecutive hours off in every seven days, including an unbroken 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. period, for "mercantile" establishments, and the law's definition of mercantile establishments includes restaurants.
Full answer and official sourceDo restaurant workers get a meal break in Massachusetts?
Yes. Anyone working more than six hours in a calendar day gets at least a 30-minute meal break. It can be unpaid only if the worker is free of all duties and free to leave; if you ask them to keep working or stay on site, the break is paid.
Full answer and official sourceWhat hours can 16- and 17-year-olds work in a restaurant?
Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on nights before a school day (10:15 p.m. if the restaurant stops serving at 10). On nights not before a school day, restaurants can keep them until midnight. The limits are 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week and six days a week, all year.
Full answer and official sourceWhat hours can 14- and 15-year-olds work in a restaurant?
Only outside school hours and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or until 9 p.m. from July 1 to Labor Day. During the school year, no more than 3 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a weekend day or holiday and 18 hours a week; when school is out, 8 hours a day and 40 a week. Never more than six days a week.
Full answer and official sourceDo teens need an adult supervisor at night?
Yes. After 8 p.m., any worker under 18 must be under the direct and immediate supervision of an adult supervisor who is in the workplace and reasonably accessible.
Full answer and official source
Rules checked against official sources on . General information, not legal or tax advice.
Where restaurants go wrong
- Scheduling a 17-year-old to close on a school night. The limits for minors apply all year.
- Building the schedule to last year's pattern instead of this week's forecast, then cutting people on the night and owing reporting pay.
- Counting overtime by the pay period. Federal overtime is counted by the workweek.
Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel. This template is a starting draft for you to edit. It does not decide how the rules apply to your restaurant, so have counsel review any policy or separation before you rely on it.
Want the numbers behind it? Try the restaurant calculators.
Rather have someone keep these documents current?
Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel.