Work Schedule Maker

How do I make a work schedule?

List your employees down the side and the days across the top, then type each person's shift into the day's box. Set your unpaid break rule and overtime rule so the hours are right, and check the warnings for overlaps or short rest. Download the PDF to post or share, and start next week from a copy of this one.

1. Type your team name and pick the week.
2. Add each employee and their role.
3. Type shifts into the grid; use Mon→Fri to copy a Monday shift across the week.
4. Check hours, overtime and warnings.
5. Download the PDF, Excel file or calendar files.

How are overtime hours worked out on a schedule?

Under the federal rule, hours over 40 in a workweek are overtime. California also counts hours over 8 in a day as overtime and hours over 12 in a day as double time. The schedule adds each person's scheduled hours after unpaid breaks and applies the rule you choose, using the same logic as our timesheet calculator.

Worked examples from this page's code, with a 30 minute unpaid break on shifts over 6 hours:

To check real pay, use the timesheet calculator with the hours actually worked.

How do I schedule an overnight shift?

Type the start and end as they are, such as 22-6 or 11p-7a. An end time earlier than the start runs past midnight, so the shift counts as 8 hours on the day it starts, less any unpaid break. If the next day's shift starts before this one ends, or less than 8 hours later, the schedule shows a warning.

Can employees add their shifts to a phone calendar?

Yes. Pick an employee next to Calendar file and download it. The .ics file follows the iCalendar standard, so Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook can import it. Times are saved without a time zone, so each shift shows at the same clock time wherever the phone is set.

Do you have to post work schedules in advance?

It depends on where you work. Oregon's predictive scheduling law makes retail, hospitality and food service employers with at least 500 employees worldwide post written schedules 14 calendar days ahead, pay extra for late changes and leave 10 hours of rest between shifts unless the worker agrees. Check your own state and city rules.

Under Oregon's rule, a back-to-back shift within 10 hours is paid at time and a half. This schedule warns when a shift starts less than 8 hours after the last one ends, so look again at any gap under 10 hours if the Oregon law covers you. Federal rules also count work schedules among the records kept for two years, per Department of Labor Fact Sheet #21, so keep each week's PDF.

How do I color code a work schedule?

Type a role next to each name, such as Cook, Server or Cashier, then tick Color shifts by role. Every shift for that role gets the same light tint, on the page and in the PDF, with a color key under the grid. People find their shifts at a glance, and the tints stay readable in black and white.

To share the schedule in a group chat, download it as an image (.png) as well as a PDF.