GentongBet

When the rotation works, no one notices. When it doesn’t, everyone does it.

June is when the summer staff problem tends to surface. The school holiday dates have now been set. Employees start booking flights. And the manager responsible for turnover realizes that he hasn’t put the framework in place to handle what’s coming.

A roster plan for the summer is not complicated. But it must exist before the requests start coming in, not after. Here is the checklist to prepare for next year.

Before opening the summer vacation window

Prepare your rotation model

• Choose or update your rotation model, whether it’s a spreadsheet, a dedicated tool or an integrated HR platform
• Confirm each employee’s annual leave entitlement for the year, including any carryover from the previous year
• Update the rights of all employees who have changed their contractual schedules since the last furlough year
• Check that part-time entitlements are calculated correctly: part-time workers are entitled to the same pro-rata leave as full-time employees under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Set your minimum staffing levels

• For each team or function, define the minimum number of people who must be present to maintain operations during the summer period
• Document if different minimums apply to different days of the week
• Report any roles where a single absence creates a true coverage gap – these require special treatment in the rotation.

Identify your peak pressure window

• Map your summer holiday pressure window: in England and Wales, schools are closed at the end of July; in Scotland, end of June
• Set a cap on concurrent approvals for your peak weeks if your team size requires it
• Decide whether you will operate the summer window on a first-come, first-served basis, a rotation system, or a hybrid system.

Communicate rules before applications are opened

• Send a clear message to the team explaining the summer rotation process: how to submit requests, the deadline for doing so, and how conflicts will be resolved.
• Share minimum staffing levels: When employees can see how many slots are available in a given week, expectations are easier to manage
• Confirm your blackout periods, if applicable, and communicate them now rather than when a request comes in for those dates

When the requests come

Process requests against your rotation model

• Check each request against currently approved leave before responding – not after
• Report any requests that exceed minimum staffing levels before they reach the approval stage
• Apply your chosen method (first come, first served or rotation priority) consistently – do not deviate based on personal relationships.

Keep track of every decision

• Record each request, the date received, the outcome and the reason, especially for refused requests.
• A documented approval trail is your protection if a decision is ever challenged by ACAS or in formal litigation
• Confirm approvals and denials to employees in writing, not just verbally

Watch for last minute requests

• Set a deadline for summer vacation requests. Ideally at least four weeks before the requested start date
• Communicate the deadline in your initial message so that late requests are not a surprise to either party.
• Have a policy ready to deal with real emergencies that arise after the deadline

While the team is away

Keep the rotation up to date

• Update the rotation as time off is taken. Don’t wait until the end of the month to reconcile
• Check each week that the rotation reflects the people actually present and that no new requests have been missed.
• Report any absence that was not included in the rotation, whether it is a sick day or an unauthorized absence so that it is recorded correctly

Manage coverage proactively

• If a critical role must be empty, inform the covering person before the absence begins and not on the day.
• Confirm that all approval authorities (expense approvals, payroll requests, leave approvals) are clearly delegated for the period of absence.
• Check in with the cover staff in mid-summer. If someone is facing an extra workload, it is better to find out in the second week rather than the sixth.

End of summer: rotation review

Once the peak window is over, take 30 minutes to review how the rotation is working:

• Were there weeks when numbers fell below the minimum? What caused this and how could rotation have prevented it?
• Were there any requests that had to be refused? Were they processed according to your documented process?
• Did the rotation model capture everything you needed or were there gaps?
• Are there any employees who still have significant leave to take before the end of the year? Report them now rather than facing a crisis in December

How Employment Hero automatically manages employee turnover

Employment Hero’s rotation management software replaces the manual rotation model with a live system. Minimum staffing rules are configured only once: the system automatically applies them to each incoming request. Leave approvals update rotation in real time. Approval workflows route requests to the right manager without manual coordination.

For businesses employing hourly or shift workers, Employment Hero’s time and attendance software adds another layer: photo-verified clocking in via the Hero Time Clock app, automated timesheet generation from clock data, real-time labor cost tracking, and direct payroll integration. Rotation and timesheet are in the same system — no reconciliation is required.

For managers who currently manage their rotation from a shared spreadsheet, the practical difference is immediate: no version control issues, no manual cross-referencing, no risk of approving two people for the same week because the rotation hasn’t been updated yet.

Employment Hero helps automate and streamline payroll, timesheets, leave management, and roster management, so the business continues to move forward while you’re away.

See how it works.