Plan the weekly staff schedule
Add roles, hourly rates, shift times and split shifts to calculate planned hours, staff cost and labour percentage before the rota is published.
Hospitality Operations Toolkit
Restaurant Labour Cost Calculator & Staff Schedule Planner
This restaurant labour cost calculator and staff schedule planner helps you build a weekly rota or staff schedule with real start and finish times, including split shifts, then automatically calculate labour cost, labour percentage, daily hours, employer cost and sales per labour hour.
Use this calculator in any currency. Enter your own sales, hourly rates, employer costs and payroll assumptions. "Rota" is a UK term for staff schedule, and the same labour cost logic applies in other markets.
| Role | Rate | Hours | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Cost | Remove |
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Enter times in 24-hour format, e.g. 09:00, 14:30 or 23:00. Use the + Split button on any day to add a second shift. Results use the currency symbol you choose.
Total Hours
0
Base Cost
£0
Employer Cost
£0
Total Labour
£0
Labour %
0%
Target Cost
£0
Difference
£0
Monthly Cost
£0
Sales / Labour Hour
£0
Average Hourly Cost
£0
Waiting for calculation
Build a staff schedule and calculate labour cost
This restaurant labour cost calculator helps you plan weekly shifts, estimate total labour cost, compare labour percentage against your target and generate a clean printable staff schedule for your team.
Download or print the schedule
Use the print view to create a clean restaurant staff schedule with weekly sales, total hours, labour cost, labour percentage and shifts by day.
What does the Restaurant Labour Cost Calculator do?
This restaurant labour cost calculator helps restaurant managers build a weekly staff schedule and understand the labour cost impact before the rota is finalised. It supports real start and finish times, split shifts, hourly rates, employer costs and target labour percentage.
Instead of publishing a rota first and checking payroll later, managers can estimate labour hours, labour cost, labour percentage and sales per labour hour before the schedule goes live.
Split shifts
Add a second shift on any day with one click to handle real hospitality rota patterns.
Total payroll view
Calculate base wages, employer cost, total labour and monthly cost estimate.
Sales per hour
See how much revenue your schedule generates per planned labour hour.
How to use the calculator
- Currency symbol: choose the symbol you want results to display, such as £, $, €, AED or another local currency.
- Weekly Sales: enter expected or actual weekly sales for the schedule period.
- Employer Cost %: add extra payroll-related cost on top of hourly wages.
- Target Labour %: enter the labour percentage you want the schedule to stay under.
- Role: use staff name, role or department, such as Chef, Server or Manager.
- Rate: enter the hourly rate for each staff member.
- Split shifts: click + Split on any day to reveal a second shift start and finish time.
For broader labour planning guidance, read the Restaurant Labour Cost Guide.
Labour cost formulas used by the tool
Shift Hours: Finish Time − Start Time
Base Labour Cost: Total Hours × Hourly Rate
Employer Cost: Base Labour Cost × Employer Cost Percentage
Total Labour Cost: Base Labour Cost + Employer Cost
Labour Cost Percentage: Total Labour Cost ÷ Weekly Sales × 100
Sales Per Labour Hour: Weekly Sales ÷ Total Labour Hours
The calculator also estimates monthly labour cost by multiplying weekly labour cost by 4.33.
Why calculate labour cost before publishing the rota?
Labour cost is one of the largest controllable costs in hospitality. Once shifts have been worked, the cost is already committed.
- Check whether the schedule is above target labour percentage
- Identify expensive shifts before the week starts
- Review quiet dayparts for overstaffing
- Compare sales per labour hour against previous weeks
- Estimate monthly payroll impact from one weekly schedule
- Print or save the rota as a PDF for team use
For more on reducing labour pressure, read How to Reduce Restaurant Staffing Costs Without Hurting Service.
Need a full weekly planning spreadsheet?
For a more structured weekly planning workflow, use the Schedule & Forecast Planner to connect forecast sales, staff schedules, scheduled hours and labour cost in Excel.
View Schedule PlannerRelated hospitality tools and guides
Labour cost should be reviewed alongside food cost, prime cost and KPI performance so managers can see the full operational picture.
For a structured weekly operating routine, read the Weekly Restaurant Management Review Checklist and use this calculator to plan labour hours before shifts are worked.
Restaurant Labour Cost Calculator FAQs
Can this calculator handle split shifts?
Yes. Click the + Split button on any day to add a second shift. The button only appears when needed, keeping the interface clean.
How does the calculator handle overnight shifts?
If the finish time is earlier than the start time, the calculator treats the shift as crossing midnight and adds the correct hours.
What is employer cost percentage?
Employer cost percentage represents extra employment costs on top of hourly wages, such as employer contributions, holiday cost, payroll tax, insurance or other payroll-related costs.
Can I print the staff schedule or rota?
Yes. The Download / Print PDF button opens a printable staff schedule / rota that can be saved as a PDF using your browser print dialog.