The Weekola journal
Plain-English guides to rotas, attendance, holiday, sick pay and the rules behind them, written for small businesses that work in shifts.
Buying guides
An evidence-led ranking of Weekola, RotaCloud, Deputy, Planday, 7shifts, Connecteam and Sling for UK cafés, hospitality venues and independent shift-based businesses.
15 min read
Scheduling law
The current UK rule on rota changes, what contracts can allow, when cancelled shifts may still be payable, and the new guaranteed-hours and reasonable-notice rights expected in 2027.
Scheduling
The working time rules every rota has to respect: the 20-minute break, 11 hours between shifts, the 48-hour week, and the tighter limits for night and under-18 staff, with worked examples.
Pay and compliance
What the April 2026 reforms mean for small employers: day-one SSP, the £123.25 rate, the new 80% of earnings rule, worked examples, and what a week of absence actually costs you.
Leave and holiday
How to work out holiday for people who do not work a standard week, with worked examples for pro-rata days, the 12.07% accrual rule and rolled-up holiday pay.
Scheduling
How to separate availability from preference, set a deadline that holds, and share out unpopular shifts, before shift notice becomes a legal duty in 2027.
Operations
What an hour of cover really costs after National Insurance, pension and holiday, and how to work out the point where cutting it starts losing you money.
Workforce workflow
The weekly rhythm that keeps rotas, swaps, leave, attendance and timesheets agreeing with each other, so payroll stops being a monthly investigation.
Attendance
How to record clock-ins, handle missed clock-outs, keep the pay records HMRC expects, and stop small rounding habits turning into minimum wage arrears.
Rota planning
A working method for small business rotas: plan against demand windows, publish once, control changes, and give staff the notice the law will soon expect.
Weekola keeps the rota, clock-ins, timesheets, shift swaps and leave for small shift-based businesses together, and Weekola Brain prepares the changes you ask for.
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