Restaurant · café
Making a restaurant rota with AI: busy weekends and student staff
A restaurant manager sends three requests in a voice message: two extra people on Friday and Saturday evenings, no more than 20 hours a week for part-time students, and no Tuesday shifts for Marco. The imRoster assistant asks who the students are and whether the cap is a hard limit, adds each rule on an approval card, fills December and reports the one shift it couldn't cover, with the reason.
- ManagerVoice message
For December, put two more people on the Friday and Saturday evening shifts. Part-time students can't do more than 20 hours a week. Marco can't come in on Tuesdays, so don't give him Tuesday shifts.
- imRoster assistant
That's three changes; I'll add them one at a time. Two questions first: 1. Which staff are the part-time students? 2. Should the 20-hour cap be a hard limit, or applied as far as possible?
- Manager
Leo, Mia and Zoe. Hard limit, they're on student visas.
- imRoster assistant
Understood. Weekend cover first:
Proposed changeApprovedEvening shift: 5 people on Fridays and Saturdays
- December's 4 Fridays and 4 Saturdays, 16:00–24:00
- Headcount goes from 3 to 5
- Other days stay as they are
- imRoster assistant
Applied. Tagging the students:
Proposed changeApproved“Student” tag
- Leo, Mia, Zoe
- imRoster assistant
Now the cap:
Proposed changeApprovedRule: students work at most 20 hours a week
- Monday–Sunday weeks, counted with breaks taken off
- Hard rule
- imRoster assistant
Applied. Last one:
Proposed changeApprovedRule: Marco doesn't work Tuesdays
- Every Tuesday, all shifts
- Never relaxed
- imRoster assistant
All set. Shall I fill December? It runs in the background and I'll let you know when it's done.
Proposed changeApprovedFill: 1–31 December 2026
- 9 staff · Midday and Evening shifts
- Shifts you assigned by hand are kept
- imRoster assistant
The December rota is ready.
- 61 of 62 shifts fully covered
- Short by 1 on Saturday 26 December, evening. Everyone free that night is either a student already at 20 hours that week or off that day.
- No rule had to be relaxed
You can fill that gap by assigning someone by hand. The rota is in the calendar, and I can send it as a PDF or an Excel file.
An illustrative conversation: names and numbers are examples, and replies are shortened. The rules and steps are the ones the imRoster assistant actually follows.
The result
The roster in the imRoster calendar
| Staff | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco | E | – | E | E | E | E | – |
| Tom | E | E | E | – | – | E | E |
| Ella | – | E | E | E | E | – | E |
| Ruby | E | E | – | E | E | E | – |
| Sam | M | M | M | M | M | M | – |
| Ben | – | M | M | M | M | M | M |
| Leostudent | – | – | – | – | E | E | – |
| Miastudent | M | – | – | – | E | – | M |
| Zoestudent | – | – | – | – | – | E | E |
- MMidday 10–16
- EEvening 16–24
- –Off
Behind the chat
What the manager said, and what imRoster did with it
| The manager said | What imRoster does |
|---|---|
| “Put two more people on the Friday and Saturday evening shifts” | Headcount on every December Friday and Saturday evening goes from 3 to 5. It's written date by date, so if January needs the same, tell the assistant again. If the fill can't reach the number, it reports the shift as short. |
| “Part-time students can't do more than 20 hours a week” | Students get a “Student” tag, and the tag gets a 20-hour weekly cap. Hours are counted per Monday–Sunday week with breaks taken off. As a hard rule it's a strict limit. |
| “Marco can't come in on Tuesdays” | Marco gets a shift ban that repeats every Tuesday. It never bends. |
| “(voice message)” | The recording is transcribed, with staff and shift names used as hints so they're recognised. The assistant replies in the language you spoke. |
FAQ
Questions about this example
How does the AI keep part-time staff under their hours?
Part-time staff are tagged, and the tag gets a weekly hours cap. The fill counts each week's working time with breaks taken off and won't produce a rota that breaks a hard cap. If a manual assignment would go over, the assistant tells you and won't write it unless you explicitly ask.
Does the extra weekend cover carry over to next month?
No. Extra headcount is set for specific dates, here December's Fridays and Saturdays. If next month needs the same, just tell the assistant again.
What happens when a shift can't be covered?
The assistant still produces the rota and reports every shift left short, with the reason. Here, Saturday 26 December was one person short. You can close the gap with a manual assignment or by loosening a rule.
More examples
Other teams, other rules
Guides
Read more about this kind of roster
Work Rota Laws UK 2026: Breaks, Hours and Notice Rules
UK rota law in short: 11 hours' rest between shifts, a 48-hour average week, 20-minute breaks, night-work limits and how much notice a rota change needs.
Read more
AI Shift Scheduling Software 2026: Buyer's Guide & Checklist
How AI shift scheduling software really works in 2026: solvers vs rules engines, compliance guardrails, real costs and a buyer's checklist before you sign.
Read more7shifts Alternatives 2026: Scheduling Beyond Restaurants
7shifts is built for restaurants. Six alternatives for clinics, care, security, retail and other shift teams, with 2026 prices for 10, 25 and 50 people.
Read more
Make Monday mornings quiet.
Your first schedule is ready in 2 minutes — no credit card, no commitment.
No credit card · 2-minute setup · cancel anytime