Quick answer
- For most teams, start with the weekly employee schedule: type in and out times and it totals each person’s hours and flags overtime over 40.
- Need a sheet to post on the wall? The printable weekly work schedule is one page with a row per employee and a box per day.
- All 7 templates are free, need no sign-up, and come as Excel files plus a printable PDF. They also open in Google Sheets.
A weekly schedule template is a ready-made grid for planning one week of work: who works which days, from when to when, and how many hours that adds up to. This page is for US small-business owners and managers who schedule hourly staff, and for anyone who plans their own work week. Below are seven free weekly schedule templates, each built for a different job. Five are for teams: a weekly employee schedule that calculates hours, a printable weekly schedule, a schedule by position, a labor cost planner and a team schedule that shows time off. Two are for one person: an hour-by-hour weekly planner and a personal weekly work schedule that estimates your paycheck. Every template has a filled-in example and an Excel download with a matching PDF.
Which weekly work schedule template do you need?
| You need to | Best template | What it calculates |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule a team and know everyone’s hours | 1. Weekly employee schedule | Hours per person, overtime over 40 |
| Post a simple schedule on the wall | 2. Printable weekly work schedule | Nothing; fill it in by hand |
| Make sure every station or post is covered | 3. Schedule by position | People per day, open shifts |
| Keep labor inside a budget | 4. Schedule with labor cost | Wages, overtime, labor % of sales |
| Schedule around PTO and availability | 5. Team schedule with time off | People working, on PTO, requested off |
| Plan your own week hour by hour | 6. Weekly schedule by hour | Nothing; a time-block planner |
| Track your own shifts and pay | 7. My weekly work schedule | Hours, overtime, gross pay |
1. Weekly employee schedule with automatic hours
Best for small teams of hourly employees who need hours and overtime at a glance
Weekly employee schedule · Hilltop Hardware, Boise, ID · Week of Monday, November 16, 2026 · Manager: Dana Price
| Employee | Role | Mon 11/16 | Tue 11/17 | Wed 11/18 | Thu 11/19 | Fri 11/20 | Sat 11/21 | Sun 11/22 | Unpaid breaks | Total hours | OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Price | Assistant manager | 7a–3:30p | 7a–3:30p | 7a–3:30p | 7a–3:30p | 7a–3:30p | 8a–1p | OFF | 2.5 | 45 | 5 |
| Marcus Lee | Cashier | 12p–8:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | 12p–8:30p | OFF | 2 | 32 | 0 |
| Rita Gomez | Sales associate | OFF | 9a–5:30p | 9a–5:30p | 9a–5:30p | OFF | 9a–5:30p | 10a–4p | 2 | 38 | 0 |
| Kyle Barnes | Stock (age 17) | OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | 4p–9p | 8a–2p | 10a–4p | 0.5 | 16.5 | 0 |
| Jen Walsh | Cashier | 8a–4:30p | 8a–4:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | 8a–4:30p | OFF | 10a–4p | 2 | 38 | 0 |
| Totals | 169.5 | 5 | |||||||||
This weekly employee schedule does the arithmetic people usually get wrong at 10 p.m. on a Sunday. Type times like 9:00 AM, enter each person’s unpaid meal breaks for the week, and the total and overtime columns update. In the example, Dana is scheduled 45 hours, so the sheet shows 5 hours of overtime before the week starts and you can decide whether to cut a shift. Kyle is 17, so the 14- and 15-year-old hour limits do not apply to him, but check your state’s rules for 16- and 17-year-olds. To turn a schedule into pay, compare it with actual punches using our time card calculator.
2. Printable weekly work schedule
Best for posting in a break room or kitchen, filling in by hand
Weekly work schedule · Sunrise Diner, Lancaster, PA · Week of November 16, 2026 · Posted November 6 · Manager: Ben Ortiz
| Employee | Position | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Weekly hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carla Diaz | Server | 6a–2p | 6a–2p | OFF | 6a–2p | 6a–2p | 7a–3p | OFF | 37.5 |
| Ben Ortiz | Cook | 5:30a–2p | 5:30a–2p | 5:30a–2p | OFF | OFF | 6a–2:30p | 6a–2:30p | 40 |
| Tasha Reed | Server | OFF | 11a–3p | 11a–3p | 11a–3p | OFF | 7a–3p | 7a–3p | 27 |
| Leo Park | Dishwasher | OFF | OFF | 8a–2p | 8a–2p | 8a–2p | 8a–2p | 8a–2p | 30 |
| Nina Shah | Host | PTO | PTO | PTO | OFF | 7a–1p | 7a–1p | 7a–1p | 18 |
Sometimes the best printable weekly schedule is the plainest one. Write shifts in short form (6a–2p), mark OFF and PTO so nobody wonders, and fill in the weekly hours yourself. In the example, shifts of more than six hours include a 30-minute unpaid break, which is why Carla’s five 8-hour shifts add up to 37.5 hours. The “posted on” line matters: it is your record of how much notice the team got. If you need hours to calculate themselves, use template 1 instead.
3. Weekly schedule by position
Best for restaurants, front desks and security posts where every slot must be filled
Weekly schedule by position · Magnolia Grill, Atlanta, GA · Week of November 16, 2026 · Second dinner server not needed on Mondays (CLOSED)
| Position | Shift | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Filled | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening cook | 6a–2p | Ben | Ben | Ben | Rosa | Rosa | Rosa | Ben | 7 | 0 |
| Closing cook | 2p–10p | Rosa | Rosa | Dev | Dev | Dev | Ben | Rosa | 7 | 0 |
| Lunch server | 10:30a–3p | Carla | Carla | Tasha | Carla | Tasha | Carla | Tasha | 7 | 0 |
| Dinner server | 4p–10p | Tasha | Jas | Jas | Jas | Jas | Jas | Carla | 7 | 0 |
| Dinner server 2 | 5p–close | CLOSED | OPEN | Mia | Mia | Mia | Mia | OPEN | 4 | 2 |
| Host | 4:30p–9:30p | Nina | Nina | OPEN | Nina | Leo | Leo | Nina | 6 | 1 |
| People working | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | |||
| Open shifts | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Turn the usual schedule sideways. Instead of starting from people, start from the shifts you need covered, then put a name in each box. Gaps are obvious: the example has three open shifts, and the “open shifts” row tells you exactly which days still need someone before you post. It is also the easiest version for employees to read when they look for a shift to pick up. Pair it with an employee availability form so you know who can fill each open slot.
4. Weekly schedule with labor cost
Best for owners and managers who schedule to a labor budget
Weekly schedule with labor cost · Corner Scoop Ice Cream, Asheville, NC · Week of November 16, 2026 · Projected sales $11,500 · Labor budget 28%
| Employee | Role | Rate | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Hours | OT | Est. wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Chen | Shift lead | $18.50 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 50 | 10 | $1,017.50 | |
| Josh Hill | Scooper | $14.00 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 0 | $518.00 | |
| Priya Rao | Shift lead | $18.50 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 29 | 0 | $536.50 | ||
| Evan Ross | Scooper (age 16) | $13.00 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 0 | $364.00 | ||
| Maria Lopez | Shift lead | $18.50 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 0 | $740.00 | ||
| Hours per day | 21 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 184 | $3,176.00 | |||
Labor budget $3,220.00 · Estimated wages $3,176.00 · Under budget by $44.00 · Wages = 27.6% of projected sales
Enter projected sales and your labor target, then build the week until the box says you are under budget. Overtime is priced at 1.5 times the hourly rate, so the cost of one long week is visible: in the example, Amy’s 50 hours add $277.50 in overtime wages. Moving one of her 9-hour weekend shifts to Priya, another shift lead scheduled for 29 hours, saves $83.25 and leaves the week further under budget. The estimate leaves out payroll taxes and benefits, and bonuses, tips and shift differentials can raise the regular rate used for overtime. Our overtime calculator handles those cases for one employee.
5. Weekly team schedule with time off and availability
Best for retail and service teams with frequent time off requests
Weekly team schedule · Pine & Co. Outfitters, Burlington, VT · Week of November 16, 2026 · Codes: OFF, PTO (approved), REQ (requested), UNAV (not available)
| Employee | Role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Shifts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofia Martin | Key holder | 9a–5:30p | 9a–5:30p | OFF | OFF | 9a–5:30p | 9a–5:30p | 11a–6p | 5 |
| Ray Coleman | Sales | PTO | PTO | PTO | 12p–8:30p | 12p–8:30p | OFF | OFF | 2 |
| Ivy Turner | Sales | 12p–8:30p | UNAV | 12p–8:30p | 9a–5:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | REQ | 4 |
| Omar Haddad | Key holder | OFF | 12p–8:30p | 9a–5:30p | 9a–5:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | 11a–6p | 5 |
| Lily Evans | Cashier | OFF | 9a–5:30p | 12p–8:30p | OFF | 12p–8:30p | 9a–5:30p | 11a–6p | 5 |
| Working | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ||
| On PTO | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Requested off | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
Most schedule mistakes are someone scheduled on a day they asked off. Put approved PTO, pending requests and standing unavailability on the grid first, then fill in shifts around them. The REQ code is a reminder: in the example, Ivy has a request in for Sunday, so the manager decides on it before posting. Collect requests on a time off request form so the codes on the schedule match something in writing.
6. Weekly schedule by hour (time-block planner)
Best for managers, office staff and anyone planning their own week
Weekly schedule by hour · Sam Patel, office manager, Greenway Dental · Week of November 16, 2026 (on-the-hour rows from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shown; the file has 33 half-hour rows from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.)
| Time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00a | Open office, check voicemail | Payroll inputs due | Open office | Open office | Open office | ||
| 9:00a | Team huddle | Submit payroll | Vendor calls | Interview: front desk | Team huddle | Farmers market | |
| 10:00a | Invoices | Invoices | Deep work: budget | Interview: front desk | Invoices | Farmers market | |
| 11:00a | Invoices | Supply order | Deep work: budget | New hire paperwork | Post next week’s schedule | ||
| 12:00p | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Family lunch | |
| 1:00p | Client calls | 1:1 with Jordan | Building walk-through | Benefits enrollment | Approve timesheets | ||
| 2:00p | Client calls | 1:1 with Ava | Insurance renewal | Benefits enrollment | Approve timesheets | ||
| 3:00p | Week review | ||||||
| 4:00p | Plan tomorrow | Plan tomorrow | Plan tomorrow | Plan tomorrow | Leave at 4 | Plan the week |
This is the weekly schedule template for planning time rather than staff. Block the fixed items first (payroll deadlines, meetings, interviews), then give the important work a real slot, like the budget block on Wednesday in the example. It also works for part-time employees juggling school or a second job, and for owners who want to see where their own week goes.
7. My weekly work schedule (hours and pay)
Best for hourly employees who want to check their hours and paycheck
My weekly work schedule · Alex Moreno, warehouse associate · Week of November 16, 2026 · $17.25 an hour
| Day | Date | Start | End | Unpaid break (min) | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Nov 16 | 7a | 3:30p | 30 | 8 |
| Tuesday | Nov 17 | 7a | 3:30p | 30 | 8 |
| Wednesday | Nov 18 | Off | |||
| Thursday | Nov 19 | 7a | 3:30p | 30 | 8 |
| Friday | Nov 20 | 7a | 5:30p | 30 | 10 |
| Saturday | Nov 21 | 8a | 3p | 30 | 6.5 |
| Sunday | Nov 22 | Off | |||
| Total hours | 40.5 | ||||
| Regular / overtime hours | 40 / 0.5 | ||||
| Estimated gross pay at $17.25 an hour | $702.94 | ||||
Write down the shifts you were given, then the times you actually worked. In the example, staying two hours late on Friday took Alex to 40.5 hours, so the last half hour is overtime at 1.5 times the rate. If your paycheck does not match, the sheet shows where the difference is. Our guide to reading a pay stub explains the lines you will compare it with, and the hours to decimal calculator converts minutes the way payroll does.
How to make a weekly employee schedule
- Start from demand, not from people. Write down how many people you need at each hour of each day. Last year’s sales by hour, appointment books or call volume tell you.
- Block out what is fixed. Enter approved time off, standing unavailability and any minors’ hour limits before you place a single shift.
- Fill the shifts. Give each person shifts that match their availability and the hours they want, and keep an eye on the total column so nobody drifts over 40 by accident.
- Check cost and coverage. Look at the open shifts, the overtime column and, if you use template 4, the labor percentage. Fix them now, not on Saturday.
- Post it early and in one place. Write the posting date on it. One or two weeks ahead is common; some cities and states require 14 days for covered employers.
- Log changes and keep a copy. Save each week’s file with the date in the name. If a shift changes after posting, note who asked for it and when.
Spreadsheets work well for one location with a stable team. When you are rebuilding the same week every Sunday, texting people about changes and checking time cards against the schedule by hand, an employee schedule maker saves that time. For a longer view, see our monthly employee schedule templates.
US rules to know when you build a weekly schedule
These are general principles checked on federal and state agency sites. Rules differ by state and city and change often, so confirm with your state labor department.
- Overtime is counted per workweek. Non-exempt employees must get at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed, recurring seven-day period that can start on any day, and the Department of Labor says hours cannot be averaged over two weeks.
- Some states add daily overtime. California, for example, requires overtime after 8 hours in a workday and double time after 12. See our California overtime law guide.
- Breaks depend on the state. Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks, but short breaks you give (usually 20 minutes or less) are paid time. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid if the employee is fully relieved of duty. Many states require meal or rest breaks.
- Minors have hour limits. Under federal law, 14- and 15-year-olds may work no more than 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 in a non-school week, and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). States can be stricter.
- Some places require advance notice. Oregon requires covered large retail, hospitality and food service employers to give written schedules 14 days ahead. Seattle requires covered retail and food service employers to post 14 days ahead and pay time-and-a-half for closing-to-opening shifts less than 10 hours apart.
- Keep the schedules. The DOL lists work and time schedules among the records employers keep for two years, and payroll records for three. Record hours worked each day and each workweek.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a weekly work schedule in Excel?
Download the weekly employee schedule template, type the Monday date at the top so the day headers fill in, then list each employee with their in and out times for each day and their unpaid breaks. The sheet totals each person’s hours and shows overtime above 40. Save a copy for each week so you keep a record.
What should a weekly employee schedule include?
Each employee’s name and role, the date of every day in the week, start and end times for each shift, days off and approved time off, and total scheduled hours per person. Add the location, the manager’s name and the date you posted it. Labor cost and coverage counts are useful extras for managers.
How far in advance should I post a weekly schedule?
No federal law sets a deadline, so most small businesses choose one or two weeks. Some states and cities require more for covered employers: Oregon and Seattle, for example, require large retail and food service employers to post schedules 14 days ahead, with extra pay for many later changes. Check your state and city.
Is overtime calculated per week or per pay period?
Per workweek. Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees earn at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a fixed seven-day workweek, and hours cannot be averaged over two weeks. A person who works 45 hours one week and 35 the next is owed 5 hours of overtime even on a biweekly paycheck.
Can I print these weekly schedule templates?
Yes. Every template has a printable PDF version sized for US letter paper, and the Excel files are set to print one page wide: landscape for team schedules, portrait for the two personal planners. Print a blank copy to fill in by hand, or fill in the Excel file first and print it to post in the break room.
Do these templates work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The hour totals, overtime and count formulas work there too. Dropdown lists and color highlights carry over in most cases; if one does not, the formulas still calculate correctly.