Summer Hospitality Playbook Week 1: Plan Your Trading

Week 3: Lock In Your Roster Early

Good casual and seasonal staff get booked up fast in the lead-up to Christmas. If you wait until late November to start hiring, you're competing with every other hospitality business in your area for the same small pool of available people.

1. Start recruiting now, not in December

Post roles early and be specific about the dates and hours you need covered. Reliable staff who already work in hospitality often lock in their Christmas and summer availability weeks in advance, so early, clear job ads have a real advantage.

2. Get across public holiday pay rules

Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the day after all carry specific pay and rostering rules in New Zealand, and they can shift from year to year. Confirm current requirements with Employment New Zealand or your payroll advisor before you finalise the roster, rather than relying on last year's approach.

3. Build in buffer

Assume some staff will need leave, and that illness is more likely when everyone is working long stretches. A roster with a small buffer of extra trained staff or flexible hours is far less stressful to manage than one with no room to move.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start hiring for the summer period?

Ideally 6 to 8 weeks before summer. Reliable casual staff are often booked into their preferred workplaces well before December.

What should I check before rostering staff over public holidays?

Confirm current public holiday pay and rostering rules with Employment New Zealand or yourpayroll advisor, since requirements can change and vary depending on which days staff are asked to work.

Download the Summer Hospitality Checklist