For restaurants, cafés, cleaning and care teams
TimeTally does split shift scheduling the simple way: one shift with two time slots. The rota shows both parts and adds up the hours, staff see both on their phone, and the timesheet records the evening as Shift 2 on the same day. The gap in the middle is never paid by mistake.
Mon 9 Nov · Sofia, front of house9h paid
4h + 5h = 9h paid · 11h 30m from first start to last finish
This is a restaurant's week in TimeTally. The kitchen and front of house work lunch and dinner with the afternoon off; the bar works evenings. A split shift shows both parts on one card, and the hours under it are the two parts added together, so a person's week total is the time they'll actually work.
Using the same split every week? Save it as a shift template with both time slots, then build your usual week once and copy it forward for up to 13 weeks. More on building the week in the rota planner.
On the day
Split shifts go wrong on paper timesheets: two lines for one day, or one line from 11:00 to 22:30 that pays the afternoon off. In TimeTally the evening is Shift 2 on the same day.
When you approve the week, each day shows its shifts and what they pay. Here a bar supervisor worked five split days and went over 40 hours, so 4 hours are paid at 1.5×.
More on overtime: overtime tracking software.
Reports & Analytics shows when people actually started and finished. A day clocked in two parts is marked Split shift, both parts are listed under it, and On site runs from the first clock-in to the last clock-out, so a long day is plain to see.
Any day with more than one clocked session, so you can share the splits out fairly.
The gap counts towards the time someone is tied up, even though it isn't paid.
The rota's checks list anyone back on before 11 hours off, measured from the end of the evening part.
Once you publish the week, staff open the free TimeTally app on iPhone or Android, or a browser, and see each split on one line: 11:00–15:00 · 17:30–22:30, with the hours for the day.
See the staff rota app and shift swaps.
Any team whose work comes in two rushes. The same rota does all of these; the pages below show each one's week.
11:00–15:00 · 17:30–22:30
Lunch, a gap in the afternoon, then dinner service until close.
Pubs and restaurants07:30–10:30 · 12:00–15:00
The breakfast rush and the lunch rush, with the quiet hour between them off.
Café rota software05:30–08:30 · 17:30–20:30
Before the offices open and after they close, often at two different client sites.
Cleaning rota software05:00–09:00 · 15:00–18:00
Morning milking and afternoon milking, with the middle of the day free.
Farm staff rotaRunning a care team with a morning and an evening shift for the same person? See care home rota software.
Real reviews from TimeTally customers
TimeTally has been excellent for our business… The system has saved us a significant amount of administration time.
Jordan IngoeCLI ManchesterSetup was dead simple and the team just got on with it. Got everyone up and running in an afternoon with no help needed. Does everything we need for timesheets and holidays without the faff.
Has completely changed how I handle timesheets. Used to dread it every week — now it takes me minutes. Really easy to get around and my staff picked it up straight away.
Started using it just for rotas but quickly realised it does loads more. The timesheets and leave management are great, and it even handles TOIL and overtime which I wasn't expecting. Use it for everything now.
It plans, records and pays split shifts. The rules about them are still yours to decide, and it's better to know that before your trial.
For the law (the 11 hours' rest, whether the gap is working time, and the 20-minute break), read our guide to split shifts and UK law, and rest between shifts.
£3 per employee a month for the rota, timesheets, clocking in and holiday together. No setup fee, no contract.
A restaurant of eight
8 people × £3£24 a month
Start your free trialWhat managers ask before they move split shifts off the paper rota.
Still have a question? See all FAQs
Split shift scheduling means planning a working day in two (or more) parts with unpaid time off in between, such as 11:00–15:00 and 17:30–22:30. In TimeTally a split shift is one shift with two time slots: the rota shows both parts on the person's row and counts the hours of both, staff see both on their phone, and the timesheet records the second part as Shift 2 on the same day. It's £3 per employee a month.
Click the person's day on the rota to open the shift form, type the first part's start and end, press Add another and type the second part. Pick their role and save. If you use the same split often, save it as a shift template with both time slots, and copy your week forward for up to 13 weeks.
Not in TimeTally: hours are worked out from the time slots and the timesheet's shifts, so the gap is never counted. Whether the gap has to be paid is a legal question. It doesn't, if the time is genuinely the worker's own, but read our guide to split shifts and UK law for when it might count as working time.
Yes. On the timesheet, Shift 2 can run from 17:30 to 00:30 and the day's hours count it correctly. On the rota a shift can end after midnight too, such as a bar shift from 17:00 to 00:30.
No. There's no split shift allowance or premium in TimeTally, and no UK law requires one. It pays the hours worked at each person's rate, with overtime if you've set it up. If you pay staff something extra for working a split, add it in your payroll.
On the whole day. Every shift on the day is added together, each less its own break, so a 4-hour lunch and a 5-hour evening are a 9-hour day. Daily and weekly overtime rules count that total, and the overtime is approved with the timesheet.
No, it won't stop you. Reports & Analytics lists everyone back on before they've had 11 hours off, measured from the end of the evening part to the next start, so you can see who to move. Deciding is still your job: the rule itself is in our guide to rest between shifts.
Split shifts are part of the rota, not an add-on. TimeTally is £3 per employee a month for the rota, timesheets, clocking in and holiday together, so a restaurant of eight is £24 a month. No setup fee, no contract, and a 14-day free trial with no card.
Try TimeTally free for 14 days. Put your lunch and dinner splits on the rota, publish them to your team's phones, and pay the hours they work, not the gap. It's the same rota planner hundreds of UK businesses use, at £3 per employee a month.
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