A restaurant rota changes all the time. Weekends need more hands, a chef asks for a day off on WhatsApp, two waiters agree to swap and forget to tell anyone, and the manager only finds out when the floor is short at eight in the evening. The schedule ends up in a group chat screenshot that nobody can trust.
In Wink You the rota, open shifts, swaps and leave all sit under Shifts and time in Business Admin, and your team sees the result in the staff app. Here is how each part works today, and where the current limits are.
Build the weekly rota
Start with shift templates. In Rota Builder pick the branch, click Manage templates, then Add a template. Give it a name in English and Arabic, set Starts, Ends and Unpaid break (minutes), and optionally the role it covers and a colour. Templates belong to the branch you picked.
- Drag a template onto a person and a day, or click an empty day, pick a template and click Apply.
- Copy last week fills the week from an earlier one. Clashing shifts are skipped and reported; switch on Clear this week first to replace what is there.
- Click Save. The Coverage and conflicts panel then warns you about days with nobody rostered, a role left unmanned, a shift on approved leave, too little rest between two shifts, or overlapping shifts.
- When the week is ready, click Publish week. Staff only see published weeks, they get a notification if they turned notifications on, and a reminder about an hour before each shift.
After publishing, only the business owner can change that week. Unpublish takes it back, and you cannot copy into a week inside a locked pay period. Minimum rest between shifts comes from Work rules.
Open shifts and swaps
When you need extra cover, open Open shifts and click Post an open shift. Enter the date, start and end time, the role and how many places are open, plus a short note. It appears in the staff app for the whole branch. If claims need approval in Work rules, you approve people under Claims; if not, the first to tap Take this shift gets it.
Staff can also offer one of their shifts as a swap, or give it away. A colleague accepts in the app and picks the shift they give back, then the request reaches you under the Swaps tab. Approving moves both shifts at once; if anyone would end up double booked, nothing changes.
Leave and time off
- Leave types: under Leave, Leave types, the list starts from UAE labour law and you can change any of them or add your own, with default days a year, paid or unpaid, and whether a supporting document is needed.
- Requests: staff tap Ask for time off in the staff app, choose the type and dates, and attach a photo or PDF of a sick note when the type needs one. Only managers can open the document.
- Approval: on the Requests tab click Approve, check the days to take off the balance, add a note if you like, and confirm. The leave then shows on the rota.
- Add time off: record leave for someone directly. It is approved and taken from the balance at once, and Download PDF gives a leave form with the dates and the balance left.
- Who is off: one list of everyone off in the coming weeks, with an option to include requests still waiting.
- Undo approval puts the days back on the balance.
A leave type counts either calendar days, weekends and holidays included, or working days, skipping the days the branch is closed and the public holidays you added in Work rules.
Current limits, stated plainly
- Leave balances do not build up on their own each month. You set Entitled, Adjustment and Carried over per person under Balances.
- Staff can save the hours they can and cannot work in the staff app, under When you can work, but Rota Builder does not show those hours yet.
- There is no Ramadan setting. Build shorter Ramadan shifts with their own template instead of changing the overtime rule for the month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a weekly shift schedule for my restaurant?
Create your shift templates once, then in Rota Builder drag them onto people and days, or copy last week. Save, check the warnings, and click Publish week.
How do staff swap shifts?
In the staff app they open the shift and tap Offer as a swap. A colleague takes it and picks a shift in return, and the swap only happens once a manager approves it under Swaps.
How do I approve a leave request?
Open Shifts and time, then Leave. On Requests click Approve, check the number of days, add a note if you want, and confirm. The staff member sees the decision in the app.
How do I see who is on leave before I build the rota?
Open Leave, then Who is off, and set the dates. Switch on the option to also show requests still waiting, so you can plan around leave that is not approved yet. Approved leave and public holidays also appear on the rota cells themselves.
Can staff upload a sick note?
Yes. When a leave type needs a document, the request form asks for a photo or PDF. They can also attach or replace it later while the request is waiting.
Learn more
See winkyou.com/products/staff-management for the team tools. The video guides are winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-build-the-rota, winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-approve-a-shift-swap and winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-approve-a-leave-request.