Christmas & Holiday Rota Generator

How to split holiday shifts fairly

A festive rota does not break on arithmetic, it breaks on the feeling of unfairness. The same person works New Year's Eve two years running and hands in their notice in January. So what you share out is not the number of shifts — it is the sacrifice.

What works:

1. Admit the days are not equal. Christmas Day and the 3rd of January are not the same shift. Give each day a weight, and share the weight.
2. Count across years. Whoever worked last Christmas should be off this one. Without carrying points forward the rotation restarts every year, and the lucky stay lucky.
3. Publish the rule first. People accept almost any split if they understand the logic and saw it before they learned their own day. The argument is always about a rule nobody wrote down.
4. Absences before rotation. Whoever is away is away. Share the load between the people actually around.

The tool above does steps two and four: it deals the weighted days between the people who are available, levels the total load including last year's, and shows you the spread. At the end it hands you the numbers to carry into next December.

Frequently asked questions

What weights should I use?

By default Christmas Day and New Year's Eve carry the most — they are the least wanted shifts in hospitality. If your team feels differently, change them: what matters is the ratio, not the absolute size.

What if someone actually wants to work the holiday?

Then it costs them nothing and the weighting does not apply. Give them fewer carried points and they will be picked earlier than the rest.

Is any of this saved?

No — it all runs in your browser. That is why the tool hands you the carry-over text at the end: save it, because it is the rotation's memory.