Managing weekend and holiday scheduling can be a challenge for small and mid-sized businesses, especially as holidays approach and employees naturally want time off to spend with family and friends. At the same time, many workplaces must continue operating through weekends and holidays, leaving managers responsible for determining who works and who gets the break.
A thoughtful weekend and holiday scheduling strategy can make all the difference. Clear communication, transparent expectations, and consistent scheduling practices help prevent frustration and reduce the perception of favoritism. When employees understand how scheduling decisions are made, they’re much more likely to view the process as fair—even when they don’t receive their preferred days off.
Below, we’ll walk you through fair holiday scheduling, including how to create a rotating weekend schedule, so business needs are met and employees feel respected.
A rotating weekend schedule helps distribute weekend work more evenly and predictably. Whether your business requires weekend coverage every week or only during busy periods, the goal is to balance your operations with employees’ need for rest and personal time.
Here are four strategies:
For businesses needing staff every weekend, consistency in the rotating weekend schedule is crucial. This allows employees to plan personal appointments and tasks with certainty.
For instance, if staffing is required every weekend, ensuring that those who worked over the weekend receive two consecutive days off during the week not only facilitates better planning but also allows employees ample downtime for relaxation.
In scenarios where small businesses have sufficient staff to distribute weekend work, a well-structured rotating weekend schedule is vital. Consider a company with four employees rotating weekend duties; assigning each to work the same weekend each month enhances their ability to plan for family and leisure activities.
Additionally, it's important to account for months with five weekends, ensuring fair distribution of workloads.
Fairness in planning a rotating weekend schedule is key. Offering senior employees the first choice for weekend work can be an equitable approach, while also communicating to newer employees the benefits of seniority over time.
Implementing incentives like weekend premium pay can also make weekend shifts more attractive, helping to balance the schedule fairly.
Continuously review and adjust the rotating weekend schedule. This approach demonstrates a commitment to fairness and considers the evolving needs of both the business and its employees.
Regular adjustments and feedback can lead to a more effective and satisfactory scheduling system for everyone involved.
Holiday scheduling is easiest on everyone when expectations are communicated early and clearly. Employees don’t need every detail finalized months ahead of time—but they do need to understand how holiday work decisions are made and what factors the business must consider. This transparency helps maintain trust, even when not everyone gets the exact schedule they prefer.
Some days simply require staffing due to operational needs, customer demand, safety protocols or year-end responsibilities.
Instead of framing these dates as “you can’t take time off”, communicate the why:
How service levels, production capacity or safety requirements would be affected
How the organization will work to rotate those responsibilities fairly each year
What flexibility employees do have before or after those dates
This shows respect for employees’ time while being honest about business reality.
Before assigning any holiday shifts, ask who is willing to work.
Some employees may:
Prefer overtime or differential pay
Observe different holidays
Want time off during less busy seasons instead
Often, this step resolves several conflicts before they begin.
If holiday coverage is still needed after volunteer sign-ups, a rotation system helps ensure:
No one works the same major holiday every year
Coverage is shared consistently across the team
The decision-making process is visible and fair
The structure can be simple—alternate holidays, rotate annually, or rotate in teams.
What matters most is consistency.
A structured shift swap system gives employees flexibility without weakening coverage.
A simple framework works:
Employees find their own swap partner
Manager confirms coverage + approves the change
Updated schedule is posted in writing
This reduces friction and encourages collaboration, not competition.
While not required, some employers find success offering:
A future comp day
A floating holiday
Or additional schedule prioritization later in the year
Small adjustments can have a meaningful impact on morale.
With these expectations and systems in place, assigning the actual holiday rotation becomes clearer and more predictable for everyone.
Holiday scheduling often feels more personal and emotional than regular scheduling. Employees may have family traditions, religious observances, travel plans, or childcare considerations. Transparent communication and early planning are key.
Here are steps employers can take to keep workplace holiday scheduling as fair as possible:
Openly discuss weekend and holiday scheduling needs with employees. Provide a deadline for time off requests around the holidays and stick to it.
Be transparent and empathetic. Work to understand which holidays are most important to each employee and whether some employees will voluntarily work on popular holidays.
Keeping the lines of communication open and trying to approve as many requests as possible are the best steps toward fair scheduling.
Let employees know which days are company holidays and which days they will need to use personal days, well in advance. Be sure to include any days that the office will close early, such as Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.
If company holidays aren't covered in your employee handbook, be sure to check out this expert-written sample holiday work policy that can be tweaked and used at your organization >>
Consider dividing the holidays into two groups – spring/summer and fall/winter. Balance each employee’s holiday scheduling coverage within each season.
For example, if an employee works Memorial Day (a spring/summer holiday in May), consider giving them time off for Labor Day (a fall/winter holiday in September).
Similar approaches can be taken to balance holiday scheduling when major holidays are close together, such as Christmas and New Year’s. Some companies also rely on seniority when scheduling holiday coverage. Employers that go this route should explain that the same employees cannot request the same holidays off multiple years in a row, regardless of seniority.
RELATED: How to Deny an Employee Vacation Request >>
Some employees may celebrate holidays such as Diwali (a Hindu festival of lights celebrating prosperity), Yom Kippur (a holy day for those practicing Judaism) and many others. Keep in mind that small business owners with more than 15 employees are subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion.
Religious discrimination includes refusing to accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs or practices – including holiday celebrations – unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship (more than a minimal burden on operation of the business).
Again, through open dialogue and appropriate conversations, managers can create a holiday work schedule that is inclusive of the entire workforce.
RELATED: How to Handle Holiday Vacation Requests >>
A good holiday scheduling policy begins with understanding the minimum number of employees who must work on a holiday. Small businesses should operate as efficiently as possible on holidays.
In some cases, it may even be possible for the business to operate with reduced hours. This will allow for scheduling that accommodates as many requests as possible for time off on the holiday.
Employees with the option for flexible scheduling overall are often more willing to return the favor when the employer requires flexibility around holiday scheduling. When juggling time off requests becomes too problematic, the company might consider incentives such as offering extra pay for delaying time off plans until a slower or less in-demand time of the year. It is especially important for employers to send the message that they support time away from work and to place restrictions on when people can use the time off they have earned only when necessary.
When it comes to scheduling employees in unique situations such as holidays and weekends, Axcet HR Solutions is your go-to source for expert advice and best practices. As a professional employer organization (PEO), we boast a team of certified HR consultants who possess the experience and knowledge you can trust from an HR outsourcing company. Count on us to provide you with the guidance and support you need to efficiently manage employee schedules, ensuring optimal outcomes in any challenging scenario.
If employee issues are cropping up, it may be time to outsource your business' HR. Find out if it's time to outsource HR and what your options are >>
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