How to Manage Restaurant Staffing During the Holidays in Australia

The holiday period tends to bring a spike in guest numbers, special events and extended opening hours. It also introduces complex staffing challenges like increased workloads, competing holiday commitments and the ever-present labour shortage. Your team is your biggest asset for delivering service, building reputation, securing repeat business and creating memorable guest experiences.

This guide is for restaurant owners, operations managers, general managers, CFOs and budding restaurateurs who want a clear, action-oriented roadmap to manage staffing during the holidays. We'll cover legal obligations, forecasting, hiring, onboarding, rosters, tech solutions and staff wellbeing, all with a distinctly Australian lens.

Forecast Demand and Plan Your Roster Early

Start by pulling your previous season's data for December through January, school holiday windows and public holidays. Look at metrics like guest counts, table turns, spend per cover and booking times to spot peak times and bottlenecks. Reports show that in Australia, public holiday trading may shift dining patterns such as earlier lunch services, set menus and more bookings, so your venue may trade differently than on normal days.

Holiday staffing isn't just more of the same with extra hours. It might involve set menus or fixed-price holiday offers, guest expectations for special service such as Christmas lunch or New Year's Eve events, more takeaway or delivery options if weather allows, and changes in guest behaviour. Some diners may visit less frequently due to cost-of-living pressures, but those who do dine out may spend more.

Build your roster backwards from demand by establishing revenue targets for each key week (including extra costs for holidays). Determine what your acceptable labour percentage is under normal trading versus holiday trading. Using your POS, booking and reservation data, estimate cover numbers per shift and required staffing levels. Map shifts with clear roles for front-of-house, back-of-house and support or float positions, then identify where you may need additional cover. By planning early (ideally three to four months out for your busy season), you avoid being reactive.

Holiday-Specific Hiring: Attracting and Onboarding the Right Team

Start recruitment well in advance of your peak weeks. For many Australian venues, that means recruiting before December or even in October or November, because students, casuals and short-term staff fill up fast.

Craft job ads that speak to what your candidates value: clear hours, competitive rates (including penalty loadings), team culture and potential for ongoing work after the season. According to the Toast Consumer Preferences Survey 2025, 43.5% of workers identify salary and benefits as their top consideration, whilst 27.5% cite work-life balance. Use the channels your target labour pool uses, including hospitality-specific job boards, local student job boards, social media and referrals from your existing team.

Shorter ramp-up times mean your onboarding must be lean and effective. Provide a welcome pack that explains venue values and holiday expectations like longer shifts, public holiday surcharges and guest volumes. Use a buddy system by pairing a new hire with an experienced team member for the first few shifts to integrate culture and expectation. Provide holiday-specific quick-reference guides covering menus, modifiers, special events, guest FAQs and penalty rate explanations. Deliver micro-training modules early and often through 10-minute pre-shift huddles focused on upselling holiday menus, handling big bookings and guest flow during peak shifts. According to the Toast survey, 94% of hospitality workers consider structured onboarding extremely or somewhat valuable.

Smart Rostering: Keeping Staff and Guests Happy Whilst Managing Cost

Publish your holiday rosters at least two to three weeks ahead so staff can plan personal commitments during this busy season. Use roster management tools that allow staff to view shifts, swap within rules and see any additional allowances like penalty or public holiday loadings. Avoid last-minute roster changes unless absolutely needed, as staff morale suffers and turnover risk increases.

Cross-train staff so roles are not too rigid. A front-of-house team member who can assist with basic back-of-house tasks or a casual who can float between service and support adds valuable flexibility. Create mixed shifts with experienced anchors plus newer staff, so there's always someone who knows the venue, kitchen flow and guest service expectations. Schedule in recovery time, especially around big shifts like New Year's Eve or Christmas Eve, so staff aren't burnt out before their break.

Holiday shifts come with higher wage cost due to penalty rates. In many state and territory awards, public holiday work may attract 225 to 250% of base pay. According to Fair Work regulations, these rates are mandatory and vary by classification. Use your POS and scheduling system to monitor labour cost as a percentage of revenue by shift. If labour cost goes above your target, you may need to adjust menu pricing, guest flows or even close for certain hours. In some cases, venues choose not to open on less desirable public holidays if the cost outweighs the benefit, especially boutique venues. Some Gold Coast restaurants opted out of Boxing Day trading due to high wage costs.

Leverage Technology to Support Staffing and Service

Technology is your ally in this period of high demand and high cost. The 2025 Voice of the Australian Restaurant Industry report shows that over 67% of casual-dining venues in Australia now use QR or app-based ordering. Investing in tech isn't optional; it's becoming foundational.

Consider handheld POS devices for front-of-house to take orders and payments quickly at the table, reducing walking time and increasing turns. Kitchen display systems (KDS) can manage high-volume orders and ensure back-of-house flow is synced with front-of-house. Staff scheduling and time-tracking software integrated with payroll and awards ensures correct pay rates and minimises human error. Guest-facing self-service or pre-order apps are especially useful on public holidays with big bookings to lighten front-of-house load. Marketing and customer engagement platforms help you send out holiday offers, capture repeat guests and manage bookings.

Stay Focused on Staff Wellbeing and Culture

Long shifts, premium rates, high guest expectations and holiday events can all strain your team. Keeping staff engaged, respected and energised during this period is critical for guest experience, retention and brand reputation.

Conduct daily pre-shift huddles lasting five to 10 minutes to highlight the day's flow, any VIPs or set menus, and remind your team to look after each other. Ensure breaks, meals and rest areas are provided. Offer a decent staff meal, especially when operating public holiday loads, and guarantee scheduled breaks. Promote a team culture of respect by setting expectations around guest behaviour, supporting staff when things go off-schedule and backing your team when they need support. Recognise effort by planning a thank-you event, bonus or small gift for your team after the holiday rush. This underscores value and builds loyalty. Encourage feedback by using the post-holiday period to ask staff what worked, what didn't and how next year could be even better.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data confirms that the accommodation and food services industry is one of Australia's largest employers, highlighting the importance of treating your workforce well. Guest experience depends heavily on staff morale. Happy, rested, supported teams serve happy guests.

After the Rush: Debrief, Analyse and Improve

When the holiday season is over, the real work starts. Use this momentum to drive better operations next year.

Analyse your numbers by reviewing labour percentage by shift and week, comparing penalty versus base pay. Look at revenue, average spend per guest, table turns, online order volume, peak times, slow times, no-show rates and guest feedback. Gather staff feedback through a short survey or team meeting to understand what the biggest pain point was, what training they wish they had received and what shift patterns were most challenging.

Update your playbook for next time by revising your onboarding checklist, roster templates, holiday job ad wording, cross-training plans and tech integrations. Build your next season's hiring cycle earlier with data in hand. Communicate wins and learnings by sharing insights with key stakeholders like owners, managers and HR, and make sure everyone knows what changed and why.

Legal Essentials: What You Must Know

Most restaurants in Australia fall under either the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 or the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 — you can check which one applies on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Under the National Employment Standards (NES) and your award, full-time and part-time employees are entitled to public holidays (or a substituted day). If they work on a public holiday, penalty rates apply, and these rates vary by state, territory and employee classification. You can find up-to-date public holiday rules and dates through Fair Work or your state or territory government website.

Awards also outline minimum shift lengths, break entitlements, and how much notice you must give when setting rosters, so it’s worth reviewing these before the busy season ramps up.

Holiday labour costs rise quickly because of penalty rates. Some Gold Coast operators have reported junior staff costing around $72 an hour on Boxing Day once loadings are applied. Without careful planning and forecasting, it’s easy for holiday staffing to eat into your margins.

Getting compliance right helps you run a fair, sustainable operation during the busiest (and most demanding) weeks of the year.

Bringing It All Together

Planning early means less panic. Understand your legal requirements first through awards and public holiday rates, then build your demand forecast, hiring timeline and roster strategy. Hiring and onboarding during holiday season must be streamlined, as candidates expect clarity, speed and respect for their time. Rostering requires balance between cost control, guest experience and staff wellbeing. Cross-train, mix experience levels and publish schedules early.

Technology isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. Use it to reduce load, increase accuracy and free your people to focus on what matters. Staff wellbeing matters, especially when shifts are long and pressure is high. A strong team delivers a strong guest experience. After the season, review everything from data to feedback to playbook updates. You'll be better prepared next year for it.

When you follow this roadmap, you'll not only survive the holiday rush, you'll leverage it for more covers, more spend, stronger culture and a repeatable system for growth.