Roster gap on a public holiday

Step 1 - Establish the labour budget

28% of $26,000 = $7,280 total labour cost for the day.

Step 2 - Work out who is available

• Head chef (you) - working.
• 2 cooks - both on approved leave; not available.
• 1 pastry cook - available.
• 4 kitchen hands - available.
• 2 dishwashers - available.
• 1 apprentice (year 1) - available but must be supervised at all times.

That leaves 8 bodies including you, but only one qualified cook plus you to cover the line - a serious skill gap on your busiest day.

Step 3 - Cost the penalty rates

Public holiday loading of 250% means a permanent employee costs 2.5× their ordinary hourly rate. Casuals cost their casual rate (typically 25% loaded) plus the public holiday penalty. You need actual rates from your award/payroll to do this precisely, but the principle is: every permanent hour on this day costs 2.5× normal, so the cheapest way to add coverage is usually a short casual shift rather than extending permanent shifts.

Step 4 - Plan the roster

• You cover the pass and supervise the apprentice directly.
• Pastry cook covers desserts and assists the line at peak.
• Bring in one casual cook for a 6-hour peak shift (11 am–5 pm) to cover the skill gap. A casual at penalty rates for 6 hours is usually cheaper than 2.5× a permanent cook for 10 hours, and it does not create an ongoing entitlement.
• Stagger kitchen hands: 3 on for the peak, 1 on a shorter evening shift.
• 1 dishwasher on the peak, 1 on close.
• Apprentice rostered only alongside you, never alone.

Step 5 - Check the maths

Estimate the casual cook at, say, $45/hr loaded × 6 hrs = $270. Kitchen hands and dishwashers at penalty rates will dominate the cost. If the total exceeds $7,280, cut the evening kitchen hand shift and have you and the pastry cook close down. The point is to build the roster against the dollar cap, not against habit.

The leave decision

Approved leave is a commitment. Revoking it because the day became inconvenient damages trust and may breach the approval you gave. The correct judgement is: honour both requests and solve the coverage problem through casual labour, reallocated duties, and a simplified menu - not by cancelling someone's wedding attendance.

If, and only if, the business genuinely cannot operate, the fallback is a conversation with the staff member about voluntary change, never a unilateral cancellation. Document any agreement.

Communication plan

1. Tell the two cooks their leave stands. This costs you nothing and buys enormous goodwill; staff who trust approvals will not quietly disengage.
2. Brief the remaining team early (at least a week out). Explain the day's shape: higher covers, a simplified menu, who is on which section, and who supervises the apprentice.
3. Be explicit about the apprentice. Name the supervising chef and confirm the apprentice is never left on a section alone. This is both a safety and a compliance issue.
4. Publish the roster in writing with shift times, breaks, and the casual cook's name so everyone knows the line-up.
5. Pre-brief the casual on your systems, allergens, and service standards - a stranger on your busiest day is a risk if they arrive cold.
6. Plan a debrief for the next day: what worked, what the labour cost actually was versus budget, and what you would roster differently.

Why this is the exam answer

The scenario tempts you to cancel leave because it is the 'easy' fix. The judgement being tested is that labour is a resource to be planned, and commitments to people are part of the plan - you solve the gap with casuals, menu simplification, and supervision, and you communicate early and honestly.