How to Make a Restaurant Employee Time Off Request Policy

It’s Wednesday morning. You’ve got time-off requests in your texts and on sticky notes by the register. A server just said she “might need next Friday off.” Sound familiar?

No matter the size of your restaurant, time off requests are part of your day-to-day as a manager.

People get sick, have family obligations, and need a real break from the grind. A clear time off request policy keeps those requests organized so you can protect coverage and treat people fairly.

• What this article includes: A 6-step guide to set up your time off request policy and a request form template.
• Who it’s for: Restaurant owners, GMs, and managers balancing staffing with real life.

What is a time off request policy?

A time off request policy is the written process your restaurant uses to approve (or deny) time away from scheduled shifts. It tells employees exactly how to request time off and tells managers exactly how to handle it.

Use a time off request policy example as a starting point when building your own. Pair it with solid restaurant scheduling best practices to keep your team covered. Cover the following areas:

• Time off eligibility: Who can request time off, and when it begins (new hires vs. after a probation period).
• PTO/accrual rules: How paid time off is earned and tracked (if you offer it).
• Request method: Where requests must be submitted (paper form, email, or scheduling app).
• Notice + blackout dates: How far in advance to request, and which dates are limited.
• Approval + accountability: How conflicts are decided and what happens when the process isn’t followed.

Types of time off requests

Your team has lives outside the restaurant. A good policy covers the most common time off scenarios you’ll see all year long.

Time off type	What it usually covers	Manager note
Vacation (PTO)	Planned trips, personal days	Best handled with clear notice rules and blackout dates
Sick leave	Short-notice illness or injury	Define how to call out and when a doctor’s note is needed (if ever)
Medical leave	Extended health needs, caregiving	May be job-protected depending on law and eligibility
Bereavement	Loss of a loved one	Set expectations for paid vs. unpaid days
Jury duty	Legal obligation	Often required; pay rules vary by state

Vacation time (PTO)

Vacation time is when an employee requests time off for travel, relaxation, or a personal obligation they need to handle outside of work. Sometimes referred to as PTO (paid time off), paid vacation time lets employees step away from work and return feeling refreshed. They can do so without sacrificing a paycheck.

Sick Leave

Sick leave keeps employees from coming in when they’re ill or injured. That protects your team and your guests.

Depending on the situation and your location, sick time may be protected (and sometimes required to be paid). For longer or qualifying medical issues, rules like FMLA may apply. Review your restaurant HR policies to make sure sick leave is properly documented.

Medical Leave

Medical leave is essentially extended sick time. It protects a worker’s employment status if they’re affected by a longer-term medical need. According to the FMLA, this could include childbirth, caring for a family member, or an underlying physical/mental health condition.

Bereavement Leave

Bereavement time allows those who have experienced the death of a loved one to take time off work to grieve and process. While there are no federal laws requiring bereavement time, it’s best practice to offer time off to employees in these difficult times. Your team will remember how you treated them during their toughest moments.

Jury Duty

Time off for jury duty can last as little as a morning or as long as several months. Because it is a legal obligation, these time off requests must be granted. However, states vary in whether or not employees must be paid during this time.

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Restaurant Employee Time Off Request Template

Start organizing time off requests with this free document template

Download now

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Why every restaurant needs a time off request policy

Time off requests aren’t a nuisance. They’re an essential and expected part of running a restaurant with a happy, productive team. Having a clear time off policy and a simple process for handling requests prevents headaches for both you and your staff.

• Better coverage: You get enough notice to staff the floor and the line.
• More fairness: A written process reduces favoritism and drama.
• Less risk: You can bake state and federal rules into your workflow.
• Higher morale: People stay longer when they can actually plan their lives.
• Cleaner documentation: You have a record when there’s a dispute.

How to build a time off request policy in 6 steps

1. Create submission guidelines

Decide exactly how employees must request time off. If the process is fuzzy, requests will come in through every channel, and things will get missed. For example:

• Accepted: 7shifts request, written form, or email (choose one primary method).
• Not accepted: Passing it to another employee, mentioning it mid-shift, or DMing a manager on social.

Whatever you choose, put it in writing and train it during onboarding.

2. Define advanced notice

Find parameters about how much of a heads up employees are required to give before their requested time off. By doing so, you give yourself time to prioritize requests. Those who weren’t approved can then find someone to trade shifts with.

Two weeks is a common standard for restaurant teams. That said, life doesn’t always give two weeks’ notice. Make sure your policy addresses last-minute or emergency requests.

3. Show what’s off limits

Your business may need to schedule “blackout” dates when you will need to limit time off requests, such as during peak shifts and busy seasons. You may also want to establish rules so that two vacations in one department (kitchen, wait staff, bar) aren’t taken at the same time.

With scheduling software, you can pre-select blackout dates so that employees won’t have to wait and see if their requests get approved.

Also, consider whether your employees are contracted to work a certain number of hours each month.

4. Track absentee frequency

As important as time off is, there do need to be some boundaries in place. That’s why you should have a system to track how much time off each employee requests. That way, you can discover any imbalances that are putting too much strain on other staff members and prevent bad habits from forming.

5. Prevent overlapping requests

Overlapping requests will happen, especially around holidays. Your policy needs a clear tie-breaker so managers aren’t making it up on the fly.

• Default rule: First come, first served.
• When it’s not that simple: Consider seniority, time since last approved request, and the urgency of the reason.
• Capacity limits: Set department-level limits (e.g., no more than 1 cook off per shift).

6. Understand your state and federal laws

Remember, some time off requests are non-negotiable, particularly when they involve FMLA or any state mandates. It’s worth reviewing your state’s laws and codifying them into your time off request policy so employees can understand why requests have been rejected.

How restaurants streamline time-off request management

Being a great manager means having a heart when it comes to your staff’s needs and having the brains to keep business operations running smoothly.

You may find yourself having to make some tough calls when considering whether to approve or deny an employee’s time off requests. Understandably, employees may be upset if any of their requests are denied. That’s why you want to make sure your time off request procedure and policy is as straightforward, transparent, and fair as possible.

For example, repeatedly denying the same employee’s time off requests signals a staffing gap. Train a backup on those tasks before that employee burns out and leaves for a competitor.

How to balance time off requests across your team

The process for taking time off must be fair and clear so that employees aren’t left feeling confused or unvalued. Aside from communicating your time off request policy, here are some other ways to make things balanced.

• Develop a rotating time off schedule. If two employees want the same shift off, alternate who gets approved.
• Build an on-call schedule. Ensure busy shifts are covered if someone takes unapproved time off.
• Allow shift swaps. Let employees swap shifts with teammates to get coverage for important events.

Time off request form template

A manager’s job is hard enough without tracking time off requests across texts, calls, and hallway conversations. A standard form keeps requests consistent and keeps your decision-making fair. When every request includes the same fields, approvals get faster and disputes get rarer.

Generate your own form for your restaurant or download our readymade employee time off request form template here. Pairing your form with a time off request policy example helps ensure nothing is overlooked. At a minimum, collect the following:

• Employee name
• Date of request
• Employee department
• Vacation days available
• End and start date of day off request
• Total days requested
• Date when they will return to work
• Reason for time off
• Employee’s signature with date
• Manager’s signature with date
• Approval/denial confirmation

Keep requests organized by status—approved, pending, and denied—so you can review them quickly. If you use software, make sure managers are trained on where to find that history.

With a standardized form in place, ensure the submission process is easy and doesn’t create extra work.

One more thing to document: what happens to unused PTO when an employee leaves. Will you pay out accrued time? Up to a certain cap? In a high-turnover industry like restaurants, this comes up more than you’d think. Requirements vary by state, so check your local labor laws to make sure you’re covered.

How to centralize scheduling and time-off requests

Paper systems work until they don’t. They get lost, approvals go undocumented, and managers end up chasing information.

A restaurant scheduling app like 7shifts puts requests, approvals, and availability in one place. That means fewer mistakes and faster decisions.

• Faster requests: Employees submit dates and notes from their phone in seconds.
• Cleaner approvals: Managers approve/deny requests with a record of what happened (and when).
• Fewer conflicts: The schedule flags availability issues before you publish.
• Built-in communication: Share policy reminders and updates in team chat.
• Better coverage options: Shift pools and shift trades help fill gaps quickly (with manager approval).
• Multi-location visibility: See who can help across locations when you’re in a pinch.

Putting your time off policy into action

Time off requests aren’t going anywhere, especially during holidays and peak season. The goal is to document the rules, share them early, and run the same process every time. Refer back to your time off request policy example whenever you need to update or communicate the rules.

• Write it down: Put the policy in your handbook and onboarding.
• Post the key rules: Notice requirements, blackout dates, and how conflicts are decided.
• Use one system: One request channel beats five informal ones.

You won’t make every employee happy every time. But you can run a fair process that protects coverage and respects people’s lives.

Time off request policy FAQ’s

What is an example of a good PTO policy?

A good PTO policy defines accrual, notice requirements, blackout dates, and how conflicts are resolved. Use the sample policy above as a starting point.

How do I create a time off policy for my restaurant?

Set your accrual/eligibility rules, define notice and blackout dates, and document how approvals work. Then train managers to apply it consistently.

What’s the difference between PTO and FTO?

PTO is earned time off that accrues over time. FTO is flexible (often unlimited) time off that still requires manager approval.

How can I manage time-off requests and ensure compliance with labor laws in my restaurant?

A documented time-off policy—paired with scheduling software like 7shifts—keeps requests organized, approvals on record, and your restaurant compliant with state and federal labor laws.