Configuring StaffBrik
StaffBrik is designed to work out of the box with sensible defaults, but every hospitality business is different. This page covers all the settings you can customise to match your operation.
Navigate to StaffBrik > Settings to access these options.
Who Can Change Settings
StaffBrik settings apply to your whole business. Changing the holiday year or the default allowance, for example, changes everyone's holiday balance at once. So only owners and admins can change them.
Anyone else who opens the Settings page sees every setting, with a note at the top: "Only an owner or admin can change these settings." Members can still add and edit staff roles at the bottom of the page, because roles are part of day-to-day team management, and they can complete StaffBrik's first-time setup, which creates the initial settings. Only owners and admins can delete a role.
When Something Goes Wrong
If your settings cannot be loaded, the Settings page and the Rota page say "We couldn't load your StaffBrik settings" with a Try again button. Your settings are not lost, and nothing has been reset: try again in a moment. The first-time setup will not save over your settings while it cannot read them.
If a save fails, in any section or when adding, editing or deleting a role, a message says so and why, so you never think a change went through when it did not.
Rota Week Start
The first day of your rota week, under Scheduling > Rota week start. Rotas are built on these weeks: the rota builder, budgets and the weekly reports all start on this day.
Saving a new day asks you to confirm first, for example: "Rota weeks will run Saturday to Friday. Rotas you have already built keep their Monday weeks, so earlier weeks will no longer open from the rota page. This is only possible while you have no rotas for this week or later."
While you have rotas for this week or later, the change is refused and the reason is shown under the picker: "The rota week start can't change while you have rotas for this week or later (...). They are built on weeks that start on a Monday, so they would no longer open on the rota page. Contact support if you need to change it."
Set the week start when you first set up StaffBrik, to match the way you plan your week. Many cafes start on a Monday; some prefer the week to start on the day the new rota goes up.
Break Policy
Configure how breaks are handled across your organisation.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Default break type | Whether breaks are paid or unpaid | Unpaid |
| Break duration | Length of break in minutes | 30 minutes |
| Minimum hours before break | The minimum shift length before a break is required | 6 hours |
Under UK law, workers over 18 are entitled to an uninterrupted 20-minute rest break if they work more than 6 hours in a day. Your configured break duration should be at least 20 minutes to comply with this requirement. Many hospitality businesses offer 30 minutes as standard.
How it works: The default break goes on, or comes off, only when a shift's times are set or changed across the minimum hours threshold. If the break is unpaid, the break duration is deducted from the shift's paid hours when calculating costs.
- A new shift that is at or over the threshold starts with the default break.
- Changing the times so a shift goes over the threshold adds the default break, and changing them so it drops under takes it off.
- A break you type by hand is kept, including 0 for someone working straight through, and a short break under the default.
- Opening a shift never changes its break, and nor does retyping a time without crossing the threshold.
- A default break of 0 minutes stays 0. No break is added.
Example: A chef is scheduled for an 8-hour shift (10:00 to 18:00) with a 30-minute unpaid break. StaffBrik costs the shift at 7.5 paid hours.
Copy Week, drag-copy and Duplicate keep each shift's break length and take paid or unpaid from your current break policy.
Changing the policy for shifts ahead
Shifts already on the rota keep the break they were saved with. So after an owner or admin switches the policy between paid and unpaid, Settings counts the shifts from tomorrow that still pay their break the old way and asks "Apply the new break policy to shifts ahead?", for example "4 shifts from tomorrow have unpaid breaks. Make them paid and re-cost those weeks? This includes any you set up that way on purpose. Today and earlier stay as they are."
- Apply to shifts ahead changes those shifts and re-costs their weeks.
- Leave them as they are keeps them as they are. You can still change any shift by hand.
Today's shifts and anything earlier are never changed. If applying fails, a message says the shifts are unchanged so you can try again.
If your front-of-house team takes paid breaks but your kitchen team takes unpaid breaks, set the organisation default to the more common one and change the break on individual shifts.
Baseline Rate
Shown in Settings as Baseline hourly rate, under the heading "Starting rate for new staff whose role has no rate". You set it during StaffBrik's first-time setup.
- Adding someone. When you add an employee whose role has no hourly rate, the Pay & Tax step starts at the baseline rate. You can change it for each person. A role with a rate starts at the role's rate instead.
- Importing from payroll. Someone imported from Xero with no hourly rate reported gets the baseline rate as a placeholder, or the minimum wage for their age if that is higher, never less. See Importing from Payroll.
It is only a starting point. Shift costs always use each employee's own pay rate. The baseline rate cannot be saved empty, and a figure you typed and then cancelled is not kept.
Pension
Configure employer pension contributions at the organisation level.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Pension rate | Employer contribution as a percentage of qualifying earnings | 3% |
The legal minimum employer contribution for auto-enrolment is 3% of qualifying earnings (between £120 and £967 per week). If you contribute more than the minimum, update this setting so that true cost calculations and reports reflect your actual pension spend.
The pension rate is applied in True Cost calculations, the Cost Calculator, and all cost-related reports.
Changing the pension rate
Changing the employer pension rate re-costs every rota week that is still running or still ahead, and the shift cost and cost per working hour shown on each person's current and future pay rates. This happens in the background, shortly after you save, and the rota refreshes when it is done.
Weeks that have ended keep the rate they were costed with, so last month's figures do not move. A rate of 0% is costed as 0%.
Budget
Set your target labour cost percentage for wage monitoring.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Target wage percentage | Labour cost as a percentage of revenue | 30% |
This is the starting target for each week's budget on the rota. You can set a different target for any week in the budget dialog. When an owner or admin does, they are asked whether to make it the new default.
Typical labour cost targets in UK hospitality:
- Quick-service cafe or bakery: 25-30%
- Casual dining restaurant: 28-33%
- Fine dining: 33-40%
Set a target that reflects your business model and review it seasonally - you may accept a higher percentage during quieter months if your revenue drops but you need to retain trained staff.
RTW Threshold
Configure when a Return to Work conversation is triggered.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| RTW threshold | Number of absence days before an RTW is required | 3 days |
When an employee's absence meets or exceeds this threshold (in calendar days), StaffBrik generates an RTW checklist and creates a dashboard alert. See Return to Work for full details.
You can set this to 1 day if you want an RTW conversation after every absence, regardless of length. Some operators prefer this approach as it ensures consistent management of all absences.
If an RTW is not completed in time, StaffBrik sends a reminder on its first overdue day and then weekly for a while. See Overdue Reminders.
Setting the threshold too high (e.g. 7+ days) means you may miss the opportunity to have a timely conversation after shorter absences. The CIPD recommends conducting RTW conversations for all absences of 3+ days as a minimum.
Holiday Year
Configure your holiday year to match your business cycle.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Start month | The month your holiday year begins | January |
| Start day | The day of the month your holiday year begins | 1 |
| Entitlement (days) | Full-time annual holiday entitlement in days | 28 |
| Hours per day | Standard hours in a working day (used to convert between days and hours) | 8 |
The UK statutory minimum is 28 days (5.6 weeks) for a full-time worker, including bank holidays. If you offer more than the statutory minimum (e.g. 28 days plus bank holidays), set the entitlement accordingly.
Changing the entitlement updates every allowance StaffBrik has worked out, from the current holiday year on. Allowances you have set by hand for someone stay as they are.
Saving the holiday section only changes the default allowance or the carry-over cap if you edited them, so saving a new start date, say, leaves both exactly as they were. When the saved allowance is not a whole number of days, the editor says so, for example "Saved as 34.5 days. It stays that way unless you change the number here." Typing the whole-day figure it shows (34) sets exactly that.
Changing only Hours per day keeps the entitlement and your carry-over cap the same number of days (28 days stays 28 days), with the hours behind them following the new day length. Hours per day is also what counts as full time for pro-rata allowances: five working days of it.
Changing the start date
Changing the start month or day asks "Change the holiday year start?" before anything is saved, and explains what will happen:
- The holiday year you are in now runs between the dates shown.
- Approved holiday is counted in the holiday year each day falls in under the new dates, so holiday booked ahead can move to next year's balance.
- Holiday already taken this year stays taken. Where days move to or from a year that has ended, the difference shows as an adjustment on that person's balance, which you can change.
- Allowances StaffBrik works out are recalculated for the new dates. Carry-over and allowances you have set by hand stay as they are.
- The date untaken holiday next carries over is shown.
Click Change holiday year to confirm. See Holiday Entitlements for more.
StaffBrik uses these settings to:
- Calculate pro-rata entitlements for part-time and mid-year starters.
- Track used vs remaining days throughout the year.
- Carry untaken holiday over automatically on your holiday year start date.
- Display entitlement information on time-off requests.
Common holiday year start dates:
| Start Date | Why |
|---|---|
| 1st January | Calendar year - simple and easy to communicate |
| 1st April | Aligns with the UK tax year (6th April) |
| 1st September | Popular with businesses that have a seasonal peak in summer - starts the new year after the busy period |
Roles
Roles define the positions in your organisation and are used throughout StaffBrik for rota building, cost calculations, and reporting.
Creating a Role
- Go to StaffBrik > Settings > Roles.
- Click Add Role.
- Configure the following:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Role name | The name of the position | Head Chef, Barista, Front of House |
| Hourly rate | Optional. The starting rate offered when you add someone with this role. Clear the box to remove it | £13.50 |
| Colour | A display colour used on the rota | Blue, green, orange, etc. |
How Roles Are Used
- Rota display: Each role has a colour, making it easy to see at a glance what mix of roles you have scheduled on any given day. For example, kitchen roles in red, front-of-house in blue, and management in green.
- Starting rate: When you add someone with a role that has an hourly rate, their Pay & Tax step starts at that rate. With no rate on the role, it starts at your baseline rate. Either way you can change it for that person.
- Shift costs: A shift is always costed at the employee's own pay rate in force on the shift's date, whatever role it is for. A role's rate never changes what a shift costs.
- Reporting: Reports can be filtered and grouped by role, so you can see costs and staffing levels per position.
Deleting a Role
Only owners and admins can delete a role. Once it is deleted:
- It cannot be put on a new shift, open shift or working pattern: "That role isn't available. Choose one of your roles." Shifts and patterns that already have it can still be edited.
- Copy Week and Populate from Patterns leave it off the new shifts, so they show the person's own role. An open shift offered to everyone with that role is not copied.
- Its name can be used again for a new role.
Keep your role list manageable. A small cafe might only need 3-4 roles (Barista, Kitchen, Supervisor, Manager), while a larger restaurant might have 8-10. Too many roles makes the rota harder to read - too few and you lose useful detail in reports.
Example Role Setup for a Cafe
| Role | Rate | Colour | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barista | £11.44 | Teal | Entry-level front-of-house |
| Senior Barista | £12.50 | Blue | Can run a shift unsupervised |
| Kitchen | £11.44 | Orange | Food prep and dishwashing |
| Head Baker | £14.00 | Red | Leads the kitchen / bakery |
| Supervisor | £13.00 | Green | Shift leader, key holder |
| Manager | £15.00 | Purple | Full management responsibilities |
Example Role Setup for a Restaurant
| Role | Rate | Colour | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front of House | £11.44 | Blue | Waiting and bar staff |
| Senior Waiter | £12.00 | Teal | Experienced, can manage a section |
| Kitchen Porter | £11.44 | Grey | Dishwashing and prep support |
| Commis Chef | £12.00 | Orange | Junior kitchen |
| Chef de Partie | £13.50 | Red | Runs a station |
| Sous Chef | £15.00 | Maroon | Deputy to the head chef |
| Head Chef | £17.00 | Dark Red | Kitchen leader |
| Manager | £16.00 | Purple | General management |