Coffee Shop Staff: Assigning Duties, Planning Shifts, and Hiring Employees

Determine which roles your coffee shop needs by looking at the daily tasks and when they need to be done. First, list drink preparation, taking orders, processing payments, serving the seating area, cleaning, and managing the business. Then assign each task to someone and arrange cover for breaks, days off, and absences. The nine functions described below can be handled by several employees, the owner, and external specialists, depending on workload and qualifications.

Before an employee’s first shift, formalize the employment relationship, arrange any required medical examination, provide training, and agree on duties, schedule, and pay. The legal requirements below apply to coffee shops in Ukraine. During martial law, the general rules of the Labor Code of Ukraine apply with the provisions set out in Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX.

Decide Which Functions Your Coffee Shop Format Needs

List the work from opening preparations through cleaning after closing. For each task, note when it is done, who is responsible, what skills it requires, and who can cover it. Mark tasks that happen at the same time: an employee making a drink may not have time to take payment, clear a table, and accept a delivery.

Buying ready-made desserts from a supplier may reduce the need for an in-house production team. Compare the purchase price, delivery, leftovers, and time spent receiving goods with the costs of in-house production. The coffee shop remains responsible for food safety within the scope of its activities, and the law determines the requirements for registering a food facility. Outsourcing baking does not by itself remove these obligations — Article 20 of Law of Ukraine No. 771/97-VR.

Calculate Working Hours and Check the Workload

Illustrative calculation. The coffee shop is open 10 hours a day, seven days a week. The owner has determined that two workstations must be staffed at the same time throughout those hours: one for preparing drinks, the other for taking orders, processing payments, and handing orders over. The requirement is 2 × 10 × 7 = 140 person-hours per week.

Under the general 40-hour workweek limit for an adult employee who is not subject to reduced working hours, that is 140 ÷ 40 = 3.5 full-time equivalents. If you plan to use only full-time positions, rounding up gives four positions to cover these hours. If you combine full-time and part-time employment, the calculated requirement remains 3.5 full-time equivalents. This figure does not yet tell you how many people you need: it excludes opening preparations, closing tasks, breaks, rest days, leave, and cover.

Next, measure the time needed to open, replenish supplies, wash up, and close. Add tasks that fall outside the hours already counted or require an additional person. Allow a reserve for employee absences. Set specific break times and identify who covers for each employee. If cover hours are already included in the 140 hours of continuous service at the two workstations, do not count them again.

Then prepare a calendar for specific people: start and end times, breaks, days off, planned leave, and cover. If the owner works behind the counter, include their actual working hours. Do not schedule purchasing, a meeting with the accountant, and cover for a barista at the same time.

The general limit is set out in Article 50 of the Labor Code of Ukraine. The option to increase the limit to 60 hours during martial law applies to employees at critical infrastructure facilities. A regular coffee shop does not qualify just because martial law is in effect. Under Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX, the employer sets a five-day or six-day workweek and the start and end times of shifts; the uninterrupted weekly rest period for adults may be reduced to 24 hours. Dividing hours by 40 alone does not establish that an individual schedule is lawful.

How to Tell Whether You Need Another Employee

Observe several typical and busy days. Record when each order is received and handed over, what it includes, how long the queue is, and what each employee is doing. Also note when service slows because of payment processing, drink preparation, a shortage of clean dishes, or the need to replenish supplies.

Compare the results before and after changing how tasks are assigned. For example, see how the shift runs when one person takes orders and hands them over while another prepares drinks. If delays continue, determine how many additional assistant hours are needed. Use the actual time taken to fulfil orders at your coffee shop: the menu, equipment, and way the work is organized all affect staffing needs.

Assign the Nine Main Roles

1. Barista

Assign the barista to prepare drinks according to the coffee shop’s approved procedures, prepare the workstation, replenish necessary supplies, and carry out daily equipment care in accordance with the equipment instructions and within the barista’s skills. When hiring, assess whether the candidate follows a consistent process, works neatly, understands safe practices, and knows when to clarify an order. Ask them to explain what they would do if a drink needed to be remade or equipment was not working properly.

In a small coffee shop, a barista can also take payments if they can perform both functions in time and maintain hygiene. If cashier duties regularly interrupt drink preparation, separate the tasks during peak hours. Formalize an employment relationship for daily work on shifts set by the owner; the section below explains how to assess skills safely.

2. Cashier

Set out the cashier’s process for taking and confirming an order, processing payment, issuing a receipt, passing the order to the barista, and approving refunds. Check the candidate’s attention to detail with training scenarios: a change to an order, different payment methods, or an incorrect item. You can use cards with sample orders without making actual sales.

If the cashier also serves the seating area, specify who takes payment when the cashier is away from the register. In shift handover rules, state who checks the cash and payment records, how discrepancies are recorded, and to whom they are referred for review. Giving each employee individual access helps distinguish their actions from those of their colleagues.

3. Pastry Chef

A pastry chef is needed when the coffee shop actually runs its own production. When hiring, assess the candidate’s experience with the planned range, ability to follow the production sequence, use equipment, and keep the records required by the business. Agree on production volumes and the hours needed for preparation, baking, and cleaning.

Combining this work with counter duties makes sense only if there is enough time and the employee has the right skills. If another producer supplies the desserts, assign a coffee shop employee to receive them, check the accompanying documents, and report discrepancies. Agree with the supplier on the range, delivery times, acceptance conditions, and what to do if goods do not meet requirements.

4. Administrator

The administrator prepares schedules, arranges cover, monitors supplies and daily tasks, receives reports of equipment faults, and handles guest issues within their authority. Initially, the owner can perform these functions. Set aside specific hours and provide access to shift records.

Specify which decisions the administrator can make independently: ordering within agreed limits, replacing an employee, approving a refund, or calling a service technician. Assign administrative duties to a separate employee when they regularly take up time the owner needs for other work. Designate someone with the necessary authority to cover when the administrator is away.

5. Marketer

A marketer can help determine whom the coffee shop wants to attract, what offer to promote, and how to assess promotion costs. For a small business, it may be convenient to commission a specific service: a local campaign plan, campaign setup, and a report for an agreed period. Set the budget, deadlines, and evaluation metrics before work begins.

Ask the specialist to explain how they will assess the link between advertising and visits or orders. Agree on access to advertising accounts and how that access will be returned when the engagement ends. The owner can handle some of these tasks if they have the necessary skills and time for regular analysis.

6. Social Media Specialist

You can assign this specialist to prepare content, publish posts, update the coffee shop’s information, and respond to messages. In a small coffee shop, the owner or marketer may do this work. Before combining duties, check that there is still time to reply to guests and approve content.

For an external service, specify the deliverables: a publishing calendar, an agreed volume of content, response times, and a report. Set out which messages the specialist must pass to the administrator, including complaints about orders. To assess a candidate, review their portfolio and ask them to discuss a sample response to a guest without doing actual work for the coffee shop’s page.

7. Accountant

An accountant is needed for the agreed scope of bookkeeping, payroll calculations, taxes, and reporting. For a small business, this may be an external specialist. Check their experience with your type of business and employment practices, as well as their ability to explain which source documents and information they expect from the owner.

Agree on a schedule for handing over information and completing tasks: who prepares the employee hiring notice, who submits it, who checks the submission result, and when the owner receives payment calculations. Arrange cover for the accountant’s leave. Outsourcing bookkeeping still requires timely and accurate information about the work actually performed.

8. Cleaner

Divide cleaning into tasks carried out during the day and after service ends. List the areas, frequency, cleaning products, and person responsible for checking the work. If the barista keeps the counter clean, include that in their workload; the seating area, washrooms, and end-of-day cleaning may require another person.

You can hire a cleaning company for a defined scope of work, with agreed hours and acceptance criteria. Check who will actually attend, who will cover for them, and which requirements apply to access to a food facility. Staff assigned to the coffee shop must also deal with spills and dirt during operating hours: an evening contractor does not cover those needs throughout the day.

9. Technical Support Specialist

You can usually hire external support for computers, accounting software, the network, and retail equipment. Agree on the devices and software covered, support hours, initial response time, and call-out terms. Find out which faults the provider handles and when another service specialist is needed.

Agree on data backups, how access is provided, and how completed work is recorded. The shift lead should have the support contacts and instructions for making the first call. For repairs to coffee and other production equipment, hire specialists with the right expertise; keep separate contacts if the computer support provider does not handle that work.

Agree on Combined Duties and the Scope of External Services

For each combination of duties, check three things: the person can perform both jobs, has enough time, and can switch between tasks safely. Record the duties, priorities, and pay arrangements. For example, during a queue, the barista should know who will accept a delivery if they cannot leave drink preparation.

For external contractors, agree on the scope of service, deliverables, deadlines, acceptance criteria, and cover arrangements. Check their actual availability: a contractor who responds only on business days will not provide urgent support at weekends unless you make a separate arrangement.

A barista who regularly performs assigned job duties in person, follows the owner’s schedule, and is subject to the coffee shop’s working arrangements must have a formal employment relationship. Calling the agreement a service contract does not change how the work is actually performed. Refer to the substance of the employment contract under Article 21 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.

Assess the Candidate and Hire Them Before Work Begins

Prepare consistent criteria for candidates applying for the same role: required skills, availability for the schedule, attention to detail, and adherence to safe procedures. During the interview, use scenario questions, sample order cards, and explanations of equipment use. This lets you assess how the candidate thinks without allowing them to serve guests.

Arrange practical work with food and equipment only under safe conditions, after the necessary training and confirmation of medical fitness. If a candidate prepares an order for a guest or performs ordinary shift duties, that is work: formalize the employment relationship and agree on pay before the work begins. An unpaid productive “trial shift” is not a substitute for a lawful probationary period.

Under Article 24 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, an employee may start work after an employment contract has been concluded, an order or directive issued, and the tax authority notified. Under the general rules, a written contract is mandatory in specified cases, including when the employer is an individual. During martial law, the parties agree on the form of the contract under Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX. In practice, it is advisable to set out duties, schedule, pay, and agreements on combined roles in writing.

Submit the notice to the State Tax Service of Ukraine before work begins, in accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 413: electronically with a valid electronic signature. If electronic submission is technically unavailable, the rules provide for a paper document together with a copy in electronic form. If employment is formalized electronically through the “Obriy” system, the relevant information is transmitted automatically. Assign someone to submit the notice and keep confirmation that it was done.

A probation clause must be agreed when the contract is concluded and included in the hiring order. During probation, the employee has employment rights and must be paid. During martial law, probation may be set for any category of employee under Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX. For a regular coffee shop, the time limits are set by Article 27 of the Labor Code of Ukraine: generally up to three months and, for manual workers, up to one month; a six-month period is possible only in specific cases with the approval required by that article. Days of actual absence do not count toward the probation period.

Check Medical Clearance and Train Staff in Hygiene

Compare job titles and actual duties with the list approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 559. For food service, it includes, among others, administrators, cooks and kitchen workers, pastry chefs, waiters, warehouse and cold-storage workers, staff who wash equipment and clean, maintenance workers in production and storage areas, and temporary staff at food facilities. For baristas and cashiers, consider the actual nature of the work; the job title alone does not determine clearance requirements.

The employer arranges and pays for mandatory preliminary and periodic preventive medical examinations. If an employee is under 21, the employer must also arrange and pay for their annual mandatory medical examination under Article 169 of the Labor Code of Ukraine. Account for this requirement when planning examinations for adult employees under 21. Resolution No. 559 sets out a separate rule for the personal medical booklet form: in the cases specified by the resolution, the employee reimburses its cost or purchases it at their own expense. Medical examinations are conducted by a healthcare provider licensed to practice medicine. The procedure, examinations, and personal medical booklet requirements are set by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 280.

Check that the medical booklet is appropriate for the employee’s duties, review the medical conclusion on fitness for work, and check the date of the next examination. Keep a register of booklets and monitor due dates. Under Resolution No. 559, the employer ensures they are stored; in the cases it specifies, the booklet may be kept by the employee. The owner checks that the employee is properly cleared to work; medical conclusions are made by healthcare professionals.

Staff may work in food handling areas if they have no relevant medical contraindications and have completed hygiene training provided by the food business operator. The training must be documented, and the operator sets how often it is repeated — Article 48 of Law No. 771/97-VR. Explain the rules for hand hygiene, work clothing, switching between the register, cleaning, and food handling, and following the procedures used in your coffee shop.

Set a clear process for reporting a health condition that could create a risk of food contamination. Under Article 48, an employee who may come into contact with food must immediately notify the food business operator of the circumstances specified there. The responsible person must stop assigning them tasks that could put food at risk, arrange cover, and determine whether they can be cleared to work. Do not ask employees to diagnose themselves or discuss private medical details with colleagues.

Introduce an Adult Employee to the Job

Assign someone to handle the induction and check each item before the employee works independently. The employer’s duties to inform and instruct are set out in Articles 29 and 153 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.

1. Check the documents. Obtain an identity document, employment history information or a paper employment record book if available, and, where required by law, qualification, health, and relevant military registration documents.
2. Complete the hiring formalities. Agree on the employment contract, issue the hiring order, and ensure the tax authority is notified before work begins. Check the first work date and any agreed probation clause.
3. Explain the working conditions. Before work begins, tell the employee their workplace, position, duties, rights, start date, pay terms and amount, and annual leave entitlement. Familiarize them with the internal work rules or the terms for setting the work schedule, working and rest hours, and the collective agreement, if one has been concluded. Explain how professional training is organized if applicable, as well as the procedure and statutory notice periods for termination of the employment contract by the employee and employer. Agree on how documents will be exchanged.
4. Show them the workstation. Before work begins, provide the necessary equipment, explain safe use, and give occupational safety, workplace sanitation, occupational hygiene, and fire safety instruction. Obtain the employee’s signature confirming that they have been informed of any unresolved hazardous or harmful factors, their possible effects on health, and the benefits and compensation provided by law and the collective agreement for working in such conditions.
5. Check medical clearance and hygiene training. Document the training and make sure the employee can explain the rules in their own words and follow them in practice.
6. Go through the shift. Tell them their working hours, break, who will cover for them, how to report an absence, and how to hand over unfinished tasks.
7. Check independent work. After training, assess performance against the agreed criteria and record any skills that need further practice.

Under Article 66 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, a break for rest and meals may not exceed two hours, is normally provided four hours after work begins, and is not part of working time. The employee may leave the workplace. So identify who provides actual cover in the shift calendar. If working conditions make a break impossible, the employer must give the employee the opportunity to eat during working hours. The employer sets the list of such jobs and the arrangements and place for meals in agreement with the elected body of the primary trade union organization or a trade union representative. Continuous service to guests alone is not grounds for using this exception.

Agree on Transparent Pay and Record Actual Work

Before hiring, explain the rate or salary, agreed workload, pay dates, and bonus rules. For variable pay, set verifiable criteria: which results count, over what period, and which records will be used. The employee should understand how combining duties affects their work and pay.

Meet minimum state guarantees. For part-time work, pay is proportional to the hours worked or based on output, while employment rights are preserved. Overtime is paid under special rules; under an hourly system, it is paid at twice the hourly rate and cannot be replaced with time off in lieu. These provisions are set out in Articles 56, 94, 95, and 106 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.

Wages must be paid at least twice a month, no more than 16 calendar days apart and no later than seven days after the end of the period being paid — Article 115 of the Labor Code of Ukraine. During martial law, employees must be notified of changes to essential working conditions and pay no later than before those changes take effect under Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX. If a scheduled payday falls on a day off, public holiday, or non-working day, pay wages on the preceding day, as required by Article 115. Article 10 of Law No. 2136-IX sets out separate provisions for cases where hostilities prevent timely payment: if payment is impossible for that reason, the deadline may be deferred until the enterprise resumes operations. Exemption from liability for late payment requires proof that hostilities or other force majeure circumstances caused the delay and does not cancel the obligation to pay wages. Record changes to working conditions and notices so the employee and accountant use the same information.

How to Use Torgsoft to Track Time and Plan Coffee Shop Shifts

In Torgsoft, basic time tracking on a personal computer lets you record start and end times and view a text log. According to the official time tracking setup guide, you need to create an employee record, link it to a program user, and choose whether to log time with a badge or through program use. Agree with employees on how to register their time and check for missing entries. The log helps you cross-check records; by itself, it does not capture all physical tasks, including preparation before logging into the program, and does not confirm hygiene training or compliance with legal requirements. Automatic payroll calculations and advanced scheduling require the paid “Розрахунок зарплати” (“Payroll Calculation”) option and the relevant setup.

To plan extra shift cover, use “Аналіз інтенсивності продажів” (“Sales Intensity Analysis”): select a period, the accounting center for the relevant location, and grouping by hour or day of the week. The program can analyze the number of receipts and the quantity or value of goods. Compare the chart with your observations of queues and order complexity: sales can help identify busy periods, while staffing needs should be determined based on the actual tasks involved.

Review Shifts and Arrange Cover

After each shift, the person responsible records actual hours worked, cover arrangements, unfinished tasks, payment discrepancies, and equipment faults. The next shift receives the information it needs. The owner or administrator checks the records, follows up on discrepancies, and sends the accountant the approved information for calculations.

Periodically compare the schedule with the actual workload: were breaks taken, was there enough time to clean, who covered for absent employees, and what work was left to the owner? If delays recur, change the task assignments, the hours of additional cover, or team size. Each shift must have people assigned to serve guests, handle food safely, and complete daily tasks.