Scheduling & labor glossary

Plain-English definitions of the scheduling and labor terms every restaurant operator runs into.

Clopening

Clopening is scheduling the same employee to work a closing shift and then the next morning’s opening shift, leaving only a short rest period — often less than 8–11 hours — between the two shifts.

Predictive scheduling

Predictive scheduling — also called “fair workweek” — refers to laws that require employers to give employees advance notice of their work schedules and to pay a premium (“predictability pay”) when shifts are added, changed, or cancelled on short notice.

Shift differential

Shift differential is additional pay — a flat amount or a percentage of the base rate — given to employees for working less-desirable hours such as nights, weekends, or holidays.

Split shift

A split shift is a single workday divided into two or more work periods separated by a long unpaid, non-meal break — for example, a server who works a lunch shift, leaves for several hours, and returns for dinner.

Tip credit

A tip credit lets an employer count a portion of an employee’s tips toward its minimum-wage obligation, paying tipped workers a lower direct cash wage as long as tips bring them up to at least the full minimum wage.

Tip pooling

Tip pooling is an arrangement where employees combine some or all of their tips into a shared pool that is then redistributed among eligible staff according to a set formula, such as by role percentage or hours worked.

Put the terms to work

EpicShifts builds split shifts, rest gaps, and labor-cost awareness right into scheduling. Free to start.

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