The dates for 2008 are:
| Travel to Edinburgh | Training Day | Return from Edinburgh | |
| Week 0 (build): | Sunday 27 Jul | - | Sunday 3 Aug |
| Week 1: | Saturday 2 Aug * | Sunday 3 Aug | Monday 11 Aug |
| Week 2: | Sunday 10 Aug | Monday 11 Aug | Monday 18 Aug |
| Week 3: | Sunday 17 Aug | Monday 18 Aug | Tuesday 26 Aug |
| Week 4 (clear up): | Monday 25 Aug | - | Sunday 31 Aug |
(*) because we are running Week 0 previews this year, some experienced staff for week 1 may be requested to arrive from Thu 31 July.
On days when the venues are open to the public, there will be two shifts per day. Shift times will depend on the programme of shows for this year. If we have a full programme the shift times for most staff will probably be:
| Day: | 9:30 am - 5:30 pm |
| Evening: | 5:00 pm - 1:00 am |
Certain staff may be asked to work rather earlier shifts in the café; times for these staff will probably be:
| Day: | 9:00 am - 4:45 pm |
| Evening: | 4:15 pm - 11:30 pm |
You will be asked to work a mixture of day and evening shifts, but we will try to ensure that you stay on one shift for a few days at a time.
Meals and other breaks will be arranged by the house managers on each shift, and will be staggered so that staff can cover each others breaks. The house managers are in charge of a shift in a venue.
There will be no fixed hours for working in weeks 0 (build) and 4 (clear out). Starting times each day will generally be determined by the need to receive deliveries / prepare pick-ups etc. Staff working these weeks should generally expect to work rather longer hours than in other weeks, and should come prepared for hard (and often rather dirty) manual work.
There are three cleaning days (Saturday 2 August, Monday 11 August and Monday 18 August). The first of these is to clean the venues ready for our first day of opening. We need to have completed this cleaning by the end of Saturday so that Sunday can be used as a training day. The second and third days are to allow newly arrived theatre companies to have their technical rehearsals, and to give time for the venues to be thoroughly cleaned. On these days, all staff (except a small number involved in technical rehearsals with companies) will be expected to work a day shift, possibly with a late start if an evening shift was worked the previous day. These are NOT days off!
A rota will be generated at the beginning of each week to ensure the correct mix of skills on each shift. We are aware that people may wish to change their shift pattern during the week. We are happy to try and accommodate such requests provided that you can find someone who is prepared to swap with you. However, you must come to the office and request the swap formally, so that we can check that the proposed swap does not cause problems with the number of first-aiders or holders of food hygiene certificates working a particular shift. If we have insufficient qualified personnel, we may have to refuse your request. The deadline for requesting a shift swap is end of day shift (5:30 pm) the preceding day.