How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Floor, bar, kitchen, café, hotel and venue staff. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your employer, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Service is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any venue, employer or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step away if you can. Tell your manager or supervisor you need a few minutes off the floor. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of the job and it isn't your fault. Tell your manager or supervisor and ask for it to go in the incident register, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. You can also contact police.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your manager, a workmate or someone who can get you home in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your manager or the owner, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes at the end of a shift. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the abuse or aggression
Tell your manager and ask for it to be recorded, even if it seems minor. Reports help your venue put in things like security, more staff or refusing entry. Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe on this shift. That matters. Tell your manager or supervisor. Your employer has to manage risks from customers, including aggression and harassment. If you close up alone, ask for two people on close.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift or a rideshare. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Hospo takes a lot out of you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
Abusive or aggressive customers
Being yelled at, sworn at, threatened or grabbed is not part of the job, even when it happens every week.
Today
- Step away and get your manager or security.
- You can refuse service to someone who is abusive or intoxicated.
- Get checked if you were hurt, and make sure it's recorded.
Over the next days
- Talk it through with someone. It can replay for days.
- Ask your manager what the venue will do so it doesn't happen again.
- Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim, including casuals.
Intoxicated patrons and refusing service
Under responsible service of alcohol laws you must refuse service to anyone who is intoxicated, and that can make people angry.
- Get backup before you refuse. Don't do it alone if you can help it.
- Keep it short and calm: "I can't serve you any more tonight."
- If someone becomes aggressive, step back and let security or the manager deal with it, or call 000.
- Note what happened in the incident register. It protects you and the venue.
Sexual harassment
Comments, touching, "jokes" and messages from customers, workmates or bosses are all sexual harassment. It's common in hospitality, and it's never OK.
- It's not your fault, and you don't have to laugh it off.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- Employers have a legal duty to prevent sexual harassment, not just respond to it.
- 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7. The Australian Human Rights Commission takes complaints on 1300 656 419.
Burns, cuts and injuries
- Get it treated and written down, even if it seems small.
- Tell your manager and ask for it to go in the injury register.
- If you need time off or treatment, you can make a workers compensation claim, including as a casual.
- If something keeps causing injuries, like broken equipment, wet floors or not enough staff, report it. SafeWork NSW is on 13 10 50.
Pay, rosters and wage theft
Being underpaid, having shifts cut at the last minute, or working unpaid trials and after-close cleaning all add stress.
- Keep your own record of the hours you work.
- Check your pay with the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94. They help visa holders too.
- Your union can help you raise it, confidentially.
- Deliberately underpaying workers has been a crime in Australia since January 2025.
Kitchen culture, bullying and conflict
Shouting, put-downs and hazing are sometimes treated as normal in kitchens and bars. They aren't, and they affect people.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If the person is your boss or the owner, talk to someone outside the venue, like your union.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
Late nights, closing and getting home
- Try not to close or count cash alone. Ask for two people on close.
- If you're too tired to drive, don't. Take a nap, get a lift or use a rideshare.
- Text someone when you're home.
- Late finishes mess with sleep. Build a wind-down routine that isn't a drink.
Knock-offs, drinking and coming down
After a busy service it's hard to switch off, and a knock-off drink can turn into most nights.
- Notice if you need a drink or something else to come down after most shifts.
- Try other things that settle you: food, a shower, a walk, music.
- The Alcohol and Drug Information Service is free and confidential on 1800 250 015, 24/7.
- No judgement. Lots of hospo people have been here.
After a mistake
A missed allergen, a wrong order, a till that doesn't balance. Mistakes happen to everyone.
- If someone could be hurt, for example by an allergy, tell your manager straight away.
- Own it, fix what you can, and let the rest go.
- If you're worried about losing shifts, talk to your union first.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading your next shift
- Feeling numb, or snappy with customers
- Needing a drink to switch off
- Sleep all over the place
- Pulling back from friends outside work
This is burnout, and it's common in hospo. It comes from the pressure of the job, not from you being weak.
Getting home safely
After a long or late shift, tiredness can affect your driving as much as alcohol.
- If you're struggling to keep your eyes open, don't drive. A 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave helps.
- After a hard shift, text someone when you get home.
New, young or casual
If you're new, young or casual, speaking up can feel risky. You have the same rights to a safe workplace, correct pay and breaks as everyone else. The Fair Work Ombudsman and your union can give advice without telling your employer.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist. The Burnt Chef Project also offers free, confidential counselling for hospitality workers on 1800 730 931, 24/7.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your manager
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your venue or employer can add its own EAP, wellbeing and support numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling, if your employer has one. Your manager isn't told that you called. Bigger groups, hotels and clubs often do.
- The Burnt Chef Project support line. Free counselling just for hospitality workers, 1800 730 931, 24/7.
- Your union. United Workers Union (including Hospo Voice) covers restaurant, bar, café, pub, club and hotel workers. They give confidential advice.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman. Free advice on pay and rights on 13 13 94, including for visa holders.
- A workmate or former boss you trust. Someone who knows the industry.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
You have rights at work whether you're full-time, casual, on a visa or on a trial shift.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"I'm worried I'm not being paid right, and I don't want to lose shifts."
"A customer said something that's stuck with me."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- A union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman can give advice without contacting your employer. You choose whether to take it further.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example in the staff room or on the bus home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Service
Unladen Service is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any venue, employer or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Service that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 prototype · September 2026