Staff Scheduling

Staff see their published shifts, swap them, ask for cover, take open shifts and ask for time off.

Each person on the schedule sees their own published shifts on the website. From a shift they can swap, ask for cover or say they cannot work it, and they can take open shifts and ask for time off. A request that is settled changes the published schedule straight away.

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What each person sees

A person sees a shift, or a change to it, once it is published. Times are shown in the time zone where each shift happens.

My shifts: My shifts shows their next shift, their shifts in the coming weeks, swaps waiting for their answer, and updates about their schedule. A person scheduled by more than one team sees which other teams schedule them.
A shift: A shift's page shows its times, paid time, position, breaks, address and your instructions. Close to its start, Start tracking time starts Time Tracking for it.
Coworkers: What employees see, in Settings, shows people only their own shifts, their own shifts and who works at the same location, or the whole published schedule.

Asking for a change to a shift

Each request starts from one of the person's own published shifts. It is checked against the team's rules when it is made and again when it is decided.

Swap with a coworker
The person chooses a coworker's shift that both of them could work. Once the coworker accepts, the swap applies or waits for a manager's approval, as Swaps in Settings decides.
Ask for cover
Coworkers who could work the shift are asked. The first volunteer takes it, or a manager chooses from those who offered, as Cover requests decides. The person stays on the shift until a replacement is confirmed.
I cannot work this shift
Tells managers straight away, with a reason such as Sick or Emergency. The shift stays the person's until a manager confirms someone else or decides no replacement is needed.

Open shifts and offers

Open shifts lists the published shifts nobody is on that the person could work. Shifts that clash with their other shifts, their time off or the team's rules are left out.

Taking an open shift: Take this shift gives it to the first eligible person straight away, or Ask for this shift asks a manager to choose, as Taking open shifts decides. Each opening goes to one person.
Offering a shift: A manager can offer a published shift to chosen people. The first to accept gets it, or a manager confirms who does. An offer ends after the time the team set, or when the shift starts.
My requests: My requests lists swaps and offers waiting for the person's answer, coworkers who need cover, the person's own requests, which they can withdraw while they wait, and earlier requests.

Time off and availability

Ask for time off: A person asks for whole days or part of a day, as vacation, sick, personal, family, unpaid or other. A manager approves it, or declines it with a reason the person sees.
Approving time off: The request shows the published shifts it overlaps and who else is off then. Approving it stops new shifts in that time; the overlapping shifts stay with the person until a manager chooses someone else for each.
Blackout periods: Dates when time off is not normally given, such as a holiday rush. People can still ask, and their requests are marked.
Availability: Each person sets their usual week and the dates that differ from it. Changes to the usual week apply straight away or wait for a manager's approval, as the team chooses. Shifts already published do not change.

Deciding requests

Requests lists what is waiting for a manager: shifts that need cover, shift changes, time off and availability changes. Team admins, Managers, and Schedule editors allowed to approve decide them, for the locations they manage.

A request never changes a draft. When it is approved, or settles without a manager as the team's settings allow, everyone it moves is checked against the rules again, the published schedule will change straight away, and everyone involved will be told. If the shift changed after the request was made, the request is closed instead.

Managers will be reminded about a shift nobody has covered after the time the team set. Requests also lists schedule emails that could not be delivered.

Notifications

Routine and urgent changes: Each person chooses whether to be emailed about routine changes and about urgent ones, such as a change to a shift today or tomorrow. Several changes close together arrive as one message.
Reminders and quiet hours: Shift reminders arrive before each shift. Quiet hours hold routine notifications until they end; urgent ones still arrive.

Publish a week your staff can see.

Create a Magpie account, open Staff Scheduling, add your staff and invite them to see their shifts, then publish a week.

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