How the rota works

The rota is built a week at a time, for one location at a time. A shift is one person, in one area, on one day, from a start time to an end time.

Draft and published

Every week starts as a draft. Only the people who build the rota can see a draft. Nobody on the team sees it, on any screen, and nobody is told about anything you do to it.

When you publish, the week goes out: everyone on it can see their shifts and is told. From then on:

• the week cannot be made a draft again;
• each change goes live as you save it, and the person it affects is told;
• changing it takes a further permission (below);
• people can clock in for their shifts, ask a colleague to cover one, and be offered open shifts. None of that is possible on a draft.

Who can do what

• Build and edit the rota. Supervisors, Location Managers and Admins by default. This is what shows the Rota page and tab.
• Publish the rota. Location Managers and Admins by default; a Supervisor can be given it. A Supervisor without it builds the week and a manager sends it out.
• Change a published rota and shifts that have started. Location Managers and Admins by default; a Supervisor can be given it.
• Save and edit rota templates. Location Managers and Admins by default; a Supervisor can be given it. Anyone who builds the rota can use a template.
• Approve shift swaps and Offer out open shifts. Supervisors, Location Managers and Admins by default.
• Employees see their own shifts and the published team rota, set their availability, swap shifts and pick up open ones. None of the above can be given to an Employee.

Building a week

• Add a shift, one at a time or for several people at once.
• Copy a week of shifts from last week or any other week.
• Save and use a rota template for weeks you want to use again.
• Edit or remove a shift.
• Add a day note or mark a public holiday.
• See what the rota costs as you go, and use Rota Insights to compare it with the plan.
• Publish the rota.

On the web the week can be laid out by Days, Areas, People, Positions or Stations. The top of the page has Undo, History and Print. On the phone the Rota tab has a Week and a Day view.

What stops a shift being saved

• Another shift at the same time, at any of your locations, draft or published.
• Approved time off. See How time off and holiday work.

A day someone has marked as one they cannot work is shown to you but does not stop the shift: Say when you can work.

After the week is out

• Staff see their shifts on the phone.
• Someone who cannot work a shift can swap it with a colleague, and a manager approves the swap.
• A manager can offer out an open shift, and staff pick it up.
• People clock in and out for their shifts, and the hours become timesheets: How clocking and timesheets work.

Where each job is done

• Web and phone: adding, editing and removing shifts; publishing; reading the week’s cost; Insights.
• Web only: copying a week, templates, day notes and public holidays, sales targets, approving swaps, offering out open shifts.
• Phone only: your own shifts, your availability, asking for and answering swaps, picking up open shifts.