Open shifts
An open shift is a shift published without an assignee, for people to claim. Instead of deciding who covers Saturday and telling them, you post it and let the people who want it apply.
Where: Calendar › Open shifts You need: schedule management rights to publish and confirm
When to use this, and when not to
| The work | Use |
|---|---|
| Genuinely optional — extra hours, weekend cover, event days | Open shifts — here |
| Coverage you actually depend on | The team calendar — schedule it to someone |
| A recurring pattern | A standard schedule |
| A one-off day with specific settings | An event template |
The distinction matters more than it sounds. An open shift can go unclaimed, and no workers applied yet the day before is not a staffing plan. Use open shifts for the extras layer on top of a rota, never for the rota itself.
How it works
- Create an open shift: the shift, its date, start time and end time, and how many people are required.
- It becomes visible to eligible employees, who apply.
- Applications come back as pending, and you confirm the ones you want.
The list shows each shift's name, times, date, how many are required, and its status — including no workers applied yet, which is the signal to widen eligibility, adjust the offer, or assign it directly instead.
Filter by branch, department, cost centre, group and activity; search shifts by name; and use bulk actions to publish or confirm in batches.
What Happens Next
- Confirming is what schedules it. Until you confirm, nobody is on the rota — even though the applicant may reasonably assume they are.
- A confirmed shift becomes an ordinary scheduled event, appears on the employee's calendar, and is measured like any other day.
- Unconfirmed applications simply expire with the date, leaving the shift uncovered.
- The hours flow to the timesheet under the shift's activity.
Tips
- Confirm promptly. An application is an offer, not a commitment, and someone who applied a fortnight ago has almost certainly assumed they are working. Late confirmation is how you get a no-show that is nobody's fault.
- Watch the required count. Publishing three and confirming one leaves two gaps that no longer look like gaps on the board.
- Publish early enough to matter. Optional shifts posted two days out get claimed by whoever happens to look; posted two weeks out, they get claimed by people who wanted them.
- Treat "no workers applied" as information. Repeatedly unclaimed shifts are telling you something about the day, the hours or the rate — not about the team's commitment.
- Have a fallback for every open shift you actually need covered. If it must be worked, decide in advance who gets assigned it if nobody claims it.
Troubleshooting / FAQ
Q: An employee says they applied but is not on the rota. Confirm the application. Applying does not schedule anyone.
Q: Nobody can see a published shift. Check its branch, department and group scope, and whether the shift itself is restricted to selected employees. See Shifts.
Q: More people applied than we need. Confirm the ones you want; the rest are simply not confirmed. Tell them, though — silence reads as rejection and reduces applications next time.