What's covered in this guide?
Shift Swaps allow two employees to directly swap shifts. This will automatically reassign each shift and eliminate the need to manually re-assign shifts.
How it works
The shift swap feature allows a direct 1-to-1 shift swap with another employee and can be initiated by:
an employee
a manager on behalf of an employee/employees
You also have the option to:
require manager approval of shift swaps
allow staff to directly swap shifts with one another without manager approval
Note: To complete a shift swap, an employee must accept the request for a shift swap.
If manager approval is required, an employee still must accept the request for a shift swap BEFORE the request can be sent to a manager for approval.
Workflow without manager approval | Workflow with manager approval |
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Turn on Shift Swaps
The shift swap feature is optional and by default is turned off. To turn on the shift swap feature, follow the below steps:
Navigate to Settings > Rota > Shift Replacements And Swapping
Enable Allow staff to initiate one-to-one shift swaps
(optional) If you would like managers to approve shift swap requests, select shift replacements and swaps require manager approval
How employees can swap shifts
Initiate a shift swap
An employee can initiate a shift swap from the mobile app. To do so, navigate to Shifts > My Shifts and filter via day, week, and/or location. Then, select the respective shift:
Once in the scheduled shift, select Swap Shift where the employee can choose to enter a reason for the request. Select Next which will take the employee to a page to confirm the shift swap. The employee must select the button Select Shift to pick which shift they would like to swap with.
The next page will be Select a shift to swap with. All shifts for the employee's team from tomorrow up to one week from the current date will be shown. Click on a day and select Offer Swap on the desired shift:
Accept a shift swap
To complete a shift swap, an employee must accept the request for a shift swap.
If manager approval is required, an employee still must accept the request for a shift swap BEFORE a manager can approve it.
To accept a shift swap request, navigate to Shifts > Pick up shifts and filter via day, week, and/or location. Then, click into a date:
Details of the shift swap will appear such as previous shift time, new shift time, and any wage difference. Employees can refuse the swap or accept via Offer to Swap:
Manage shift swap requests on mobile
Approve or decline a shift swap request
If shift swaps require manager approval, managers can manage requests on mobile by going to Shifts > Team rota. Filter via day, week, and/or location then select the shift which has a request pending:
Once in the shift, select Manage Request:
You will be able to review all details of the shift swap including:
the employee requesting the shift swap
the date and time of the shifts being swapped
the employee who was sent the shift swap request
reason for the shift swap (if input)
wage difference (if any)
previous and new shift of each employee
Scroll to the bottom of "Manage shift swap". Here you can Approve Swap or Decline Request:
Initiate a shift swap on behalf of employees
A manager can initiate a shift swap on behalf of employees from the mobile app. To do so, navigate to Shifts > Team Rota and filter via day, week, and/or location. Then, select the respective shift:
Once in the scheduled shift, select Swap Shift where you can enter a reason for the request. Select Next which will take you to a page to confirm the shift swap. You must select the button Select Shift to pick which shift you would like to swap.
The next page will be Select a shift to swap with. Click on a day and select Offer Swap on the desired shift. Note: The employee who the shift swap has been offered to must accept the shift swap before you can approve it.
At any time, an employee may delete their swap request or refuse to swap when sent a request.
Once the employee has accepted the shift swap request, a manager must approve the shift swap to complete. To confirm, go to Shifts > Team rota and filter via day, week, and/or location. Then, select the shift which has a request pending:
Once in the shift, select Manage Request:
Scroll to the bottom of "Manage shift swap". Here you can Approve Swap or Decline Request:
Remind staff
If you are still waiting for an employee to accept a shift swap request, you can remind staff. First, go to the date of the shift swap request in My Shifts > Team Rota and filter via day, week, and/or location. Then, select the respective shift which should have a "Request Pending" notification:
Select Manage Request:
Then select Remind Staff:
Controlling Permissions
When enabling shift swaps, admins and managers are offered two other options:
These settings will permit the following combinations of features:
| One-to-One Shift Swaps Enabled |
Manager Approval ✅ | An employee can submit a swap request for any shift of their choosing in the upcoming week.
The recipient of the swap request must confirm their desire to swap with the employee who requested the swap.
A manager must confirm the swap once the recipient has confirmed their desire to swap. |
No Manager Approval ❎ | An employee can submit a swap request for any shift of their choosing in the upcoming week.
The recipient of the swap request must confirm their desire to swap with the employee who requested the swap.
The swap is confirmed as soon as the recipient of the swap request confirms. |
FAQs and Troubleshooting
FAQs and Troubleshooting
Can I manage Shift Swaps on desktop?
At present, Shift Swaps can only be managed on mobile. This means that employees can only request shift swaps on mobile and managers must decline or approve within the mobile app.
How can I ensure that staff aren't exceeding hours?
It's recommended to ensure that good schedule/rota validations are in place with will ensure that staff aren't able to swap shifts should the shift swap cause them to exceed hours, etc. To learn more about schedule/rota validations, see our help guide here.
