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Open shift pickup

An open shift is one nobody is assigned to: created by late leave, a resignation, a surge in demand, or a schedule that could not be fully covered from the available pool.

The usual handling is a message to the group, then a private conversation with whoever seems most likely to say yes. That works and has two costs: the same people get asked every time, and nobody can see that it is happening.

How it works

A shift marked open is offered to everyone eligible for it — determined by the staff categories a site admin defined and the shift template's eligibility — and claimed first-come.

Before a claim is accepted it is checked:

A claim that fails is refused with the reason. Someone for whom the shift would be illegal does not see it offered in the first place.

Why first-come

Because the alternative is discretion, and discretion in distributing optional extra work is exactly the thing that erodes trust in a schedule. A first-come claim is visible, recorded, and available to everyone at the same moment.

Picked-up shifts count in the tally like any other, so a person who regularly covers gaps can show it, and a department can see who is actually carrying the slack. That is usually a surprise.

When nothing is claimed

Sometimes nobody takes it, and the product's job then is to make that obvious early rather than on the day. An uncovered shift is visible on the calendar as a coverage gap, and publishing a period with gaps requires an explicit acknowledgement rather than happening silently.

Schedule publishing

Common questions

Who sees an open shift?

Everyone whose staff category makes them eligible for that shift template, and for whom taking it would not break a hard rule. Someone who would exceed their consecutive-day limit is not shown a shift they cannot legally take.

Is it first-come or does an admin choose?

First-come by default, which is the fairest mechanism when the shift is genuinely optional and the alternative is a private conversation. Claims are recorded, so the distribution of picked-up shifts is visible in the tally like anything else.