Schedule shifts and approve time off

Create a shift template, put it on your team’s calendar, then follow a time-off request from submission to approval. It takes about three minutes.

Before you start: you can’t create shifts until your working hours are set. If the Shifts page shows a “Finish shifts setup” banner, follow it to Company Settings first. While you are there, add your leave types under Leave & Holidays.

1. 1In the desktop or web dashboard, open Shifts from the sidebar and go to the Shift Templates tab. Click New Template, give it a name (for example “Morning Shift”), set the Start Time and End Time, add breaks with Add Break and click Create. The dialog warns you if the shift breaks company policy.
2. 2Back on the calendar, click Assign Shifts. Choose a Shift Template, select the employees and the dates, then click Assign. If someone already has a shift on one of those days, you choose whether to replace it or add the new one next to it. If someone has approved leave on a date, you must confirm that conflict first.
3. 3Now look at it from the employee’s side: any member can request time off. On the Shifts page, click Request Time Off, choose a Leave Type (each shows whether it is paid and how many days per year it gives), pick days on the calendar, add a Reason if you like and click Submit Request. The request now waits for approval.
4. 4Managers see pending requests in two places: a “Time-off requests awaiting your review” banner at the top of the Shifts page, and the Pending tab of the Approvals page. Click Approve or Reject in either place.
5. 5Only people with the right permission can decide. The review banner appears only if you can assign shifts. On Approvals, team leaders and above can decide on leave for people in a team or department they are responsible for. Seniority alone isn’t enough.
6. 6Check the result. Approved days are deducted from the person’s leave balance; open Leave Balances on the Shifts page to see used, remaining and pending days. Shifts already assigned on the approved dates are removed automatically. The request dialog warns about this beforehand.
7. 7A shortcut for managers: if you can assign shifts, the Request Time Off dialog has an Auto-approve switch and the button changes to Approve & Record. Use it to record someone’s leave without a separate approval step.

For more on calendar views, templates, statistics and compliance alerts, see shifts and scheduling. For how shift hours turn work outside a shift into overtime, see time states.