Shifts & Scheduling

Publishing & Notifying

Publish a week of shifts so they become expected clock-ins, and how workers are told about bookings, changes and cancellations by email or text.

Talk to us Browse all guides
Draft vs Published Publishing How Workers Are Told Changing Published Shifts Best Practices

Draft vs Published Shifts

Two states.

State Meaning
Draft Only your staff can see it. Nobody is told, and it never counts as a no-show or in attendance reports.
Published The booking is live: it is the expected clock-in for that worker, it counts in attendance and exceptions, and the worker is told if notifications are on for the client.

Publishing

On Schedule > Shifts.

Publish week publishes every draft shift in the week you are viewing.
Publish on the current view publishes only what is on screen (for example one site).
Published shifts show whether the worker has confirmed.

How Workers Are Told

Email included; texts with the SMS add-on.

Each worker gets one message listing their new, changed or cancelled shifts, with a code to confirm or decline.
Email goes to workers with an email address, when email notifications are switched on for the client. Texts go to workers who opted in, when the client has the SMS add-on.
Messages are in the worker's own language (English, Polish, Romanian or Lithuanian).
Workers using the worker app also see their shifts there.
Every message, and every worker skipped (and why), is listed on Schedule > Messages sent.
Important

If notifications are off for a client, publishing still makes the shifts live but nobody is told. Tell workers another way, or switch notifications on in the client's settings.

Changing Published Shifts

Workers are told about changes too.

You can edit, cancel or swap a published shift. The worker is told about a change of time or site and about a cancellation, by the same channels. A shift the worker has already clocked into cannot be unassigned, swapped or covered. See Confirmations and Cover Offers to fill a gap.

Best Practices

Tips for smooth scheduling.

Build the week as drafts, check availability, then publish once.
Publish at least several days ahead so workers can confirm.
Check confirmations the day before, and chase anyone unconfirmed.
Switch on a reminder a few hours before shifts for clients where no-shows are common.
Previous Shift Templates & Patterns Next Absences & Holiday Requests
Back to Support Centre

Know who turned up, and pay every hour right.

Face-verified clock-ins, live geofencing and payroll-ready timesheets in one system. Tell us how your shifts run and we will show you how it fits.

Tell us about your sites See every feature

App hosted in the UK · Onboarding led by a pilot site · No app needed to clock in