Shift Swaps allow two employees to directly swap shifts. This will automatically reassign each shift and eliminate the need to manually re-assign shifts.
What's covered in this guide?
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 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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Enable 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
Swap shifts as an employee
Request a shift swap
Staff can initiate a shift swap from the Tanda mobile app.
To request a shift swap:
Find and select the shift you can't work under Shifts > My shifts
Select the Shift Swap option and enter a reason for the request
Confirm the swap request by clicking the Select Shift button
Browse the available shifts you can swap with by expanding the dates
Review shift details, including estimated wage differences, shift length, shift times, and breaks
Click the Offer Swap button next to the shift you'd like to swap
📝 Important to note: only shifts in the same week can be swapped.
Accept a shift swap
To complete a shift swap, the employee you're requesting to swap with must accept the request.
To accept a shift swap:
Navigate to the Pick up shifts tab on the Shifts page of the mobile app
Expand the date that the new shift will fall on
Review the details of the swap, including wage difference and shift length
Choose to either Decline or Accept the swap and confirm your selection
📝 Important to note: If shift swaps require manager approval, a manager needs to approve the swap before rosters are updated. If swaps do not require approval, rosters will update straight away.
If you decline a shift swap, no changes will be made to your roster.
Initiate a shift swap on behalf of employees
Managers can initiate a shift swap on behalf of staff through the mobile app.
To do so:
Navigate to the Team roster tab on the Shifts page
Find the shift being swapped on the roster
Click the Swap Shift button and enter a reason if required
Confirm the swap request through the Select Shift button and review the options for the shift swap
Click Offer Swap next to the relevant shift
📝 Important to note: with the Shift replacements and swaps require manager approval setting enabled, managers still need to approve the swap if the employees accept to finalise the swap.
Approve or decline a shift swap request
With the Shift replacements and swaps require manager approval setting enabled, managers must approve the swap before any rosters are updated. This can be done via the Tanda mobile app.
To do so:
Click the Manage replacements & claims button under the Pending tasks tab
Scroll to the Shift Swaps tab
Expand any pending requests
Review details of the shift swap, including wage differences, any validation errors, reason for the request, and more
Select to either Approve Swap or Decline Request
If the request is approved, the relevant employee rosters will automatically be updated. If the request is decline, no changes will be made to rosters.
Remind staff
Managers can remind staff to accept or decline a swap request.
To do so:
Click the Manage replacements & claims button under the Pending tasks tab
Scroll to the Shift Swaps tab and select the relevant swap request
Click the Remind Staff button
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
FAQs
Can I manage Shift Swaps on desktop?
At present, Shift Swaps can only be managed through the mobile app interface. The mobile app interface can be accessed on a desktop computer via my.tanda.co/mobile_app/overview