⏱ Estimated time: 3–5 minutes
👤 Role: Admin / Management / Operations

What you'll learn

• How to schedule a new rota pattern to start from a future date

• How to amend a staff member's current working hours

• How to manage diary conflicts when changing schedules

When should I use this?

Use this guide when making permanent or long-term changes to a staff member's working hours. This is used for updating existing schedules or planning new shift patterns in advance.

• Key Logic: This section manages the master rota. For one-off, daily changes (such as a staff member leaving early or swapping a single shift), please refer to the guide for Ad-Hoc Rota Adjustments to make changes directly in the diary.

Before you start

Before updating a rota, confirm:

• Diary Conflicts: If you are reducing hours or removing a working day, you must move or delete any existing appointments in the diary for those times first. The system will not allow you to save a schedule change if it conflicts with a booked appointment.

• Start Dates: New rota patterns must always start on a Monday.

Step-by-step: Updating a Rota

1. Open the Administration panel

Click Settings in the navigation menu to open the Administration area.

2. Navigate to Staff

Under the Resources section, select Staff from the available options.

3. Select the Staff Member

Locate and select the staff member whose rota you wish to edit from the list.

4. Access the Schedule

Select the Schedule tab at the top of the staff profile.

5. Choose your Update Method

Option A: Future-Dated Rota (Best Practice)

This is the recommended method for implementing schedule changes as it allows for a clean transition.

• Click + Add Pattern.

• Enter the New Start Date for this rota (Note: This must be a Monday).

• Apply the new shift changes to this future pattern.

• This ensures the current rota remains intact until the new one begins.

Option B: Immediate Adjustments

Use this method only if you are editing the current rota to take effect instantly.

• Press the X to remove currently scheduled times for a specific day.

• Add new shifts by clicking into the relevant day and entering the new times.

• Warning: Ensure all appointments in the diary for the affected times are moved or deleted before saving, or the system will block the change.

6. Save Changes

Click Save for the changes to take effect. The system will now apply these working hours to the diary from the specified date.

Best practice

• Plan Ahead: Using "Option A" (Future-Dated Rota) is the most efficient way to manage schedule changes, as it allows you to plan transitions without disrupting the current week's diary.

• Conflict Resolution: Always use the diary's "Filter by Staff" view to identify and move appointments before attempting to remove a staff member's working day in the settings.

• Internal Blocks: Remember to re-add any recurring internal blocks (like lunch breaks) if you are building an entirely new pattern.