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Limit Shift Assignments per Period

The Limit shift assignments per period setting allows you to restrict how many times the same shift can be assigned to a staff member within a defined number of days. This helps prevent repetitive shift patterns and ensures a more balanced distribution.

Written by Oplist
Updated over 3 weeks ago

How to Access This Setting

To define a period-based assignment limit for a specific shift:

  1. Go to the Organization section from the left menu.

  2. Open the Global Shifts tab.

  3. Click the edit (pencil) icon next to the shift you want to configure.

  4. In the opened window, switch to the Rules tab.

  5. Enable the Limit shift assignments per period option.

  6. Set:

    • Period (Days)

    • Max # (number) of assignments in the period

  7. Click Update Shift.

Once saved, shift assignments will follow the defined limits.

How It Works

This setting defines how many times a staff member can be assigned the same shift within a specified number of days.

Core rule:

👉 Within any X-day period, this shift can be assigned at most Y times to the same staff member.

The system evaluates all rolling (sliding) time windows separately for each staff member and ensures that the defined maximum is not exceeded in any period.

This means:

  • The same shift cannot be assigned too frequently in a short timeframe.

  • Staff distribution becomes more balanced.

  • Excessive repetition of a shift is prevented.

Example Scenarios

Example 1: Maximum 2 Morning Shifts Within Any 3-Day Period (3 / 2)

  • Period (Days): 3

  • Max # (number) of assignments in the period: 2

This means:

👉 A staff member can receive at most 2 morning shifts within any 3-day period.

Therefore:

  • A staff member cannot work morning shifts 3 days in a row.

  • Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday → 3 morning shifts not allowed.

  • Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday → 3 morning shifts not allowed.

The system checks every rolling 3-day window to enforce this rule.

Example 2: Maximum 1 Night Shift Within Any 7-Day Period (7 / 1)

  • Period (Days): 7

  • Max # of assignments in the period: 1

This means:

👉 A staff member can receive at most 1 night shift within any 7-day period.

Therefore:

  • If a staff member works a night shift on a given day,

  • They cannot be assigned another night shift for the following 6 days.

Example:

  • A staff member who works a night shift on Monday,

  • Cannot receive another night shift between Tuesday and Sunday.

  • The next possible night shift can only be assigned starting from the following Monday.

This ensures that there is always at least a 7-day interval between two night shifts.

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