The basics
Managers can review, approve, or deny schedule change requests from employees with self-scheduling permissions. These requests allow shift adjustments, time-off swaps, or modified hours.
Requests may be automatically approved, denied by scheduling rules, or sent for manager review, depending on organizational settings.
Manager permissions for approving schedule changes may vary based on the organization’s settings.
What are schedule change requests?
Schedule change requests come from employees who have self-scheduling permissions, meaning they can modify their working hours within defined limits. Employees can:
Adjust their shift hours (e.g., reduce an 8-hour shift to 6 hours).
Swap shifts for time off (e.g., replace a 9-hour shift with a time-off request).
Request to cancel a shift.
Depending on company rules, these requests may:
Be automatically approved if they meet all scheduling criteria.
Be denied if they violate scheduling policies.
Be sent for manager review if they require approval.
Employees receive a notification about whether their request was approved, denied, or sent for review.
Viewing schedule change requests
To review requests, managers should:
Go to the sidebar and click "Scheduling."
Select "Requested Changes" under the scheduling section.
This opens a list of all pending requests from employees they manage. Each request displays:
Employee name
Requested date range
Time and date the request was submitted
Clicking the plus (+) icon expands the request to show exactly what the employee wants to change.
Approving or denying schedule change requests
Managers have three options when handling a request:
Approve all changes at once
Deny all changes at once
Approve or deny changes individually
For example, if an employee:
Wants to cancel a shift on March 5 (16:00 - 23:00, 7h) → The manager can approve, decline, or approve with cover to offer the shift to other employees.
2. Requests 9 hours of PTO on March 7 (16:00 - 01:00, 9h) → The manager can approve or decline the request based on PTO policies.
Using "accept with cover" for canceled shifts
If an employee requests to cancel a shift, managers can choose "accept with cover." This removes the shift from the employee's schedule but creates an open shift that other eligible employees can pick up.
For example, if an employee cancels a 9-hour shift, managers can:
Approve the cancellation without offering it to others.
Approve the cancellation and create an open shift for others to claim.
What happens after approval?
Once a schedule change request is approved:
The employee is notified via Slack, email, or other communication methods.
The schedule updates automatically to reflect the approved changes.
The updated schedule is republished to employees' calendars.
Next steps
For more details, see the Scheduling Overview.