Requests

Shift swap app: swaps, open shifts and holiday requests from the phone, approved in one click

A published rota keeps changing: someone is ill, someone needs a morning off, two colleagues want to swap. In InShift the person asks from the app, the colleague accepts, the manager approves in “Requests”, and the rota updates itself. Who approves what is your rule.

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What happens to the rota after it is published

A published rota lives a life of its own: someone falls ill, someone needs a day for the doctor, someone wants to swap a shift with a colleague. InShift has three tools for that. A swap: the person offers their own shift to a colleague straight from the app, on the “Substitute” screen. An open shift: the manager puts up a shift with no name on it, and the team asks for it. A request: holiday, sick leave, a personal day or unpaid leave, with dates and a comment.

All of it gathers in “Requests” in the admin panel and in the manager’s app: three tabs, “Time off”, “Swaps” and “Open shifts”, with “Approve” and “Reject” in every row. An approved swap goes straight into the rota, approved time off is visible in the planner, and the person gets a push with the decision. Every step is shown below on real frames.

The swap

The employee asks for a substitute from the phone

On the “Substitute” screen the person picks their own shift, sees the colleagues it can be offered to, and sends the request. A colleague can be picked by name, or the request goes open: “All available colleagues at this location will see the request. First to accept takes the shift.” Then, by your rules, the shift moves over at once or waits for the manager.

  • Only colleagues who can actually work it: the same location and position, no clash with their own shifts
  • Anyone missing from the list gets a reason: “already working that day”, “different position”, “different location”
  • The status in the same screen: “Request sent”, “Awaiting colleague”, “Pending approval”, “Approved”
  • An approved swap goes into the rota by itself, and the history stays under “Swaps”
How to ask for a substitute

Approval

The manager approves with one click

“Requests” gathers everything waiting for a decision: time off, swaps and requests for open shifts. A row shows who is asking, which days, how many, and the comment. “Approve” or “Reject”, and the person gets a push at once; a rejection can carry a reason.

  • Three tabs with counters: “Time off”, “Swaps”, “Open shifts”
  • Filters by status and location: a site manager sees only their own people
  • The type of request in the row: “Holiday”, “Sick leave”, “Personal”, “Unpaid”
  • Approved time off is visible in the planner: no shift is placed on those days
How to approve time off

The rules

Who approves is your decision

The “Request rules” page sets what the team can do on its own. “Shift swaps between employees”: “Coworker only”, “Manager only” or “Coworker + manager”. “Open shifts”: “Requests, manager picks”. “Time off & sick leave”: “Manager approves” or “Automatic”. Each one can be switched off, and then the team only sees the rota.

  • “Coworker only”: once a coworker accepts, the shift moves over immediately
  • “Coworker + manager”: first a coworker accepts, then the manager approves
  • “Manager only”: the request goes straight to the manager, who picks who works
  • “Automatic” time off: requests are approved instantly, for teams that trust the calendar
Set the request rules

Open shift

Whoever wants it asks for it

The manager puts up a shift with no name and the team sees it in the app under “Open shifts”. The “I want it” button sends a request, the counter shows how many volunteered, the manager picks one, and the shift lands in that person’s rota.

  • A request with one tap on “I want it”
  • How many colleagues already volunteered is visible
  • The chosen person gets a push, the rest see the shift is taken
How to take an open shift

Time off

Holiday, sick leave, a personal day

A “New time-off request” is sent from the phone: the type, the dates, a comment. The person sees the status in their own list, the manager gets a push and decides in the panel or in the app. Approved days are visible in the planner, so no shift is placed on them.

  • Four types: “Holiday”, “Sick leave”, “Personal”, “Unpaid”
  • A period by dates and a comment for the manager
  • The status “Pending”, “Approved” or “Rejected” in the person’s list
  • The year’s time off in the person’s card in the panel
How to request time off

In the app

Requests as the team and the manager see them

The same list for everyone: a person sees their own requests, the manager every request of their locations, and decides from the phone.

  • Own requests with statuses: pending, approved, rejected.
  • Swaps: offers from colleagues and own requests in one list.
  • The manager: the whole team’s requests with “Approve” and “Reject” from the phone.
  • Notifications: the decision on a request arrives as a push and stays in the list.

How a swap goes

From “I cannot make it” to an updated rota in four steps.

  1. 1

    The person picks a shift

    The “Substitute” screen shows their own shifts and the colleagues who can work instead of them.

  2. 2

    The colleague gets a push

    Accepts or declines in the app. A refusal is visible in the same screen, and another colleague can be asked.

  3. 3

    The manager decides

    If the rules need their approval, the request waits in “Requests”. One click, and the rota is updated.

  4. 4

    The rota updates itself

    The shift sits with the colleague, both see it in the app, the history stays under “Swaps”.

A swap in the team chat and a swap in InShift

The difference is where the result lives: in the manager’s memory or in the rota.

Who sees the ask

The team chat
Everyone who opened the chat
InShift
Only colleagues who can work it: the same position and location

Who updates the rota

The team chat
The manager by hand, when they remember
InShift
The rota updates itself after approval

Who learns the decision

The team chat
Whoever re-read the chat
InShift
Both get a push, the status is visible in the app

History

The team chat
Lost in the thread
InShift
Every request with its date and decision

Time off

The team chat
In a notebook or voice messages
InShift
A request with dates, approved days blocked in the planner

Frequently asked questions

Can an employee swap a shift without the manager?▾

That depends on the rule you set. “Coworker only” means the shift moves over as soon as the coworker accepts. “Coworker + manager” adds the manager’s decision. “Manager only” sends the request straight to the manager, who picks who works. The rules live on the “Request rules” page and apply to the whole organisation.

Who does a person see in the list for a swap?▾

Only colleagues who can actually work it: the same location and position, with no clash against their own shifts. A barista will not see a security officer, and someone from another site appears only if you marked them “Available for substitution” there. Anyone missing is listed with the reason.

What if nobody takes an open shift?▾

The manager sees it under “Open shifts”: no volunteers. Then the shift is given to a specific person from the planner or through the “Substitution” row. The push about an open shift goes to everyone who matches the position and location and is free at that time.

How do I report sick leave or ask for holiday?▾

In the app, “New time-off request”: the type, the dates, a comment. The manager gets a push and decides in the panel or in the app, and the person sees the status in their own list. Approved days are visible in the planner, so no shift is placed on them.

Do requests work for several locations?▾

Yes. A site manager sees only their own site in “Requests”, the director all of them. The “Location” filter switches between sites. A person who works at two sites sends requests in each one separately.

Who gets paid for a shift after a swap?▾

Whoever worked it. An approved swap moves the shift in the rota to the colleague, and in “Payroll” the hours and the accrual for that shift are counted for them at their rate.

Where is the history of swaps and requests?▾

In the panel, the person’s card keeps the year’s time off: dates, type and decision. Swaps and requests for open shifts stay in “Requests” with a filter by status. In the app the person sees their own history on the requests screen.

Are there notifications about requests?▾

Yes, at every step: the colleague about the offered swap, the manager about a new request, the person about the decision. Push works on iPhone and Android, and everyone sets their own quiet hours at night in the app settings.

Let the team ask for swaps itself

The approval rules take a minute to set, and the whole team can be on board from the first week.

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