Scheduling Policies
Scheduling Policies are rules that check shifts when they are being saved. They can warn the scheduler or block the save completely, depending on how each policy is set up.
Where Scheduling Policies fit
| Area | How Scheduling Policies are used |
|---|---|
| Shifts | Policies are checked when shifts are created or changed. |
| Scheduling Board | Board changes — including bulk edits via the context menu — use the same policy checks. |
| Planner Users | Policies can draw on worker, position, certification, and availability data. |
Policy types
When creating a policy, choose from these types:
| Type | What it checks |
|---|---|
| Cannot work with | Two workers or positions cannot be scheduled at the same time. |
| Must work with | A worker must always be paired with another worker or position. |
| Requires certification | A worker must hold a specific certification to be assigned to a shift. |
| Time restriction | A worker cannot be scheduled outside a set time window. |
| Rest rule | A minimum number of hours must pass between a worker's shifts. |
| Max consecutive days | A worker cannot work more than N days in a row. |
| Max hours per period | A worker cannot exceed N hours per week or month. |
| Venue staffing ratio | A venue must have one position for every N of another position. |
Create a policy
- Go to Planner → Policies.
- Click Create policy.
- Enter a Name — shown in the policy list.
- Enter a Message — the text shown to the scheduler when this rule fires.
- Choose the Policy type.
- Set the Action — Warn (the scheduler sees the message and can choose to continue) or Block (the save is prevented entirely).
- Set the Subject — who the rule applies to: a specific worker, all workers with a certain position, or everyone.
- Set the Object — the constraint, such as another worker, a certification type, or an hours limit.
- Optionally add Context conditions to restrict the rule to specific venues, premises, shift kinds, days of the week, time windows, or date ranges.
- Save the policy.
Change policy order
Policies are evaluated from top to bottom. To change the order:
- Go to Planner → Policies.
- Drag the rows into the order you want.
The order saves automatically.
Turn a policy on or off
- Open Planner → Policies.
- Find the policy.
- Click Disable or Enable.
Review violations
- Go to Planner → Policies.
- Click Violations to see the history of policy checks that fired.
Test a policy
- Go to Planner → Policies.
- Click Open sandbox.
- Use the sandbox to test how the policy behaves before using it live.
Things to know
- A warning can be acknowledged and the save can continue. A block stops the save entirely — the issue must be resolved first.
- Policies act at the moment a shift is saved. They do not run in the background or monitor schedules after the fact.
- Only active policies within their configured date window are evaluated.