Flexible Hours Schedules in the Employee Card
- Last updated on July 17, 2023 at 8:05 AM
Note: Can't find this in your Cloud? This article contains features available with the Essential (or Plus) Plan of TimeMoto Cloud. If you want to get the most out of your TimeMoto account, make sure to upgrade your plan to your needs!
In the article about Adding a New Schedule, we already learned how to create a new schedule and add it to an employee's card. But how does this work with Flexible Hours Schedules and their very specific rules affecting the employee's planning? Let's take a look at it!
Assigning a Flexible Hours Schedule
Just like any other schedule type, Flexible Hours Schedules can be assigned to employees via the Employee Card. When editing the employee's general data, go to the box [Schedule]
and select a previously created schedule of your choice. If that schedule is based on a Flexible Hours Schedule, an additional text will appear, informing you that this schedule has a fixed start date.
Start Date
Remember that a Flexible Hours Schedule means the employee can work any day within a week (or month). Considering this detail, any schedule based on this type can only be planned for an entire week (or month) beginning with the first day of the week (or the first of the month).
For the Employee Card (since it assigns schedules always to the next day), if that day isn't the first day of a week (or month), TimeMoto will always set the start date to the next possible first day of the week (or month) in the future.
If you would like this start date to already have happened in the past, you can always select a specific date in the past to adjust the effective date like you would with any other schedule. Keep in mind that this can only work with correct start dates. So for past dates as well, TimeMoto would let you only select the first days of each week (or month).
Changing a Schedule into a Flexible Hours Schedule
Changing from a Fixed Time or Fixed Duration Schedule
If the employee has already worked under another schedule, similar rules apply. The new Flexible Hours Schedule will take effect on the next first day of the week (or month) or the selected date in the past. The old schedule will remain effective until that happens.
Example:
An employee worked under a Fixed Hours Schedule from Monday to Friday. Since their actual work duration per day doesn't really matter, their manager now changes their schedule into a Flexible Hours Schedule based on 36 hours per week.
This was set up on a Wednesday, so the schedule will take effect on the following Monday, as it is set up as the "First Day of the Week" in the Cloud's settings.
The employee will work under the old schedule for the rest of the week, having the last scheduled shift date on Friday, according to their old schedule.
Changing from a Flexible Hours Schedule with a Different Periodicity
If the employee has already worked under another Flexible Hours Schedule and the periodicity now switches from week to month (or vice versa), chances are that the new start date and the old end date cannot work this seamlessly.
In that case, the new start date will always have priority, meaning the old Flexible Hours Schedule will end on the last possible day of the week (or the month) before the new schedule takes effect. You will have to confirm the cancellation of the old schedule during the transition time. No schedule will apply then.
Example:
A freelancer works part-time for a business. Initially, they agreed that they work for 16 hours per week, and the freelancer could manage their time freely as long as they fulfilled their 16 hours. After a good collaboration, the employer decides to increase their hours and also hire them on a monthly base, 100 hours per month to be precise.
Since the new month will start on a Thursday, the old schedule can only stay effective until the last Sunday of the previous month, leaving Monday to Wednesday as an empty transition period. The manager cancels the old schedule for these 3 days.
Tip: Need to change your schedules more often? Try using the Calendar (Plus only!) to manage your different schedules more flexibly.
Any questions?
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