Shifts & Scheduling

SativaHR's shift system lets you define work schedules, manage late penalties, and plan employee shifts on a calendar view.

Shift Master

Shifts page

The Shift Master is where you create and manage your organization's work shifts.

Creating a Shift

Navigate to Shift Master from the sidebar.
Click Add Shift.
Configure the shift:
- Shift Name — A descriptive name (e.g., "Morning Shift", "Night Shift").
- Shift Code — A short code for quick reference (e.g., "MS", "NS").
- Clock-In Time — When the shift starts.
- Clock-Out Time — When the shift ends.
- Break Duration — Total break time in minutes.
- Color — A color label for visual identification on the shift plan.
Click Save.

Shift Time Settings

Each shift has detailed time settings that control attendance calculations:

Grace Period — Minutes after clock-in time before an employee is marked late. For example, a 10-minute grace period means clocking in up to 10 minutes after the shift start is still considered on-time.
Early Clock-In — How many minutes before the shift start employees are allowed to clock in.
Auto Clock-Out — If enabled, automatically clocks out employees after a set duration if they forget.

Editing and Deleting Shifts

Click on a shift to edit its details.
Use the Delete button to remove a shift.

Important: You cannot delete a shift that is currently assigned to employees or used in shift plans. Reassign those employees first.

Late Penalty Templates

Late penalty templates define escalating consequences for employees who arrive late. Each template has tiers that apply based on how late the employee is.

Creating a Template

Navigate to Shift Master and click the Late Penalty tab.
Click Add Template.
Enter a Template Name (e.g., "Standard Late Policy").
Save the template, then add tiers.

Adding Tiers

Each tier defines a penalty for a range of lateness:

Field	Description
From Minutes	Start of the lateness range
To Minutes	End of the lateness range
Penalty Type	Deduction type (e.g., fixed amount, percentage)
Penalty Value	The deduction amount

Example tier setup:

Tier	Range	Penalty
1	1–15 minutes	Warning
2	16–30 minutes	50% salary deduction for the period
3	31–60 minutes	Full salary deduction for the period
4	60+ minutes	Marked absent

Assigning Templates to Shifts

After creating a late penalty template, assign it to one or more shifts:

Open the template.
Click the Shifts tab.
Select which shifts should use this template.
Save the assignment.

Shift Planning

The Shift Plan page provides a calendar grid where you can assign shifts to employees for each day.

Using the Shift Plan Grid

The grid shows:

Rows — One per employee
Columns — One per day in the selected date range
Cells — The assigned shift (shown by color and code)

Assigning Shifts

Navigate to Shift Plan.
Select the date range (week or month view).
Click on a cell — a dropdown editor appears.
Search for a shift by name or code, then select it.
The cell updates with a green dashed outline, indicating a pending change.
Repeat for as many cells as needed.
Click the Save button to apply all pending changes at once. The button shows the number of unsaved changes.

Tip: For bulk assignment, use the Import feature described below — it lets you assign shifts for many employees and dates at once via a spreadsheet.

Filtering the Grid

Use the filters at the top to narrow the view:

Department — Show only employees from a specific department.
Search — Find a specific employee.

Importing Shift Plans

For large-scale planning, you can import shift plans from a spreadsheet:

Click the Import button.
Download the import template.
Fill in shift codes for each employee and date.
Upload and validate.
Review the preview and confirm.

Tip: Use the shift codes (not full names) in the import template. The system validates all codes during the preview step.

Holidays on the Grid

Holidays are shown on the shift plan grid with a visual indicator. Employees assigned to work on holidays will have their attendance calculated with the holiday overtime rules.