What is a weekly work schedule?
A weekly work schedule is a way for both an employer and their employees to understand who will work what shift pattern in the coming week or month. It is a way to allocate staff to specific hours to suit business needs. It also works as an aide-memoire for staff that allows them to understand exactly which hours they are working on which days.
Balancing the needs of a business with the wants and needs of the staff can be difficult. This is why a weekly work schedule needs to be thoughtfully put into place to ensure that everyone is happy.
Is a weekly work schedule the same as a weekly rota schedule?
In essence, yes. A weekly work schedule is the same as a weekly rota schedule in so far as both detail the shifts, timings, and work patterns for staff. A rota is often considered a less formal version of a schedule, but to all intents and purposes they perform the same function.
How does a weekly work schedule benefit the employee?
For employees a weekly work schedule allows them to understand exactly what their hours of work are for the next week or longer (depending on how far ahead their workplace plans). It allows them to plan their life and activities better by understanding when they are set to be in work. They can also, if necessary, look to swap shifts (if available) with other employees.
How does a weekly work schedule benefit the employer?
For an employer being able to ensure that they have the required staffing levels they need for all business hours is important. A weekly rota template can easily allow this while also letting them relay to staff what is expected of them in terms of working hours.
How does a work schedule work in practice?
In practice, a weekly work schedule is generally put into action by a business’s HR department or the Shift/rota manager. They will fit staff into a weekly rota template based on
- Employees’ contracted hours
- The qualification and skills of the employee
- The needs of the business
- And, any specific requests by staff
Traditionally, the schedule itself can be either in a paper form that is displayed for staff to see in a pre-determined location or in distributed electronically via email. However, digitally distributing work schedules online is the best way to keep the employees and team informed of their rota plans. A cloud solution like Papershift offers the flexibility to employees and the rota managers to respond to last-minute shift changes and shift swap requests.
Are there any legal regulations that need following?
Yes. European laws and work time directives dictate that staff should be not only be treated fairly but also that their contracted hours are adhered to. Breaches of either of these can put an employer in hot water and even leave them open to legal proceedings.
Papershift shift planning software provides shift planners online shift planning to suit business needs and optimize workforce capacity. It removes the need for complicated spreadsheets, making the process streamlined and efficient. The right shift planning software leads to happier employees and increased profitability. Sign up for a free demo here.
- Create any scheduling pattern
- Click employees into rota schedule
- Staff view by hours, day & week
- Fast & auto schedule planning
- Publish rota via app to employees
- Automatic timesheets from rota schedules
Photo by Paico Oficial on Unsplash
