Checking availability
Planners are quicker to see which employees are eligible for replacement services and which absences need to be considered.
Guides
How to plan absence cover for sickness and leave
Planned leave gives you time to arrange cover, while sickness may require an immediate change. First identify the affected shifts, roles and locations, then check suitable replacement staff. Confirm the assignment, update the schedule and make sure the affected employees receive the change.
Cover arrangements: detect absences, plan replacements, check times
Sickness and holidays have a direct effect on the roster. A central process helps to find replacement staff faster and to keep the later working hours traceable.
Replacement visible on mobile devices
Changed shifts become visible in the app so that the team works with a more up-to-date plan.
Classify absences
Vacation, illness and existing shifts remain closer to the planning process and are not managed in separate lists.
Make absences visible early on the roster
As soon as holidays, illness or other absences become relevant, it must be clear which shifts are affected, and if this information is only available in an e-mail or a chat, cover planning becomes unnecessarily burdensome.
Dienstzeitplan bundles shifts, absences and availabilities in the portal, allowing planners to more quickly identify where replacements are needed and which employees are eligible.
Cover arrangements and availabilities
Good agency planning depends on the visibility of the available employees; part-time, days off, existing shifts and feedback should be included in the decision.
With the app, current shifts and changes can be visible to the team faster. Planners keep the final line-up in the portal and avoid several parallel schedules.
Recognise working hours after cover
If a shift was represented, the recorded working hours should also fit the current plan. Dienstzeitplan combines shift scheduling and time tracking so that actual times can be checked later in the portal.
This means that the time account, monthly overview and evaluation remain more traceable, even if the original plan was changed at short notice.
Recognize affected shifts
Identify the absence, identify affected shifts and check for suitable substitutes, then change the crew, inform the parties involved and secure the handover.
When selecting, consider qualification, availability, rest time, hours and location.
For example, a branch requires a staffed cash register, a daycare centre suitable specialists, a security object a suitable guard staff and an event staff for the respective task.
From request for absence to substitute service
Cover planning often does not start on the day of cancellation. Vacation, illness, days off or overtime reduction affect the roster in advance. Dienstzeitplan can make absences and requests visible in the portal so that affected shifts are detected earlier.
When a shift needs to be filled, availability, existing shifts and open shifts help to decide, the final allocation remains with the planner, and this does not manage absences, roster changes and later working hours in separate lists.
Cover arrangements to be evaluated after deployment
An organizational cover is only completed when the actual working hours have been checked. The app allows start/stop on the shift, while planners can then check actual times, breaks, corrections and working time accounts in the portal.
This is important because cover services often deviate from the original planning, and if changes and working hours remain in the same system, there will be better foundations for monthly closing, internal control and billing preparation.
Frequently asked questions: How to plan absence cover for sickness and leave
Practical use and context
Who should be informed first in the event of a sick report?
The company needs a clear reporting channel to the responsible person. Private groups or incidental messages to colleagues should not be the only route. The software does not replace the company’s sickness reporting procedure.
Which criteria are more important when selecting a replacement employee than mere availability?
Check suitability, the required role, preceding and following shifts, rest periods, location and possible working hours. An available employee is not automatically suitable cover.
Other questions
How to prevent old and new plans from circulating at the same time?
The final change will be made to the central roster; previous printouts or files will no longer be used as the current source, and the replacement will receive a clear message.