Emergency Shifts (On-Call)¶
WFM supports planning on-call (emergency) shifts. The system automatically rotates employees in the on-call schedule - fairly and with respect to vacations.
How it works¶
On-call shifts are generated automatically when you generate a schedule. The system selects employees with the required skill and assigns them to the rotation. Whoever had on-call duty most recently goes to the end of the queue.
To set up on-call scheduling, you need to:
- Create an on-call skill
- Create an on-call shift
- Assign the skill to employees
- Assign the shift to the workplace
- Generate the schedule
1. Create an on-call skill¶
A skill marked as on-call determines which employees can participate in the on-call rotation.
How to set up¶
- Go to Settings > Skills.
- Click + New Skill.
- Enter a name for the skill (e.g., "On-Call").
- Enable the On Call (Emergency) toggle.
- Click Save.
Note
You can have multiple on-call skills in the system, but each workplace uses one at a time.
2. Create an on-call shift¶
A shift marked as on-call defines when and how long the on-call duty lasts.
How to set up¶
- Go to Settings > Shifts.
- Click + New Shift.
- Fill in the basic details (name, abbreviation, color, start time, duration).
- Enable the On Call (Emergency) toggle.
- After enabling, additional settings appear:
- Continuous - Enable if on-call duty should be one continuous block spanning multiple days (e.g., entire weekend). Disabled = the system creates a separate shift for each day.
- Start Day - Day of the week when rotation starts (e.g., Friday).
- Duration Days - How many days one on-call cycle lasts (1-7).
- Click Save.
Example configurations¶
| Scenario | Continuous | Start Day | Duration Days | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend on-call | Enabled | Friday | 3 | One continuous block Fri-Sun |
| Daily on-call | Disabled | Monday | 7 | 7 separate daily shifts |
| Weekly night on-call | Enabled | Monday | 7 | One continuous block for the entire week |
Note
After enabling On Call, the Holiday and Weekdays fields are hidden - days are controlled by Start Day and Duration Days.
3. Assign the skill to employees¶
The on-call skill must be assigned to employees who should participate in the rotation.
How to set up¶
- Go to Employees.
- Open the employee detail.
- In the skills section, add the on-call skill (e.g., "On-Call").
- Save.
Repeat for all employees who should be in the on-call roster.
4. Assign the shift to the workplace¶
The on-call shift must be assigned to the workplace for which you generate schedules.
How to set up¶
- Go to Workplaces.
- Open the workplace detail.
- In the shifts section, add the on-call shift.
- Save.
5. Generate the schedule¶
On-call shifts are generated automatically as part of schedule generation.
How it works¶
- Go to Schedule Plans.
- Start schedule generation for the workplace and period.
- The system first schedules regular shifts.
- Then it automatically generates on-call shifts:
- Sorts employees by who had on-call duty longest ago (fair rotation)
- Skips employees with vacation during the period
- Assigns the next employee in the queue
- On-call shifts appear in the schedule alongside regular shifts.
Continuous vs. daily shifts¶
- Continuous enabled: The system creates one continuous shift spanning all days of the cycle (e.g., Fri 00:00 - Sun 23:59). One employee covers the entire period.
- Continuous disabled: The system creates a separate shift for each active day. Different employees can be assigned to different days.
Notes¶
- If the workplace has only on-call shifts (no regular shifts), the system skips the planning algorithm and generates the on-call roster directly.
- The employee who had on-call duty in the last period is assigned last - ensuring even distribution.
- Employees with vacation during the on-call period are automatically skipped.
- If no employee has the on-call skill assigned, no shifts are generated.
- The default rotation start day is Friday (unless configured otherwise on the shift).