Shift Swap Policy Template (Copy/Paste)

A shift swap policy reduces last‑minute chaos and makes coverage fair. Use the template below as a starting point, then adjust for your business and local labor rules.

1) Who can swap

• Employees must be trained for the role/shift they take.
• Swaps must not create overtime or break requirements unless the manager explicitly approves.
• Swaps are not guaranteed until approved.

2) Deadlines and approvals

• Swap requests must be submitted at least 24–48 hours before the shift start time (unless emergency approved).
• A manager approves based on coverage, skills, compliance, and fairness.
• Once approved, the schedule is updated and notifications are sent to both employees.

3) Fairness and accountability

• Track nights/weekends and total hours to avoid the same people always getting stuck with unpopular shifts.
• Limit consecutive swaps if they create perceived favoritism or uneven distribution.
• Employees who repeatedly no‑show after taking a swap may lose swap privileges.

Recommended: make swapping self‑serve

If your current process is texting a manager and updating a spreadsheet, switching to a self‑serve flow (employee posts → employee claims → manager approves) removes the bottleneck and improves compliance because there's a single source of truth.