Creating a shift and assigning a support worker

Build a single shift on the roster board, let CompanionAxis rank the support workers who fit it, and save it as a draft or publish it straight to the worker’s app.

Before you begin

• Your role includes the Create shifts permission. To send the shift to the worker you also need Publish rosters, and to see the ranked worker list, See matched workers.
• The participant exists under People → All participants and is active on the shift date.
• Ideally the participant has a signed service agreement, so the support item and ratio can be prefilled.

Open the New shift panel

1. Go to Roster → Roster board.
2. Use the arrows and This week to move to the week you are rostering.
3. Select New shift at the top of the page. To prefill a worker, participant or house, select Add in the matching row and day of the board instead.
4. The New shift panel opens on the right. Its subtitle reminds you that the shift is checked for clashes, fatigue, credentials, availability and leave as you build it.

Say who the shift is for and where it happens

1. Under House (optional), leave Community or in-home support for in-home or community supports, or choose a SIL house.
2. If there is no house, choose the Branch the shift belongs to.
3. Under Participants, select Add participant… and search for the participant. Add more than one only for a shared or group support.
4. If the participant has a signed service agreement, use From service agreement to choose a line. This fills in the Support item and Ratio, and shows the hours left on that line.

Set the date, times and support details

1. Set the Date, then choose the Shift type (for example Standard, Community access, Sleepover or Active night). Sleepovers and active nights default to 23:00 to 07:00.
2. Set Start and End. If the end time is earlier than the start, the panel shows Finishes the next morning.
3. Leave Repeat on Once for a single shift. See Recurring shifts and the master roster for repeating shifts.
4. Check the Support item and Ratio. You can leave the support item empty and add it later, but the shift can’t be claimed without one.
5. Add anything the worker needs to know in Shift instructions. Workers see this as the shift plan in the app.

Choose the support worker

1. Look at Worker · ranked by match on the right. Each worker has a score out of 100 and ticks for skills, credentials, gender and language preference, distance, continuity with the participant and availability.
2. Select the worker you want. A worker marked Blocked fails a hard check (for example already booked, on approved leave or missing mandatory screening) and can’t be chosen.
3. To leave the shift for someone to pick up, select Leave unassigned (open shift).
4. Read the Checks list under the workers. Warnings are shown in amber; anything that blocks publishing is marked blocks publishing.

Save or publish

1. Check the footer, which shows the number of shifts and the estimated cost and revenue (if you can see roster costs).
2. Select Save as draft to keep the shift on the board without telling anyone. Drafts are shown with the Draft colour in the legend.
3. Or select Save and publish (or Save and publish as open if no worker is chosen). The worker is sent the shift in the support worker app.
4. A message confirms, for example 1 shift saved as draft. Drafts go out later with Publish roster.

If a check blocks publishing and you hold Override roster checks, an Override reason (coordinator) field appears. The publish button stays disabled until you enter a reason. Double booking and expired mandatory screening can never be overridden.

Assign or change the worker on an existing shift

1. Select the shift on the board. A side panel opens with the shift’s details and checks.
2. Select Assign a worker (or Swap or reassign if someone is already on it).
3. Choose a worker from the ranked list. You can also drag a shift from the Open shifts row onto a worker’s row; every drop is re-checked.

Tips

• Group the board by Participant to see every support a participant has in the week before you add another.
• Select Full shift record in the shift panel for the complete history, check-ins, notes and cost of a shift.

If something goes wrong

Saving shows “Add at least one participant.”

Every shift needs at least one participant. Add one under Participants and save again.

Save and publish is greyed out

A blocking check is failing. Fix it (choose another worker or time) or, if you hold Override roster checks, type an override reason. If you can’t see the button at all, you don’t hold Publish rosters; save as a draft and ask a coordinator to publish.

The ranked list says “Nobody matches this shift.”

Matching only lists active workers within the matching distance who aren’t on leave, booked elsewhere or missing mandatory screening. Check the participant’s address and the workers’ availability, or leave the shift open and broadcast it.

An error says the worker is already booked

The worker has another shift that overlaps. Pick another worker or change the times; double bookings can’t be overridden.