Attendance & Time

Work schedules and shifts

Define which days are working days with fixed or rotating schedules, set branch defaults, assign employees, and record shift timings.

  • HR Admin
  • Payroll Admin
2 min read
On this page (6 sections)
  1. Schedules versus shifts
  2. Create a fixed weekly schedule
  3. Create a rotating schedule
  4. Assign employees to schedules
  5. Create a work shift
  6. Overtime rules

Schedules versus shifts

Work schedule
Which days of the week are working days and which are week offs. Drives attendance status and payroll working days.
Work shift
The hours of the working day, such as 09:00–18:00. Recorded on the employee for reference.
Branch default
The schedule or shift used for employees in a branch who haven’t been given one.
Go to
  1. Payroll
  2. Payroll Settings
  3. Work Schedules

Create a fixed weekly schedule

  1. Click New Schedule.

  2. Enter a Schedule Name and, if you have several branches, choose the Branch (leave empty for all branches).

  3. Keep Pattern Type as Fixed Weekly and toggle the Working Days. Days you leave off become week offs.

  4. Tick Set as default schedule for this branch if this should apply to everyone without their own schedule.

  5. Click Create Schedule.

Create a rotating schedule

Use a rotating schedule for patterns that don’t follow the calendar week, such as 4 days on and 1 off.

Cycle Length (days)Required
How many days before the pattern repeats. At least 2.
Anchor DateRequired
The date the first cycle starts on.
Off-day indexesRequired
Which days in the cycle are off, counting from 0, separated by commas. A cycle of 5 with off-day index 4 means 4 days on, 1 off.

Assign employees to schedules

  1. On the Work Schedules tab, click Assign Employees. You need payroll update permission.

  2. Search by name, employee ID or email.

  3. Choose a schedule for each employee, or Unassigned to use their branch default. Only schedules for the employee’s branch are offered.

  4. Click Save {n} Change(s).

You can also set an individual employee’s schedule and shift in the Working Hours section of their employee record.

Create a work shift

Go to
  1. Payroll
  2. Payroll Settings
  3. Work Shifts

  1. Click New Shift.

  2. Enter the Shift Name, optional description and branch.

  3. Set the From and To times. The duration is calculated for you, including overnight shifts.

  4. Optionally tick Set as default shift for this branch.

  5. Click Create Shift.

Overtime rules

The Overtime Rules tab lets you record weekly and daily hour thresholds for a branch, specific employees or both. Pay runs don’t calculate overtime pay from these rules yet, so pay any overtime through your salary components.

Related articles

Work schedules and shifts | Mocha HRMS Help Center