How schedule constraints work

Before you start

To assign schedule constraints for an employee

1. Go to the Employees tab.
2. Select More actions (•••) corresponding to the employees name, then Edit.
3. Select the Job tab and scroll to Schedule Constraints section. 
4. Enter the number of hours based on the constraints you want to set for scheduling.
5. Click Save.

To add schedule constraints in bulk

1. Navigate to the Employees tab.
2. Select the required employee’s checkbox on the left side of your screen, or use the checkbox next to the Employees column to select all employees.
3. Click More, then Assign Schedule Constraints.
4. Enable the required schedule constraints and enter the desired number of hours based on your preference.
5. Click Save.

Types of schedule constraint settings available in Zoho Shifts

1. Maximum hours per week: If an employee's maximum hours per week are set to 30 hours and they are scheduled for 36 hours, a warning indicator is shown next to the employee’s name to indicate over-scheduling.
2. Minimum hours per week: if an employee's minimum hours per week are set to 15 hours and they are scheduled for only 8 hours, a warning indicator is displayed to indicate that the weekly minimum has not been met.
3. Maximum days per week: If the maximum days per week is set to 4 days and an employee is scheduled to work on 6 days in the same week, a warning sign appears near the employee’s name indicating a conflict, and the constraint is displayed when you hover over the warning icon.
4. Maximum hours per day: If the maximum hours per day is set to 8 hours and an employee is scheduled for 10 hours on the same day, all the shifts are flagged as conflicts.
5. Minimum hours per day: If the minimum hours per day is set to 4 hours and an employee is scheduled for only 2 hours on a given day, the shift is flagged as a conflict because the minimum daily hours requirement is not met.
6. Minimum hours rest between shifts within the same day: If the minimum hours of rest between shifts on the same day are set to 3 hours, and employee A is scheduled for one shift from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and another from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM on the same day, the gap between the shifts is only 1 hour. Since this does not meet the required rest period, a conflict is displayed on the shift cards in the schedule editor a message is displayed when you hover over it. 
7. Minimum hours rest between shifts on consecutive days: If the minimum rest between consecutive days is set to 10 hours and an employee works a shift from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Monday and is then scheduled for another shift starting at 7:00 AM on Tuesday, the rest period between shifts is only 8 hours. Since this does not meet the required rest time, the shifts are flagged with a conflict.