Planning rules define the limits used when preparing your organisation’s rosters and the exceptions Kelomo flags for planners. Automation weights influence which options automatic scheduling prefers.
Open Settings → Shift scheduling → Planning rules.
Check the rules in effect
The How your rosters are planned summary at the top of the page describes the current settings. It covers matters such as shift length, days off and how far in advance a roster should be published.
Each rule identifies its source: legislation or your organisation’s own settings. Check any staff group and unit exceptions as well.
Kelomo’s rules are a planning aid. Make sure your settings reflect the agreements and practices that apply at your workplace.
Start with an industry preset if needed
Select Apply an industry preset… and choose a suitable preset. Options cover areas such as retail, hospitality, care, manufacturing and transport.
Review the proposed values before applying them. A preset is a starting point, not a complete interpretation of your workplace’s collective agreement. Applying a preset may replace values you have already changed.
Set the main limits
Settings are organised into six groups:
- Shift length and shape: minimum and maximum shift length, split shifts, and restrictions on start and end times.
- Rest between shifts: daily and weekly rest.
- Days off and weekends: how many days off employees have and when they fall.
- Consecutive days and nights: limits on consecutive working days and night shifts, and recovery after night shifts.
- Breaks: break length and placement.
- Publishing the roster: advance notice, handling rule violations and acknowledging shifts.
An empty field means you have not set a custom value. Other applicable rules may still limit planning. Individual field changes save when you leave the field.
What the limits mean:
- Daily rest is the unbroken rest between two shifts (law: 11 h) and weekly rest the unbroken rest once a week (law: 35 h). A rule of your own can set more, not less.
- Period hours cap is 40 h times the period’s weeks. As a blocking rule it keeps shifts over the cap out of automatic scheduling and blocks publication.
- Night shift hours are the window in which work counts as a night shift (law: 23:00–06:00). It affects the limit on consecutive nights.
- Forbidden times: a shift does not start or end within the window. For under-18s the law sets 22–06 automatically.
- Working days in a row and Consecutive night shifts limit automatic scheduling and shift sign-up.
- Break placement says where in the shift the break may fall. A deviation shows as a notice.
- Roster published before the period starts at least a week ahead; the publish preview tells you if you are late.
- Auto-cancel an unfilled open shift: an empty field cancels at the shift’s start. Sign-up cancellation deadline: an empty field allows cancelling until the shift starts. A per-shift setting overrides both.
- Workday length is the divisor of the person-day view.
Choose what blocks publication
Under Rule violations, choose how violations are handled:
- Show notes: violations are shown to the planner, but this setting does not block publication.
- Block publishing: also mark the rules you want to enforce as Blocking. Violations of these rules prevent publication; other exceptions remain notices.
Block publishing on competence shortfall separately covers statutory qualifications required for a position. Check this setting if missing or expired qualifications should prevent publication.
Publication blocking and automatic scheduling limits are separate. A blocking rule can exclude an assignment from an automatic suggestion even when publication blocking is off.
Add staff group or unit rules
The Exceptions line in the How your rosters are planned card shows settings that differ from the organisation’s defaults. Open an exception from its name; it is removed in its own editor.
- Select Add an exception.
- Choose a staff group or unit and the rule to change.
- Enter a value and save the exception.
Not every rule is available for both. For example, consecutive working day and night shift limits can be set for the organisation or a unit, but not a staff group.
Removing an exception restores the broader setting. Review the rules summary afterwards, particularly if an employee belongs to several groups.
Kelomo uses an employee’s date of birth for checks concerning under-18s. Make sure these details are correct. The checks do not replace an assessment of whether the duties and working hours are suitable.
Special rules
Special rules includes settings for compensatory rest, working hour limits over longer periods, driving and rest times, and annual quotas. Use these when your workplace needs the corresponding rules.
Adjust automatic scheduling priorities
Open Settings → Shift scheduling → Scheduling automation.
Weights influence matters such as shift and time-off preferences, an even spread of shifts, contracted hours, shift patterns and skills. The levels are Off, Light, Default and Strong. Units can have their own weights.
Cost-aware auto-scheduling favours cheaper feasible assignments; the cost is an estimate for budgeting. Automatic improvement pass moves and swaps shifts, and the result stays a draft. Even spread over time evens out night, weekend and holiday shifts across several rosters.
Start with the defaults and adjust them to address a specific need. Increasing a weight gives a goal more priority, but does not guarantee it will be met or override blocking constraints.
If a suggestion is not what you expected
First check staffing needs, employee availability and skills, and the rules in effect. Automatic scheduling explains why it cannot find a suitable employee for a staffing need. Change the underlying information only if it is incorrect.
If an employee is shown as having no working time model, check their model assignment. Without it, planning lacks information needed for comparisons such as scheduled hours against contracted hours.