Allocate Roster
Available on: Desktop · Web · Phone
Navigate to Payroll Entry and click on "Allocate Roster".
Allocate Roster gives each employee one or more roster lines: which shift or rotation they follow, and from which date. Saving offers to generate their roster straight away. This screen never changes the shift on the employee's own record, and the old Allocate Employees to Shifts screen is not affected by it.
The screen
The screen has three grids:
Employees (top): the employees you picked — name, codes, Current Assignment (what applies today, for example SHIFT: GENERAL SHIFT, worked out from the lines on screen) and Emp-wise Holidays (whether they already keep their own holiday list). Tick Select for those the assign bar should apply to.
Assign bar (middle): one line you fill in once and copy to every ticked employee.
Roster lines (bottom): the lines of one employee — the one selected in the top grid. Its heading names that employee, for example Roster lines of: AARTI KUMARI (EMP CODE 947) - employee 3 of 5, and adds unsaved changes when there are some.
The roster line columns
Date From
The first day the line applies. Required.
Date To
The last day. Leave blank for no end date.
Type
SHIFT (one shift) or ROTATION (a rotation from Setup Shift Rotations). Changing it clears the shift or rotation chosen.
Shift / Rotation
The shift or rotation. Only active ones are offered — and only rotations with steps.
Week-off Pattern
Shift lines only. (SHIFT'S OWN) uses the shift's pattern; pick another to override it for this employee.
Anchor Date
The day counting starts, for a rotation or a rotating-cycle week-off pattern. Blank = Date From.
Anchor Step
Rotation lines only: which step runs on the anchor date (1 = the first step).
Follow Branch Holidays
Yes (the default): the branch's holidays are added to the employee's holiday list; on rostered days the branch's weekly-offs do not apply — the roster's week-offs do. No: no branch holidays are added.
Remarks
Free text, in capitals.
Status
Filled in by the screen: LATER LINE FROM … when a later line takes over from that date.
When lines overlap, the line with the later Date From wins from that date on. Two lines of one employee cannot start on the same date.
Example — Aarti is on GENERAL SHIFT from 1 April with no end date. From 1 November she moves to NIGHT SHIFT. Add a second line from 1 November: from that day the new line applies, and as soon as the new line is accepted the first line's Status reads LATER LINE FROM 01/11/…. There is no need to end the first line.
Allocate rosters
Step 1: Pick the employees
Press Select Employees. The employee search opens, listing employees who have not left. Tick the employees and press OK.
Step 2: Give many employees the same line
In the top grid, tick Select for each employee the line is for.
Fill in the assign bar, pressing Enter after each cell.
Press Add to Ticked Employees. Each ticked employee gets the line; one who already has a line starting on the same date is skipped. The message says Line added to N employee(s), how many were skipped, and Save to keep the changes.
Step 3: Change one employee's lines
Click the employee in the top grid; the bottom grid shows their lines.
Edit a line, or add one on the empty last row. Press Enter after each cell and at the end of the line.
To remove a line, delete it in the grid. The screen asks Delete this roster line? and reminds you that days already generated from it change only when the roster is generated again.
Step 4: Save and generate
Press Save. The screen checks every line of each changed employee, and asks Are you sure you want to save changes. The question also notes, when it applies:
employees getting their first roster — they switch to employee-wise holidays, and this payroll year's branch holidays are copied into their own list,
employees who already keep their own holiday list — lines with Follow Branch Holidays = Yes add the branch's holidays to it,
employees left with no roster lines — their days already generated stay; use Switch to Branch Holidays to put them back.
It then asks whether to generate the roster now for the changed employees, from today to the end of the payroll year. If no payroll year covers today, it goes to the last Date To of their lines, or one year ahead when a line has no end date; the question says so and shows the date.
Answer Yes. A summary shows how many employees were done, how many failed and why (the first 10 failures are listed).
The screen closes without asking if changes are not saved — save first.
Switch an employee back to branch holidays
Use this when an employee stops following a roster and should go back to the branch's holidays and weekly-offs.
End the employee's roster lines yesterday or earlier (set Date To), or delete them, and press Save.
Remove any holidays entered by hand for them from today on, in Setup Employee Wise Holidays.
Select the employee in the top grid and press Switch to Branch Holidays. Confirm the question.
From today on, their roster days and the holidays the roster added (week-offs included) are removed, and they follow branch holidays again. If payroll has already been processed for a period that includes today, removal starts the day after that period; the question shows the date. Earlier days, and holidays entered by hand, are not touched. The message then says how many roster days and holidays were removed.
Days of the current payroll period that have already passed will also follow branch holidays when payroll is processed, so switch at the start of a period where possible.
Messages you may see
There are no changes to save
No roster line changed. Editing only the assign bar changes nothing until Add to Ticked Employees
Use Add to Ticked Employees, or edit a line, then Save
Tick the employees (SELECT column) the line is for
Add to Ticked Employees with nobody ticked
Tick Select in the top grid
Enter Date From / Choose the Type (Shift or Rotation) / Choose the Shift / Choose the Rotation
A line, or the assign bar, is incomplete
Fill it in
Another line of this employee already starts on …
Two lines cannot start on the same day
Change that line's Date From, or edit the existing line
Date To cannot be before Date From
Dates reversed
Correct the dates
Shift '…' is inactive / Week-off pattern '…' is inactive / Rotation '…' is inactive
A new or changed line uses an inactive item
Pick an active one, or untick Inactive in its setup screen
The shift / week-off pattern / rotation no longer exists; choose another
The item was removed
Choose another
Anchor Step must be from 1 to …
The rotation has fewer steps
Enter a step within the rotation
Rotation '…' has no steps with days
An older line uses a rotation whose steps all have 0 days
Fix the rotation in Setup Shift Rotations
…, line N: …
On Save: that employee's line N has the problem shown
Fix the line, then Save
The changes on screen are not saved. Discard them and select employees again?
Select Employees with unsaved changes
No goes back so you can Save
Select the employee first (Select Employees, then click the employee)
Switch to Branch Holidays with no employee selected
Select the employee
Save the changes on screen first, then switch back
Switch to Branch Holidays with unsaved lines
Save first
…: The employee still has … roster line(s) running on or after …. End them before that date (Date To) or delete them, save, then switch back.
The roster has not ended
Do as it says
…: The employee has … holiday(s) entered by hand on or after …. Remove them in Setup Employee Wise Holidays first.
Those holidays would stop being used
Remove them, then switch
…: The employee already follows branch holidays.
Nothing to switch back
—
Modification rights are not available...
Save or Switch to Branch Holidays: your user may only view this menu
Ask for modify rights in User Access
On the web
The same screen is on the web. A switch (Employees, Assign, Lines) shows one part at a time — on a phone and on a desktop.