Shifts & Scheduling

Publishing & Notifying

Learn how to review and publish shifts so your workers are notified about their upcoming schedules.

4 min read

Draft vs Published Shifts

Understanding the two shift states.

Every shift in TempClock starts life as a draft. Drafts are only visible to managers in the manage portal. Workers do not see drafts and are not notified about them. Once you are happy with your schedule, you publish the shifts to make them live.

Draft shifts

Visible to managers only. Workers cannot see them. Shown with a faded/dashed style on the calendar.

Published shifts

Visible to workers. Notifications sent. Shown as solid colour blocks on the calendar.

Draft vs Published on Calendar
Draft Shift
S. Johnson 08:00–17:00
Draft
Published Shift
S. Johnson 08:00–17:00
Published
Tip

Keeping shifts as drafts while you build the schedule is a good habit. It lets you move things around without confusing workers with constant notifications.

Reviewing Shifts Before Publishing

Make sure everything looks right before workers are notified.

Before you publish, take a moment to review your draft shifts. Check that all the details are correct, as publishing sends notifications to workers straight away.

Open the Shifts calendar

Go to Shifts from the sidebar. Look for any shifts with a Draft badge or dashed outline — these are the ones waiting to be published.

Check the key details

For each draft shift, make sure the following are correct:

  • The right worker is assigned
  • The location is correct
  • The start and end times are accurate
  • There are no clashes (two shifts for the same worker at the same time)

Fix any issues

If anything needs changing, click on the shift to edit it. You can change any field while the shift is still a draft without notifying anyone.

Important

TempClock will warn you if it spots a scheduling clash — for example, if a worker has been assigned two overlapping shifts. Look for a yellow warning icon on clashing shifts.

Publishing Your Shifts

Make shifts live and notify your workers.

Select the shifts to publish

You can publish shifts in two ways:

  • One at a time — click on a draft shift and click Publish in the shift detail panel
  • All at once — click the Publish All Drafts button at the top of the calendar to publish every draft shift in the current view

Confirm the publish

A confirmation dialog will appear showing how many shifts you are about to publish and how many workers will be notified. Click Confirm & Publish to go ahead.

Shifts go live

Published shifts change from dashed outlines to solid colour blocks on the calendar. Workers are notified immediately.

Publish Confirmation
Ready to publish?
You are about to publish 10 shifts for the week of 10–14 March.
3 workers will receive notifications about their schedules.
Confirm & Publish Cancel
Good to know

Once shifts are published, workers can see them straight away. Try to publish shifts at least a week in advance so workers have time to plan.

How Workers Are Notified

What happens when shifts are published or changed.

When you publish shifts, TempClock automatically notifies the affected workers. Here is how notifications work:

New shift published

Worker receives a notification with the date, time, and location of their shift

Shift changed

If you edit a published shift (time or date change), the worker is notified about the update

Shift cancelled

If you delete a published shift, the worker is notified that their shift has been removed

Notification channels

Notifications appear in the worker's TempClock account and can also be sent via email

Worker View — Upcoming Shifts
Your Upcoming Shifts
Monday 10 March
08:00 – 17:00 • Acme Warehouse
Confirmed
Tuesday 11 March
08:00 – 17:00 • Acme Warehouse
Confirmed
Wednesday 12 March
09:00 – 18:00 • Acme Warehouse
Updated

Editing Published Shifts

What happens when you change a shift that has already been published.

You can still edit or delete shifts after they have been published. However, any changes will trigger a notification to the affected worker so they are aware of the update.

Click the published shift on the calendar

Click on the shift you want to change. The shift detail panel will open.

Make your changes

Update the time, worker, location, or notes as needed. Click Save Changes when you are done.

Worker is notified

The assigned worker will receive a notification telling them that their shift has been updated, along with the new details.

Tip

If you need to make several changes to published shifts, consider doing them all at once and then letting workers know. Constant small changes can be confusing.

Best Practices

Tips for smooth shift scheduling.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of shift publishing:

Build your schedule as drafts first — get everything right before publishing
Publish a week in advance — give workers enough notice to plan around their shifts
Use templates for regular patterns — saves time and reduces mistakes
Check for clashes before publishing — TempClock will warn you, but a quick visual check helps
Add notes to unusual shifts — if a shift is different from the norm, explain why in the notes field

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