Early starts and nights
Shifts keep their real dates, so a 10pm to 6am night or a 5am clean lands on the right days. Split days are easy: add two shifts, and staff can clock in up to five times a day.
Staff rota & calendar · From Free
A rota everyone can see, without the group chat.
Plan shifts with real start and finish times, put holiday and project work on the same calendar, and let staff check where they're working from their phone.
The rota and calendar are on the Free plan, for up to 5 employees.
The problem
The WhatsApp group isn't a rota.
The rota goes out as a photo of a whiteboard or a long message on Sunday night. By Tuesday there have been three changes, each in a different reply, and someone turns up at the wrong site because they read the first version.
Meanwhile the holiday chart is somewhere else, so you only find out a shift clashes with someone's week off when they don't arrive.
- Rota changes buried in the chat
- Holiday on a different chart
- Staff unsure where they're working
- No record of what was planned versus worked
How it works in Employr
Plan it once, and everyone sees the same thing.
- Step 1
Create the shift
Add the date and the real start and finish times, including shifts that cross midnight. Give it a title and a short description with any instructions, and put the site in a Location field if you use one.
A new shift - Step 2
Assign the right people
Put the shift on one employee or several. On Team and above, assign one or more teams for your regular crew and name the lead. For someone outside the team, add a separate shift for them.
Assign people or a team - Step 3
Check it against leave and jobs
The shared calendar shows shifts beside approved holiday and project dates, and recorded absence for roles that manage it, so you can spot a clash before the week starts. Filter to one person to check their month at a glance.
One person's month - Step 4
Staff check their shifts
Employees see their own shifts on the dashboard and calendar in their phone's browser, with the times, description and location. When plans change, you update the shift itself, so the calendar stays the one version everyone works from.
The employee's view
In detail
The bits that matter when work moves around.
Planned versus worked
Shifts show what was planned. Clock entries record what happened. Shifts with no matching clock-in are flagged in reports, so you find gaps the same week.
Project work in context
On Team and above, project dates sit on the calendar alongside the rota, so you can see which jobs are running when you plan the week.
Roles control what people see
Employees see their own shifts. You decide in Settings which roles can see and manage the full rota, so it isn't edited by everyone.
What Employr doesn't do
Employr doesn't build the rota for you automatically, forecast labour costs or check your rota against working time rules. It isn't a GPS tracker and doesn't track where staff are during a shift. It needs an internet connection to save changes, and it doesn't run payroll.
Keep exploring
Related features and industries.
Questions
Common questions.
Is there a free staff rota app?
Yes. The rota, calendar and clocking in are all on the Free plan, and no card is needed to start.
Can staff see their rota on their phone?
Yes. Employr is a responsive web app, so staff check their shifts in their phone's browser. Native Android and iOS apps are in development.
Can I put a whole crew on a shift?
Yes, on Team and above. Group your regular crew as a team, assign the team to the shift and name the lead. Team allows up to 5 teams.
Does it handle night shifts?
Yes. Set the real start and finish times and the shift keeps the correct dates, even when it crosses midnight.
Will I see when someone's on holiday?
Yes, on Starter and above. Approved holiday appears on the same calendar as shifts, and roles that manage absence see recorded absence there too. A pending request isn't shown as confirmed leave.
Is this employee scheduling or rostering software?
Yes. Rota, roster and employee schedule all mean the same here: planning who works when and where.
How much does it cost?
The rota is free for up to 5 employees. Starter is £19 a month for up to 10 and adds holiday, and Team is £45 a month for up to 25 and adds teams and projects. Each plan is one price, not per person.
Try it with your team
Get next week's rota out of the group chat.
Plan next week in Employr and share it with your team. No card needed.