Overview: Administrators are able to prevent their employees from being scheduled to work clopening shifts through the Scheduling and Availability features on both the website and the app.
Important! Scheduling is included in the Pro and Enterprise plans and is available as an add-on to the Starter plan for $1 per user/month.
Follow the steps here to ensure Availability is enabled.
Instructions:
What is Clopening?
A "clopening" shift is when an employee closes a location one night and then opens it the next morning, leaving them with little to no time to rest in between. For example, an employee might finish a closing shift at midnight and then be required to return for an opening shift at 6 AM.
Why it's a problem worth highlighting:
Employee health & wellbeing- Insufficient rest between shifts disrupts sleep, increases fatigue, and can lead to burnout over time. Most sleep experts recommend 7–9 hours of sleep, which a clopening shift makes nearly impossible.
Safety risks- Tired employees are more prone to errors and workplace accidents, which is a liability concern for employers.
Morale and retention- Clopening shifts are a common source of employee frustration and dissatisfaction. They can contribute to higher turnover, which is costly for businesses.
Legal and compliance exposure- Some states and cities have predictive scheduling laws that require a minimum rest period between shifts (often 10–11 hours). Clopening shifts can inadvertently put companies out of compliance.
How to Prevent Scheduling Clopening Shifts (Web)
1. Start by clicking Schedule in the top navigation, followed by Availability:
2. Once on the Availability page, click the open space for the day after an employee will be scheduled to close:
3. In the availability creation box that opens, specify:
The employee
The date
Toggle the "Unavailable" option
Toggle the "From" option and provide the times for an opening shift
Enter a note if needed
Then click Save:
4. When switching back to the Schedule view, you can see the unavailability indicated. To schedule a shift for that day, click the white space beneath the "Unavailable" notice.
Note: Whether or not you receive an error when a shift conflicts with unavailability will be dependent on your Availability Settings. Learn more about how to adjust these settings here.
How to Prevent Scheduling Clopening Shifts (App)
1. Start by navigating to the Availability tab. (Left image below)
2. Click the + button for the day after an employee has been scheduled to work a closing shift. (Middle image below)
3. On the Add Availability page, specify:
The employee
The date
Toggle the "Unavailable" option
Toggle the "From" option and provide the times for an opening shift
Enter a note if needed
Then click Save. (Right image below):
4. After saving, you'll be able to see the newly created unavailability from the Availability page. (Left image below)
5. Now when someone tries to schedule the employee on that day, their hours of unavailability will be displayed in the schedule creator. (Right image below)
Note: Whether or not you receive an error when a shift conflicts with unavailability will be dependent on your Availability Settings. Learn more about how to adjust these settings from the website here.
FAQs
Q: Why was I allowed to publish a shift that overlapped with an employee's unavailability?
A: Whether or not you receive an error when attempting to publish a shift that overlaps with an employee's unavailable hours will be dependent on your Availability settings. To adjust these settings, follow the steps here.