# Scheduling Settings Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/scheduling-settings > Configure key scheduling options like case-note requirements and shift approvals. Scheduling add-on - This feature requires the Scheduling add-on, which is available on Astalty Premium. See How to enable Scheduling. ## Overview The Scheduling Settings page lets you configure key options that affect how scheduling works in your organisation. Here, you can control requirements such as whether a case note must be completed before clocking out, and set how shift approvals are handled, either automatically (including with tolerances) or manually. Available controls depend on the features enabled for your account. Select **Settings > Scheduling**, or open [Scheduling Settings](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/scheduling). The page opens on **General**, with the other sections in the [submenu](#scheduling-settings-submenu). Each section is its own card: select **Edit** on the card you want to change. If your role can view audit trails, the **Payroll & Awards** card also has **Actions > Audit Trail**. Use it to check when scheduling settings were changed and who changed them. > **Looking for Chat?** > > Team messaging now lives in its own area. See [Chat](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat) under Day-to-Day to set up direct messages, group channels, and Chat settings. > **Remind Participants about their shifts** > > To automatically text Participants ahead of their scheduled supports, set up [SMS Reminders](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/sms-reminders) (requires [Two-Way SMS](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/two-way-sms)). ## Defaults for New Accounts New accounts are created with recommended values already chosen, so there is less to work through when you first set up. Existing accounts are not affected - nothing already saved was overwritten. | Setting | New accounts start with | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | [**Shift Auto Approval**](#shift-auto-approval) | Auto | | [**Require Note on Clock Out**](#note-required-on-clock-out) | On | | [**Require Location Data**](#require-location-data) | On | | [**Shift Clock In/Out Thresholds**](#shift-clock-inout-thresholds) | Early window 15, Late window 15 | | [**Travel Clock In/Out Thresholds**](#travel-clock-inout-thresholds) | Early window 5, Late window 5 | | [**Travel Distance Thresholds**](#travel-distance-thresholds) | Min 999 km, Max 0 km | | [**Approved Hours Variance Highlight**](#approved-hours-variance-highlight) | Tolerance 5 | | **Early Clock In Limit** | 12 hours | | [**First Aid Allowance**](#first-aid-allowance) | Exclude cancelled shifts & provider travel | | [**App Privacy**](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/security/app-privacy) | Forbid Screenshots | | [**Push Notifications**](#enabling-notifications-on-the-astalty-app) | On | | [**Clock Reminders**](#enabling-notifications-for-not-clocking-in-or-out-of-a-support) | Clock In 5, Clock Out 5 | | [**On-Call Reminder**](#on-call-reminder) | 60 minutes, on accounts using the On-Call Roster | Each of these is a starting point, not a restriction - change any of them at any time. > **Invoice settings have defaults too** > > New accounts also start with plan managed invoices addressed to the Participant, claim references included on each line item, and three overdue [Invoice Reminders](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/invoices-settings/invoice-reminder-email#reminders-created-with-your-account) already set up. ## Scheduling Settings Submenu Your scheduling settings are split across their own pages rather than sitting together on one long page. Opening [Settings > Scheduling](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/scheduling) takes you to **General**, and the submenu down the left-hand side moves you between the rest. **All Settings** at the top of the submenu takes you back to the main Settings menu. ![The Scheduling Settings page with a left-hand submenu listing All Settings, General, Schedule Colours, Pay Groups, Custom Allowances, Cancellation Reasons, Leave Types and Public Holidays, beside the General page showing the Payroll & Awards, Worker Assignment and Scheduling & Travel cards, each with its own Edit button](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-submenu.png) | Page | What it covers | When it appears | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | **General** | Everything described on this page - behaviours, notes and visibility, notice periods, approvals, notifications and payroll | Every account | | **Schedule Colours** | Your own colours for events on the Schedule - see [Schedule Colours](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/schedule-colours) | Every account | | **Pay Groups** | The pay groups used to group employees for payroll - see [Setup Pay Groups and Employees in Astalty](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/setup-pay-groups-and-employees-in-astalty) | Every account | | **Cost Codes** | Your cost codes and the rules that apply them - see [Cost Codes (Advanced)](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/cost-codes) | Only when Cost Codes is turned on for your account | | **Custom Allowances** | Allowances of your own to add to shifts and send to payroll - see [Custom Allowances](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/custom-allowances) | When your role can see them | | **Cancellation Reasons** | The reasons offered when a support is cancelled - see [Cancellation Reasons](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/cancellation-reasons) | Every account | | **Leave Types** | The kinds of leave Support Workers can request - see [Leave Types](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/leave#leave-types) | Every account | | **Public Holidays** | Public holidays and Public Holiday Groups - see [Public Holidays](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/public-holidays) | Every account | > **Your submenu may be shorter** > > You only ever see the pages your role and your account's enabled features allow, so your submenu may not list everything above. Nothing was removed in this reorganisation - the settings that used to sit on one page are now grouped onto pages of their own. ### Finding a Setting with the Quick Action Menu Every page in the submenu is also in the [Quick Action Menu](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/navigating-astalty/quick-action-menu), so you can jump straight to one instead of walking through Settings. Press **CMD + K** (**CTRL + K** on Windows), start typing, and each result shows its full path underneath - for example **Settings › Scheduling › Cost Codes**. ![The Quick Action Menu with cost codes typed, returning Cost Code Assignments under Reports, Scheduling and Cost Codes under Settings, Scheduling in Quick Navigation, each with its path shown beneath it](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-command-menu-cost-codes.png) Because the menu matches the path as well as the name, typing **scheduling cost** narrows to the same result. These pages also answer to the words you would normally use for them, even when those words don't appear in the result: - **General** - *defaults*, *scheduling settings* - **Schedule Colours** - *colors*, *colour coding*, *legend* - **Pay Groups** - *payroll groups*, *pay items* - **Cost Codes** - *gl codes*, *general ledger*, *tracking categories* - **Cancellation Reasons** - *short notice*, *cancellation codes* - **Leave Types** - *annual leave*, *sick leave*, *personal leave* - **Public Holidays** - *penalty rates* ## Payroll Platforms Under **Payroll & Awards**, the **Platform** setting tells Astalty which payroll system you use - **Xero**, **Employment Hero**, **PayCat**, **QuickBooks Payroll**, or **Other**. It controls which export and sync options appear on your [timesheet batches](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/timesheet-batches), and which integration card is available under **[Settings > Integrations](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/integrations)**. Set the platform first, then connect the matching integration: [Xero](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/integrations/xero-integration), [Employment Hero](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/integrations/employment-hero), [PayCat](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/integrations/paycat), or [QuickBooks Payroll](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/integrations/quickbooks-payroll). ## Pay Period Also under **Payroll & Awards**, the **Pay Period** settings tell Astalty the pay cycle used for award calculations such as overtime and period caps. These settings define the output period and its weekly or fortnightly caps. For continuous work that crosses the boundary, award reports, timesheet exports and timesheet-batch interpretation can also load adjoining work from the previous period without paying those earlier hours twice. ![The Payroll & Awards panel of Scheduling Settings with Platform set to Xero, and the Pay Period area highlighted, showing a Detect from timesheets button, Period Type set to Weekly and an empty Reference Date field.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-pay-period-guide.png) There are two fields: - **Period Type** - choose **Weekly** or **Fortnightly**. If you've never set this, Astalty treats your pay cycle as **Weekly**. - **Reference Date** - any date that falls on the **starting day** of one of your pay periods. Astalty reads the day of the week from this date and uses it to work out where every pay period begins. - For a **weekly** cycle, pick any date on your pay week's start day - for example a Wednesday if your week runs Wed-Tue. - For a **fortnightly** cycle, pick a date that is the **first day of one of your pay fortnights**. This is what aligns the 14-day cycle, so Astalty knows which fortnight is which. If you leave the Reference Date blank on a weekly cycle, pay weeks start on **Monday**. > **Fortnightly needs a Reference Date** > > A **Reference Date is required** when Period Type is **Fortnightly** - you won't be able to save without one. Without a reference date there is no way to tell which of two consecutive weeks starts a fortnight, so the award interpretation can't run. ### Detect from timesheets If you're not sure what to enter, use the **Detect from timesheets** button in the top right of the Pay Period section. Astalty looks at your **20 most recent [timesheet batches](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/timesheet-batches)**, takes the most common batch length, and works out your cycle from it: - Batches around **7 days** long > **Weekly**. - Batches around **14 days** long > **Fortnightly**. - The **start date of your most recent batch** is used as the Reference Date. Astalty then tells you what it found - for example, *"Based on 20 timesheet batches, we detected a fortnightly pay period starting on Mondays with a reference date of 07/07/2026."* - and fills in the two fields for you. **Review the values and click Save** to apply them; detecting alone doesn't save the setting. If the most common batch length does not match a supported cycle, or you have no timesheet batches yet, you'll see *"Not enough timesheet data to determine pay period."* and the fields are left alone for you to set manually. ### Where the pay period is used Your pay period feeds several parts of Astalty, so changing it affects more than one place: - The **[Award Pay Report](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/reports/schads-pay-report)** date selector is locked to whole pay periods matching these settings. - **Overtime and period caps** in award interpretation, wherever it runs - the Award Pay Report and the **Award Interpretation** tab of a timesheet batch. - **[Scheduling Award Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/scheduling-award-alerts)**, which measure hours against caps over the pay period while you roster. - The **[Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule) Week and Fortnight views**, which follow your pay period start day unless you override it with [Week starts on](#schedule-week). - The **[Support Worker Hours panel](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-board-workflow#support-worker-hours)** on Approve Broadcast and Assign requests, which compares a worker's scheduled and contracted hours over the pay period instead of a calendar week. ## Pay Award Minimum Engagement Also under **Payroll & Awards**, **Pay Award Minimum Engagement** pays an engagement shorter than the award's minimum engagement up to that minimum. It is off by default, so pay covers the approved hours only, and it is hidden when the **Platform** is **Employment Hero**, **PayCat** or **QuickBooks Payroll**. See [Pay Award Minimum Engagement](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/scheduling-award-alerts#pay-award-minimum-engagement) for how the top-up is worked out. ### Legacy Broken Shift Minimum Gap Some older accounts still show **Broken shift minimum gap (minutes)** under **Payroll & Awards**. Only a break longer than this saved value makes the day a broken shift for the Broken Shift Allowance and Broken Shifts scheduling alerts. This setting is no longer offered for new configuration. Clear it to use the award's built-in broken shift rules. Once you clear and save it, the field disappears and cannot be turned back on, so review the change before saving. ## Allowances Under **Payroll & Awards > Allowances**, you can configure allowance behaviour. First aid applies to SCHADS; the meal setting is shared across all four supported awards. ### First Aid Allowance The **First Aid Allowance** setting controls which of a worker's paid hours the SCHADS **First Aid Allowance** is calculated across, so the allowance isn't paid on hours you have excluded - instead of adjusting timesheets manually every pay run. Choose one of the following: - **Apply to all hours** - the First Aid Allowance is calculated across all of the worker's paid hours. - **Exclude cancelled shifts** - hours from cancelled shifts are left out of the First Aid Allowance calculation. - **Exclude provider travel** - provider travel hours are left out of the First Aid Allowance calculation. - **Exclude cancelled shifts & provider travel** - both cancelled-shift hours and provider travel hours are left out. New accounts start here; accounts created before this option existed are set to **Apply to all hours** until you change it. ![The Allowances area of the Payroll & Awards panel with the First Aid Allowance dropdown open, listing Apply to all hours, Exclude cancelled shifts, Exclude provider travel, and Exclude cancelled shifts & provider travel, beside the Meal Allowance field.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-first-aid-allowance.png) > **Who receives the allowance** > > This setting changes **which hours** the First Aid Allowance is calculated on - it doesn't turn the allowance on or off. The allowance is only ever paid to workers whose employment contract is marked as first aid entitled. For how the allowance itself is worked out, see [SCHADS Interpretations in Astalty](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/scheduling-faq/schads-interpretations-in-astalty). ### Meal Allowance **Meal Allowance** is off by default. Choose **Create automatically for overtime** to generate allowance quantities from the implemented overtime thresholds. Check meal provision and notice conditions separately. The [SCHADS meal allowance reference](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/scheduling-faq/schads-interpretations-in-astalty#meal-allowance) links to the rules for all four awards. Settings do not update the rates in your payroll system. Check [Maintaining Award Rates](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/workers/staff-contracted-hours#maintaining-award-rates) after a published change. > **Paying an allowance the award doesn't cover** > > For an allowance Astalty doesn't work out from the award, such as working from home, create a [custom allowance](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/custom-allowances) and add it to the shifts it applies to. Custom allowances are sent to Employment Hero, PayCat, QuickBooks Payroll and Xero. ## Support Worker Compatibility ### Incompatible Support Worker Behaviour Use **Incompatible Support Workers** on the **Worker Assignment** card in [**Scheduling Settings**](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/scheduling) to choose what happens when a worker is marked as incompatible with a Participant: #### Warn only - Incompatible workers will still appear in selection results and can be chosen, but a warning will be displayed. This is the default behaviour. #### Prevent selection - Incompatible workers will be greyed out and disabled within the selection list, preventing them from being scheduled. ![The Worker Assignment panel of Scheduling Settings with the Incompatible Support Workers dropdown highlighted and open, and an arrow pointing to Prevent Selection below Warn Only.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/incompatible-support-worker-behaviour-guide.png) When 'Prevent Selection' is enabled, Support Workers who are incompatible, the incompatible marker will be updated to display that selection has been blocked, and the ability to assign a worker to this shift will be removed. ![The Select Support Workers panel searched for Jones, where both rows show an Incompatible - Selection Blocked marker and are greyed out with a disabled checkbox. A tooltip says the worker cannot be assigned to this Participant because they are marked as incompatible, followed by the recorded reason, which is highlighted.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/incompatible-support-worker-selection-2-guide.png) ### Conflicting Shifts Use **Conflicting Shifts** to choose what happens when a worker already has another support at the same time. **Warn Only** shows a warning but permits assignment. **Prevent Selection** blocks assignment. #### Warn only - If **Warn Only** is selected, an icon will be displayed advising the Support Worker is unavailable. You'll still be able to create the support. #### Prevent selection - If **Prevent Selection** is selected, you won't be able to create the support with the relevant Support Worker. > **Note** > > The Conflicting Shifts setting only affects the selection behaviour at the point of creating or assigning a shift. Existing shifts already on a Support Worker's roster won't be changed when you update this setting. ![The Worker Assignment panel of Scheduling Settings with the Conflicting Shifts dropdown highlighted and open, and an arrow pointing to Warn Only above Prevent Selection.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/conflicting-shifts-1.png) When you create a new shift from the Participant view of the Schedule, the Support Worker selection pop-out will indicate whether each worker is unavailable or blocked from selection, depending on the setting you've chosen. ![The Select Support Workers panel filtered to Availability is Unavailable, where greyed-out workers show a Shift Clash - Selection Blocked marker and Unavailability status. A tooltip says the Support Worker cannot be assigned because they have a conflicting shift during this time, with an arrow pointing to the marker.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/conflicting-shifts-2.png) ## Schedule Week The **Schedule Week** setting controls which day the [Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule) **Week** and **Fortnight** views begin on. By default these views follow your **[pay period](#pay-period)** start day. The **Week starts on** option lets you choose any day of the week for the Schedule view instead - independently of your pay period - so you can line the Schedule up with how your team plans their week without changing anything about payroll. - Choose a day (Monday-Sunday) from **Week starts on** to have the Week and Fortnight views always begin on that day. - **Leave it blank** to keep the current behaviour, where the Schedule week follows your pay period start day. (If you haven't set a pay period either, the week starts on Monday.) This setting is optional and blank by default, so nothing changes on your Schedule until you set it. While it's blank, the Scheduling Settings summary shows **Follows pay period** for this option. ![The Scheduling & Travel panel of Scheduling Settings, with the Week starts on dropdown set to Thursday above the Multi-Timezone Scheduling, Pay Group Override, Show Pending Leave on Schedule and Allow Unscheduled Travel checkboxes.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-week-starts-on.png) > **Changing the start day on the fly** > > This setting sets the *default* start day for the Week and Fortnight views. You can still jump to a different date range at any time from the Schedule itself using the date toggle and date picker. See [Viewing the Schedule](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/viewing-the-schedule#view-mode). ## Schedule Colours The [**Schedule Colours**](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/scheduling/schedule-colours) page in the [scheduling settings submenu](#scheduling-settings-submenu) lets you choose your own colours for events on the Schedule - base colours for each event type, plus status colours (Past, Cancelled, Unassigned, and more) that override the base colours. Colours apply to everyone in your organisation. For the full breakdown of how colours are decided, see [Schedule Colours](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/schedule-colours). ## Managing Scheduling Behaviours The **Clock In/Out** section controls note, sign-off, location and early-clock-in requirements. Select **Edit** on that card to change any of them. ![The Clock In/Out panel of Scheduling Settings highlighted, with Require Note on Clock Out and Require Location Data ticked, Require Participant Sign Off unticked, Max early clock in (hours) set to 12 and an empty Clock in/out radius (km) field.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-2.png) ### Note Required on Clock Out When enabled, the assigned Support Worker must have a support note before clocking out of a direct or group support. Internal shifts and unpaid breaks are exempt. An early/late clocking reason is a separate field and does not replace the support note. To enable this behaviour, tick the **Require Note on Clock Out** checkbox. ### Participant Sign Off Required Enable **Require Participant Sign Off** to request a signature at clock-out. If the Participant cannot sign, the worker can clear **Can the Participant sign off on this support?** and enter a reason of at least 10 characters. To enable this behaviour, tick the **Require Participant Sign Off** checkbox. ### Require Location Data Use the **Require Location Data** behaviour if a Support Worker device must share their location when recording clock in/out and travels. Turn on **Require Location Data** to enable this behaviour. New accounts start with it on. To exempt one worker from this requirement without turning it off for everyone, see [Exempting a Worker from Location Data](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/users/updating-users#exempting-a-worker-from-location-data). ### Early Clock In Limit **Max early clock in (hours)** stops Support Workers clocking in more than a set number of **hours** before their scheduled start. New accounts start at **12** hours. Existing accounts retain their saved value. Set it to **0** to disable the limit entirely, so a worker can clock in at any time before their shift. ### Clock In/Out Radius > **Enabled by Astalty** > > Clock In/Out Radius is currently in beta and switched on per provider. If you don't see **Clock in/out radius (km)** under **Require Location Data**, contact Astalty support to have it enabled. Once enabled, **Clock In/Out Radius** only appears while **Require Location Data** is ticked, and blocks a Support Worker from clocking in or out of a shift unless their device is within a set distance of the support's location. Turning off **Require Location Data** hides the field and clears any radius you had set. Enter a **Clock in/out radius (km)** from **0.01** up to **999**. Leave it empty to allow clocking from anywhere - the default, so no existing account is affected until a radius is set. A worker [exempt from location data](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/users/updating-users#exempting-a-worker-from-location-data) skips the radius check regardless of what it's set to. ![The Clock In/Out panel of Scheduling Settings with Require Location Data ticked, Max early clock in (hours) set to 12, and Clock in/out radius (km) set to 0.5](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-clock-in-out-radius-guide.png) The distance is measured in a straight line from the worker's submitted location to the support's address - the same address and calculation used by [Clock Location Variance](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/notifications/clock-location-variance-notifications). For a Group Support, it falls back to the group's address. A support with no address, or an address with no coordinates, is never restricted. > **A worker who sends no location is blocked too** > > If a worker's device can't report a location - a weak GPS signal is common - they're blocked from clocking in or out the same way as if they were too far away. There's no way around this: a radius depends on a location to check against. See [Clocking In and Out of a Shift](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/during-a-shift/clocking-in-and-out-of-a-shift#restricted-by-clock-inout-radius) for what a Support Worker sees when they're outside the radius. ### Multi-Timezone Scheduling Use the 'Multi-Timezone Scheduling' behaviour if Support Workers need to be scheduled across different timezones. To enable this behaviour, tick the **Multi-Timezone Scheduling** checkbox. ## Show Pending Leave on Schedule The **Show Pending Leave on Schedule** setting controls whether pending (unapproved) leave and unavailability requests appear on the [Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule) alongside approved leave. This setting lives in **Settings > Scheduling** and is **on by default** for all accounts. - When **enabled** (the default), pending requests show on the Schedule with a **distinct colour and dashed outline** (versus the solid block used for approved leave), so schedulers can see what's still awaiting a decision while they plan. Clicking a pending request opens the review panel inline, where it can be approved or declined without leaving the Schedule. - When **disabled**, only **approved** leave and unavailability appears on the Schedule. Pending requests are hidden from the Schedule and are actioned from the **Unavailability Requests** page instead. To turn it off, untick the **Show Pending Leave on Schedule** checkbox and save. ![The Scheduling & Travel panel of Scheduling Settings with the Show Pending Leave on Schedule checkbox ticked and highlighted, between Pay Group Override and Allow Unscheduled Travel.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-show-pending-leave.png) For more on how pending requests appear and are reviewed, see [Pending Leave & Unavailability on the Schedule](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/viewing-the-schedule#pending-leave--unavailability-on-the-schedule). ## Unscheduled Travel **Allow Unscheduled Travel** lets Support Workers report travel in the app that wasn't scheduled on the shift. When you tick it, an extra option appears beneath it: **Allow Reporting Unscheduled Travel after Clocking Out**. ### Allow Reporting Unscheduled Travel after Clocking Out By default, Support Workers can only report unscheduled travel while they are **clocked in** to a shift. Tick **Allow Reporting Unscheduled Travel after Clocking Out** to let them report unscheduled travel on a **completed** shift as well - that is, after they've already clocked out. - This setting only appears once **Allow Unscheduled Travel** is ticked, and it sits indented beneath it. - Ticking **Allow Unscheduled Travel** ticks this option for you. Untick it before saving if you only want travel reported while workers are clocked in. - Astalty pre-ticks it once only. If you untick it and save, it stays unticked - turning **Allow Unscheduled Travel** off and on again will not tick it a second time. ![The Scheduling & Travel panel of Scheduling Settings with Allow Unscheduled Travel ticked and, indented beneath it, Allow Reporting Unscheduled Travel after Clocking Out also ticked.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-unscheduled-travel-after-clock-out.png) To see how Support Workers report unscheduled travel in the app, see [Record Travel During a Shift](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/during-a-shift/record-travel-during-a-shift#report-unscheduled-travel). ## On-Call Phone Number On accounts using the [On-Call Roster](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/on-call-roster), **On-Call Phone Number** in the **Scheduling & Travel** section sets one shared after-hours number that workers call to reach whoever is on call. It can be a mobile, landline, 13, 1300 or 1800 number. Leave it empty to show the on-call worker's own mobile instead. ## Leave Policy The **Leave Policy** section groups the settings that govern how Support Workers request time off and update their availability: **Negative Leave Balance**, **Notice Periods**, and the **Policy message** shown when a request breaks your rules. These options were previously mixed in with Scheduling & Travel - they now sit in their own section to make them easier to find. No settings were removed or changed in that move. ![The Leave Policy panel of Scheduling Settings showing Notice Periods, with Availability notice period (days) set to 7 and Leave notice period (days) set to 14, and a Policy message editor holding an advance notice message with a Leave and Availability Policy link.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-leave-policy.png) ### Notice Periods Use **Notice Periods** to require Support Workers to give a minimum number of days' notice before the start date of an availability change or a leave request. A worker who tries to create or edit a request that starts inside the notice window is **blocked** from saving it, and the [policy message](#policy-message) below is shown instead. You can set two separate periods: - **Availability notice period (days)** - applies when a worker creates or updates an **unavailability**. - **Leave notice period (days)** - applies when a worker creates or updates a **leave** request. Leave a field empty or set it to **0** to allow changes at any time for that type. > **How the window is calculated** > > The notice period is counted in whole days from **today** in your organisation's timezone. For example, with a 7-day availability notice period, the earliest date a worker can select is 7 days from today - anything sooner is blocked. ### Policy message The **Policy message** is the explanation shown to Support Workers when they try to make a change inside a notice window. Use it to point workers to your organisation's leave and availability policy, or to tell them how to request an exception (for example, "call the office"). The field supports basic formatting and links. If you leave the Policy message empty, workers see a default message instead - `This change requires at least X days' notice.`, where X is the relevant notice period. ### Negative Leave Balance **Negative Leave Balance** controls what happens when approving leave would take the worker's balance below zero - that is, the requested hours exceed the balance they have available. Choose **Allow** to let the leave be approved anyway, or **Prevent** to block approval until the worker has enough balance. ### What Support Workers see When a Support Worker on the mobile app tries to create leave or unavailability that starts inside the notice window, the date field shows a validation error made up of two parts: - Your **Policy message** (or the default message if you haven't set one). - A line confirming the requirement - for example, *"Leave must be requested at least 7 days in advance."* for leave, or *"Availability changes must be submitted at least X days in advance."* for an availability update. The worker cannot submit the request until they choose a date outside the notice window. ![The Create Unavailability screen in the Astalty app with Leave and Annual Leave selected, the Date outlined in red with the policy message below it in red, and a line saying leave must be requested at least 7 days in advance.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-notice-period-mobile.png) ## Locking Case Notes After Clock-Out The **Lock Case Notes After Clock-Out** setting stops case notes from being edited once a Support Worker has clocked out of their shift. This helps keep a reliable record by preventing notes from being changed after the fact, while still giving workers a short window to finish and tidy up their note before it locks. To turn it on, tick **Lock Case Notes After Clock-Out** under **Notes & Visibility**. ### Grace period after clock-out The **Grace period after clock-out (minutes)** value sets how long Support Workers can keep editing a case note after clocking out before it locks. You can set anything from **0 minutes up to 48 hours (2880 minutes)**, giving the note author time to finish before it locks. The quick-select buttons above the field fill in a common value with a single click: - 5 minutes - 15 minutes - 30 minutes - 1 hour - 2 hours - 6 hours - 12 hours - 24 hours - 48 hours Selecting a preset fills the grace period field for you, or you can still type any custom number of minutes (up to 2880) directly into the field. ![The Notes & Visibility panel of Scheduling Settings with Lock Case Notes After Clock-Out ticked, preset buttons from 5 minutes to 48 hours with 30 minutes selected, and Grace period after clock-out (minutes) set to 30.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-lock-case-notes.png) > **A grace period of 0 locks notes written during the shift immediately** > > For a note written **during** the shift, the grace period is the only thing holding the lock open - set it to **0** and the note locks the moment the worker clocks out, even if they are still writing it. > > The separate short window that lets an in-progress note be saved applies only to notes written **outside** a shift. Leave the grace period at a few minutes if workers write their notes on shift. The clock-out lock stops the Support Worker who wrote the Note from editing or deleting it. A different User with the required delete permission may still delete it when [Case Note Deletion](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/data-management/deleting-case-notes) is enabled and the Note passes the other visibility and editability checks. ## Managing Note Visibility Support Note visibility settings to give organisations greater control over how historical Support Notes are shared, helping Support Workers feel more prepared and informed before heading into a shift. **Support Worker** visibility options include: - **Disabled** - Support Workers **will not be able** to view any Support Notes for their Participants that were created by other Support Workers. - **Show All** - Support Workers **will be able** to view **all** Support Notes for their Participants from **all** Support Workers, providing full historical context. - **Show for Time Range** - Support Workers **will be able** to view previous case Notes for their Participants from **all** Support Workers within the defined **History Limit** (set in days). This allows organisations to tailor how much historical information is shared, based on what best suits their operational preferences. ![The Notes & Visibility panel of Scheduling Settings with the Past Notes dropdown open on Disabled, Show All and Show for Time Range, and History Limit (days) set to 14 highlighted with an arrow.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/note-visibility-1-guide.png) In addition, organisations can control Support Note visibility for users with the **Team Member** role. Team Members may include roles such as Support Coordinators or other administrative or clinical staff who may find it useful to review Support Notes for oversight, planning, or continuity purposes. **Team Member** visibility options include: - **Visible** - **Hidden** No history limits apply to Team Member visibility settings. ![The Notes & Visibility panel of Scheduling Settings with the Team Member Visibility dropdown highlighted and open, showing Visible and Hidden.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/note-visibility-2-guide.png) ## Participant Date of Birth The **Show Participant Date of Birth** setting, under **Notes & Visibility**, controls whether Support Workers can see a Participant's date of birth in the **About** section of their profile in the [mobile app](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/participant-details-app-view#information-available). It's off by default - tick it and save to turn it on. ![The Notes & Visibility panel of Scheduling Settings with Participant Contact Details set to Disabled, and the Show Participant Date of Birth checkbox ticked underneath.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-participant-date-of-birth.png) The date of birth only appears for a Participant who has one recorded - see [Participant Details](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/profile#participant-details). ## Managing Push Notifications The notification settings live on the **Approvals & Notifications** card. Select **Edit** on that card to change them. ![The Approvals & Notifications panel of Scheduling Settings with Auto approval and its thresholds, Push Notifications ticked with an On-Call Reminder of 60, Shift Reminders unticked, and the Clock Reminders block highlighted with Clock In and Clock Out (minutes) both set to 5.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-approvals-notifications-clock-reminders.png) The read-only view of the card summarises these options under **Approvals & Notifications**, showing the current **Push Notification Status**, the **Shift Reminder** value, and the two clock reminder values - plus the **On-Call Reminder** value on accounts using the On-Call Roster. ![The Approvals & Notifications card of Scheduling Settings with its Edit button highlighted, showing Push Notification Status Enabled, Shift Reminder (Minutes Before) Off, Clock In and Clock Out Reminders of 5 minutes, and On-Call Reminder (Minutes Before) of 60.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-notifications.png) ### Enabling Notifications on the Astalty App Push notifications keep Support Workers up to date by alerting them whenever changes are made to their shifts. - To **disable notifications**, leave the **Push Notifications** checkbox unticked. No push notifications will be sent to Support Workers when shifts are updated. - To **enable notifications**, tick the checkbox. Support Workers will then be notified of any roster changes. **Note:** Enabling push notifications is recommended to ensure Support Workers always have the most current schedule information. ### Shift Reminders Beneath **Push Notifications** in the **Approvals & Notifications** section, the **Shift Reminders** checkbox reminds Support Workers before each of their shifts starts. - Turn reminders on or off by ticking the **Shift Reminders** checkbox. - Set how long before a shift starts Astalty sends the reminder using the **Shift Reminder (minutes before)** field - anywhere from **1 minute up to a day (1440 minutes)**. Ticking the checkbox fills the field with **60** by default; adjust it to whatever lead time suits your workers. > **Shift Reminders need Push Notifications turned on** > > The **Shift Reminders** checkbox is greyed out until **Push Notifications** is ticked, because the reminder is delivered as a push notification. If you untick **Push Notifications**, shift reminders stop being sent too. Reminders are only sent for **published** shifts that have a Support Worker assigned who hasn't clocked in yet. Cancelled supports and unpaid breaks are skipped, and Shift Reminders are off by default on both new and existing accounts. ![The Approvals & Notifications section of the Scheduling Settings edit panel with Shift Reminders ticked and highlighted, and Shift Reminder (minutes before) set to 60.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-shift-reminders.png) #### Support Worker Notification When a shift reminder arrives, the Support Worker receives an **Upcoming Shift** push notification telling them their shift is starting soon. Selecting it opens the shift. See [Notification Types](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/app-notifications#notification-types) for the full list of app notifications. ### Enabling Notifications for not Clocking In or Out of a Support Beneath **Push Notifications** in the **Approvals & Notifications** section, the **Clock Reminders** checkbox controls whether Support Workers are reminded when they haven't clocked in or out on time. You can: - Turn reminders on or off by ticking the **Clock Reminders** checkbox. - Set how long Astalty waits before sending a reminder using the **Clock In (minutes)** and **Clock Out (minutes)** fields - for example, 5 minutes after the support was due to start, and 5 minutes after it was due to end. Both fields default to **5** minutes and accept any whole number from **0** to **999**. The reminder is measured from the shift's **scheduled** start and end times, not from when the worker actually clocked in or out. > **Clock Reminders need Push Notifications turned on** > > The **Clock Reminders** checkbox is greyed out until **Push Notifications** is ticked, because the reminders are delivered as push notifications. If you untick **Push Notifications**, clock reminders stop being sent too. Reminders are only sent for **published** shifts that have a Support Worker assigned. Cancelled supports and unpaid breaks are skipped. #### Support Worker Notification When switched on, the staff member will receive a push notification for a missed clock in/out. They can select it and it will navigate them to the shift that they need to action. ![A Shift Clock In Reminder push notification from Astalty at the top of a phone home screen, saying a shift has started that has not been clocked in yet, with an arrow pointing to it.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-notifications-clocking-4.png) ![Shift details in the Astalty app for a shift on Tue, 3 November, with the Time card highlighted and both Clock In and Clock Out marked Not recorded.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-notifications-clocking-3.png) ### On-Call Reminder On accounts using the [On-Call Roster](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/on-call-roster), **On-Call Reminder (minutes before)** sets how long before each on-call period starts the rostered worker is reminded, from 1 to 1440 minutes. It appears while **Push Notifications** is ticked, and unticking Push Notifications stops on-call reminders too. ## Shift Auto Approval ### Overview The shift approval setting controls whether shifts and travel must be approved manually or if they can be approved automatically within certain tolerances. This helps reduce admin time while still giving you control over exceptions. It sits at the top of the **Approvals & Notifications** section, above the [notification settings](#managing-push-notifications). ![The Approvals & Notifications panel of Scheduling Settings with the auto approval settings highlighted and Auto selected, showing shift Early and Late windows of 15 minutes, travel Shorter by and Longer by of 5 minutes, and travel distance Min 10 km and Max 10 km.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-shift-auto-approval.png) ### Manual Approval If **Manual** is selected, **every single shift and travel entry** must be approved manually. Nothing will be approved automatically. ### Automatic Approval If **Auto** is selected, eligible shifts and scheduled travel are approved when they fall within tolerance. Shift hours use the scheduled start and end times, rather than the exact clocked times. Scheduled travel duration and distance are assessed separately; distance uses the recorded amount. Unscheduled travel requires manual approval, even when it is within tolerance. A scheduled journey marked as not travelled is approved with zero duration and distance. Shifts and travel have **separate** clock in/out thresholds, set in two blocks one above the other. They do not have to match, and on a new account they don't - see [Defaults for New Accounts](#defaults-for-new-accounts). ### Shift Clock In/Out Thresholds - **Early window (min)** - How many minutes early a worker can clock in or clock out of a **shift** and still be automatically approved. - **Late window (min)** - How many minutes late a worker can clock in or clock out of a **shift** and still be automatically approved. Example: If the **late window** is set to *5 minutes*, a worker who clocks in up to 5 minutes late will be approved automatically. If they clock in later than 5 minutes after the scheduled start time, that will require manual approval and the Support Worker will receive a pop up on the screen to confirm the reason. Set one early tolerance and one late tolerance for shift clocking. This same window also decides when an early/late clocking reason is compulsory. That reason is separate from the support case note. The early and late values apply to both ends of the shift; they are not independent clock-in and clock-out settings. ![The Shift Clock In screen in the Astalty app, showing a Scheduled Start of 10:30pm against a Current Time of 10:59pm tagged 29m late, a message that a note is required when clocking in more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, and a Note field above the Clock In button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/auto-approval-1.png) ### Travel Clock In/Out Thresholds The **Shorter by (min)** and **Longer by (min)** values under **Travel Duration Thresholds** compare the recorded journey duration with its scheduled duration. They allow a journey to be shorter or longer by the configured number of minutes. New accounts start at **5 minutes** each side. For example, a scheduled 30-minute journey can have a recorded duration from 25 to 35 minutes and pass the duration check. Starting the journey late does not by itself fail this check. When approved automatically, its approved duration remains the scheduled 30 minutes; distance is assessed separately. ### Travel Distance Thresholds - **Min (km)** - How many kilometres below the expected or budgeted distance can be auto-approved. - **Max (km)** - How many kilometres above the expected or budgeted distance can be auto-approved. **Example:** If a trip is budgeted for *20 km* and you set a **max tolerance of 10 km**, then claims up to *30 km* will be auto-approved. Anything above 30 km will require manual approval. New accounts start at **Min 999 km** and **Max 0 km**. That pairing allows recorded distance up to 999 km below budget, with no distance above budget automatically approved. ## Approved Hours Variance Highlight When shift hours are approved manually, Astalty compares the approved hours against the scheduled hours and highlights the difference where it is big enough to be worth a second look. This setting controls how large that difference has to be before it is flagged. It sits in the **Approvals & Notifications** section, below the auto approval settings, and applies to anything approved by hand regardless of whether your approval strategy is set to Manual or Auto. ![The Approved hours variance highlight (min) field set to 5 in the Approvals & Notifications panel of Scheduling Settings, below the Active Overnight Threshold, with its description.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/scheduling-settings-approved-hours-variance-highlight.png) - **Approved hours variance highlight (min)** - How many minutes the approved hours may differ from the scheduled hours before the variance is highlighted. New accounts start at **5**. The previous default was **15**, so an account created earlier sits there unless someone has changed it. The difference has to *exceed* the tolerance to be flagged, so at a tolerance of 5 a 5-minute difference passes quietly while a 6-minute difference is highlighted. Set the tolerance to **0** to highlight any difference at all. > **Where you will see it** > > The highlight appears in the approval pop-out on [Shift Approvals](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-approvals#comparing-approved-hours-to-scheduled-hours), where the **Scheduled** and **Approved** totals are shown side by side with an orange note such as *4 minutes under scheduled*. It flags the variance for review; it never prevents the approval from going through. ## Scheduling Settings Overview The following video provides an overview of the Scheduling Settings. Video walkthrough: scheduling settings overview. ## Other Approval and Travel Controls When Active Overnight Periods is available, **Max duration (min)** sets the auto-approval threshold for each completed active overnight period on a sleepover shift. Longer or incomplete periods need review. Where enabled, **Travel Evidence** controls supporting evidence for travel records. **Allow Cancellation Charge Without Worker Payment** is a separate option, not a general rule that every cancellation may be charged. Review [Support Cancellations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-cancellations) and the applicable service agreement before using it.