# Shift Approvals Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-approvals > Review and approve shift times and travel claims before payroll is processed. Scheduling add-on - This feature requires the Scheduling add-on, which is available on Astalty Premium. See How to enable Scheduling. ## Overview The [Shift Approvals](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/shift-approvals) page is where you review and approve shifts before payroll is processed. This includes approving scheduled times, clock-in and clock-out times, and any associated travel claims (including travel, to, from and during support). > **Handy Hint** > > Shifts that have not been clocked in or out appear under [Shift Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-alerts), not Shift Approvals. Complete the missing clock entries before the shifts can be approved and paid. ![The Shift Approvals page, opened from Shift Approvals highlighted under Review in the Scheduling menu, listing shifts in the Needs Review view with Support Worker, Date, Duration and a Pending status for each.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-1.png) The report displays key details for each shift, including: - **Support Worker** - **Date** - Start date/time and end date/time. - **Duration** - Duration format: h = hours, m = minutes. - **Status** - Shows the current approval status for each Support. Items awaiting approval will be displayed as **Pending**. Once an item has been reviewed and completed, the status updates to **Reviewed** and reflects other completed states, such as **Timesheet Batched**, and will be visible when switching the **Review Status** filter to Reviewed. ## Approving Shifts Shifts follow the selected date range and filters. Use the date picker to choose **This Week**, **This Fortnight**, **Last Week**, **Last Month**, **Last Quarter**, or a custom range. A shift is included by the day it **starts**, so a support running 4:00 PM Sunday to 9:00 AM Monday appears in a range ending on the Sunday - see [Date Ranges and Overnight Supports](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/creating-a-sleepover-or-active-overnight-support#date-ranges-and-overnight-supports). If unapproved shifts started before the range you have selected, a banner offers **Adjust dates** to widen the range back far enough to include them. ![The Shift Approvals page with an arrow pointing to the Date filter and its highlighted date picker open, showing Last and This options with Week, Fortnight, Month, Quarter, Year and Financial Year beside a two-month calendar.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-2.png) By default, shifts appear in the **Needs Review** view. To view reviewed shifts, use the **Review Status** filter and select **Reviewed**. ![The Shift Approvals page with the Review Status filter open and an arrow pointing to its highlighted Reviewed option above Needs Review, and a list of shifts each showing a green Reviewed status.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-3.png) Additional filters are available: - **Reviewer Source** - User or System - **Cancellation Status** - Cancelled or Not Cancelled - **Charge Mode** - Auto or Manual - **User Group**, **Team**, **State**, **Employment Basis**, **Region**, and **Site** ![The Shift Approvals page with an arrow pointing to the Filter button and its highlighted menu open, listing Date, Review Status, Reviewer Source, Cancellation Status, Charge Mode, User Group, Team and State.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-4.png) To view shift details, click the **eye** icon. ![The Shift Approvals list of pending shifts, with an arrow pointing to the highlighted eye icon on a shift and its View Shift tooltip.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-5.png) To review items pending approval, click the **arrow** icon on the shift to expand details for **Shift Hours** and **Travel**. ![The Shift Approvals page with the expand arrow on a shift highlighted, showing its Shift Hours and Start Travel details, each with scheduled, actual and variance values and a Pending status.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-6.png) ### Commenting on a Shift A shift with comments shows a count next to the Support Worker's name, in both the list and the expanded row. ![The Shift Approvals list with a comment count of 3 highlighted next to Marlee Walker's name.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-comment-count-badge-guide.png) Expand the shift, or open it from the **eye** icon, to read the **Comments** panel and click **Add Comment** - for example, to record why a shift is still waiting on approval. ![An expanded shift on the Shift Approvals page with an arrow pointing to the highlighted Comments heading, which shows a count of 3 and a note that comments are hidden from support workers, above two comments and a Show 1 earlier comment link, with the Add Comment button above the panel.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-comments-panel-guide.png) Comments are never visible to the Support Worker; only people who can approve shifts can see or add them, and the dialog repeats this before you post. ![The Add Comment panel with an arrow pointing to the highlighted notice reading Support workers can't see comments. Anyone who can approve shifts can.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-add-comment-notice.png) You can edit or delete your own comments; comments from other approvers can only be read. > **Comments are not the approval Note** > > If your account uses approval notes, the Note field in the hours and travel approval dialogs is visible to the Support Worker and explains your decision to them. A comment is internal - use it for context other approvers need, such as why a shift is on hold. ### Approving Hours Click on **Approve Hours** to choose the appropriate approval method. ![An expanded shift on the Shift Approvals page, with an arrow pointing to the highlighted Approve hours button above the Shift Hours details.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-7.png) When reviewing a shift, you can choose to approve based on either: - **Scheduled Times** - The rostered hours originally set in the schedule. - **Clocked In/Out Times** - The actual times recorded by the Support Worker. If your account uses approval notes, you can include information in the **Note** field to explain your selection. This is visible to the Support Worker. To see how it appears in the app, visit the [Support Worker App Grid](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/support-worker-app-overview) guide. ![The Approve Shift Hours dialog showing the Scheduled and Clocked in times, each with a Use scheduled or Use clocked button, the Approved start time and end time, Scheduled and Approved totals of 3 hours, a Note explaining the approval, and the Approve button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-hours-approval-1-guide.png) > **Approving a support that uses Manual Charges?** > > Where the support is set to **Manual Charges**, the hours and travel approval dialogs warn you when the values you are approving for the Support Worker no longer match the charges billed to the Participant, and give you a **View Charges** button to fix them. See [Manual Charge Variance Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/charges/managing-manual-charges#manual-charge-variance-alerts). The approved hours also set the units of any per hour [custom allowance](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/custom-allowances) on the shift. When you expand a shift, its custom allowances are listed under the shift hours. ### Checking Who Approved an Item After an item is approved, its expanded card shows **Reviewed By** and **Reviewed At** in the shift's timezone. This appears separately for hours, each travel approval, and each active overnight period, so you can see who reviewed each part and when. When approval notes are enabled, the saved note appears directly on the expanded hours, travel or active overnight card under **Approval Note**. You do not need to hover over an icon to read it. Where the audit trail is available to your role, select the audit icon beside **Reviewed At** for hours and travel, or at the top of an active overnight period. The audit trail shows the item's full history, including later changes or an undone approval. ### Comparing Approved Hours to Scheduled Hours At the bottom of the approval pop-out, the **Scheduled** and **Approved** durations are shown side by side, so you can see the effect of your chosen times before you commit to them. The **Approved** total updates as you adjust the approved start and end times. If the approved hours differ from the scheduled hours by more than your organisation's tolerance, an orange note appears beneath the totals spelling out the difference - for example, **4 minutes under scheduled**. This is there to catch the expensive mistakes, such as approving 21 hours against a 7-hour roster, before they reach the timesheet. ![The Approve Shift Hours pop-out, showing a Scheduled total of 3 hours beside an Approved total of 3 hours 9 minutes in green, with an orange note underneath reading 9 minutes over scheduled.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-approved-hours-variance.png) A few things worth knowing: - **It compares total duration, not the start and end times.** A shift approved half an hour later than rostered but for the same length of time will not be flagged. - **It is a prompt to check, not a block.** The note never stops you approving. Where the variance is genuine, approve as normal and use the Note field to record why. - **The tolerance is set by your organisation.** The difference has to exceed the tolerance to be flagged, so at a tolerance of 5 minutes a 5-minute difference passes quietly and a 6-minute difference is highlighted. New accounts start at 5 minutes; the previous default was 15 - see [Approved Hours Variance Highlight](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/setup/scheduling-settings#approved-hours-variance-highlight) to check or change it. The same comparison appears when you approve an [active overnight period](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/creating-a-sleepover-or-active-overnight-support) or an [on-call activation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/on-call-roster#approve-reported-time). In those pop-outs the totals are labelled **Reported** and **Approved**, and the note reads *over reported* or *under reported*, because the comparison is against the period that was recorded rather than a rostered time. ### Reviewing Travel Claims You will see separate entries for Travel To Support and Travel From Support. When approving travel, you can confirm: - Distance (km) - The number of kilometres travelled. - Duration (minutes) - The time taken for the travel. - During (km) - The number of kilometres travelled. You can approve travel for: - Travel To Support - From the worker's starting point to the support location. - Travel From Support - From the support location to the worker's final destination. - During Support - Any travel carried out whilst the Participant is in the vehicle. The travel options available will depend on how your organisation has arranged travel. Click on **Approve all travel** to choose the appropriate kilometre and duration approvals. ![An expanded shift on the Shift Approvals page with Start Travel and During Travel showing scheduled, actual and variance distances and durations, and an arrow pointing to the highlighted Approve all travel button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-12.png) By default, the approval pop-out displays the Support Workers actual values. If these differ from the scheduled values, the approver will need to determine the appropriate value to charge/pay, or remove them where travel was not undertaken. If your account uses approval notes, add a **Note** to explain why the travel was approved or adjusted. The Support Worker can read it in the app. ![The Approve Travel dialog with During distance (km) set to 27, During duration (min) set to 5, a Note explaining the extra kilometres, and the Approve button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/travel-approval-1-guide.png) > **Review travel before approval** > > Including travel on a shift does not automatically charge the Participant. Compare the allocated travel with the worker's claim and make any required billing and payroll adjustments before approval. > > ### Travel Type > > **To Support** > > Used to record travel from the starting point (e.g. the worker's location or first Participant's home) to the support venue. Includes both duration and distance fields. > > **During Support** > > Record the kilometres travelled while the support is taking place, such as travel between activities or locations. This field accepts distance only. > > Any travel recorded under **During Support** will be automatically apportioned between all Participants assigned to that travel type - this is specific to group supports. ### Correcting Passengers on Group Unscheduled Travel Where a Support Worker has reported [unscheduled travel on a Group Support shift](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/during-a-shift/record-travel-during-a-shift#unscheduled-travel-on-group-support-shifts), the expanded **During Travel** entry shows **Participants in Vehicle**. Select the edit icon to open **Edit Passengers** and correct who was in the vehicle, at any time before you approve the travel's distance. ![An expanded shift on the Shift Approvals page showing an unscheduled During Travel entry, with the Participants in Vehicle box and its edit icon highlighted beside the Distance approval fields.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-group-unscheduled-travel-passengers.png) Once you approve the distance, it is split equally between the ticked Participants - shown here as **Activity Based Transport** on a Participant's Finance tab, with a Ratio of 1:2 for a trip shared between two Participants. Each Participant's share is only charged where kilometres are being charged for the travel - see [Ad-hoc Travel Kilometre Pay and Charge](#ad-hoc-travel-kilometre-pay-and-charge) and [Kilometres With No Travel Charge Item](#kilometres-with-no-travel-charge-item) below. Edit Passengers is no longer available once the distance is approved. ![A Participant's Finance tab with an Activity Based Transport charge line highlighted, showing a Provider Travel claim type and a Ratio of 1:2.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-group-unscheduled-travel-charge-split.png) ### Ad-hoc Travel Kilometre Pay and Charge When a Support Worker records **ad-hoc travel** (travel that wasn't scheduled on the shift), the **Approve Travel Distance** dialog shows an extra **Kilometre pay and charge** section. This lets you decide, at the point of approval, whether the kilometres are charged and paid - independently of one another. ![The Approve Travel Distance dialog with a Scheduled distance of 0 km, an Actual of 14 km, the Approved distance of 14, and a Kilometre pay and charge section whose switches to charge the Participant and pay the worker for kilometres are both on.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-adhoc-travel-km-pay-charge.png) There are two switches: - **Charge participant for kilometres** - whether the Participant is billed for the kilometres travelled. - **Pay worker for kilometres** - whether the Support Worker is reimbursed for the kilometres travelled. You can set these independently, or leave both on. Leaving both switches on preserves the previous behaviour, where ad-hoc kilometres were both charged and paid. This is useful for scenarios such as **company or pool vehicle** travel - you can charge the Participant for the kilometres but turn off **Pay worker for kilometres**, since the worker isn't using their own vehicle. For more on this scenario, see [How Do I Charge for Travel in Company Vehicles?](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/scheduling-faq/how-do-i-charge-for-travel-in-company-vehicles). > **Ad-hoc travel only** > > These switches appear only for ad-hoc (unscheduled) travel. Scheduled travel uses the Charge Behaviour and Pay Behaviour set when the travel was added to the support, and is unaffected. > **Charge Participant for kilometres is disabled where there is nothing to bill against** > > Where the support has no travel Charge Item for that type of travel, the switch is disabled and the reason is shown beneath it - *"No Travel During Support charge item on this support, so kilometres cannot be charged."* **Pay worker for kilometres** stays available, because reimbursing the worker doesn't depend on the Charge Item Set. See [Kilometres With No Travel Charge Item](#kilometres-with-no-travel-charge-item). ### Kilometres With No Travel Charge Item Kilometres can only be charged to a Participant where the Charge Item Set on the support holds a travel Charge Item for that type of travel. Where it doesn't, both travel approval dialogs warn you before you approve, so the kilometres aren't signed off as billable when nothing will be billed: > The during travel cannot be charged for kilometres, because the charge item set on this support has no Travel During Support charge item. Approving will not create a kilometre charge for the participant. > > Add the missing charge item to the charge item set, or set a Travel During KM Charge Item Override on the support. ![The Approve Travel Distance dialog with 18 km approved and an orange warning that the during travel cannot be charged for kilometres because the charge item set has no Travel During Support charge item.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-travel-km-no-charge-item-warning-guide.png) The warning names the travel it applies to and the Charge Item that is missing - **Travel During Support** for travel during, **Travel Before/After Support** for travel to and from. Where more than one entry is affected, they are named together in a single warning. The override is only offered as a remedy for travel **during** the support, since travel to and from a support always bills against the Charge Item Set. See [Charging Kilometres Requires a Travel Charge Item](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/travel-to-during-and-from#charging-kilometres-requires-a-travel-charge-item) for the three ways to resolve it, and [Travel During KM Charge Item Override](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/travel-to-during-and-from#travel-during-km-charge-item-override) for billing the kilometres to the Participant's own transport funding instead. **View Charges** opens the support's **Finance** tab in a new browser tab, so you can check what has been billed without losing your place in the dialog. The warning appears when all of the following are true: - **The support charges automatically.** It has a Charge Item Set, isn't set to **Manual Charges**, and wasn't cancelled with a charge behaviour of no charge. - **The distance being approved is above zero.** Setting it to 0 clears the warning, since there are no kilometres to charge. - **Kilometres are expected.** Either the Charge Behaviour on the travel includes kilometres, or the travel is ad-hoc and you are approving its distance for the first time. - **No Charge Item covers those kilometres** - neither the Charge Item Set nor, for travel during the support, a Travel During KM Charge Item Override. > **The warning doesn't stop you approving** > > It never blocks the approval. Approve as normal where that is the right outcome - the hours, the travel duration and **Pay worker for kilometres** are unaffected, and only the Participant's kilometre charge is missing. The [Travel Charge Variance Report](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/reports/travel-charge-variance-report) lists supports where approved kilometres were never charged, so you can find the ones approved before the Charge Item Set was corrected. On **Approve Travel**, the warning covers only the travel entries that dialog will approve. Travel that has already had its distance approved is left out, because approving from there doesn't touch it. ![The Approve Travel dialog showing an unscheduled During Travel entry of 18 km with the same orange warning about the missing Travel During Support charge item.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-travel-km-no-charge-item-warning-all-travel.png) ### Rejecting Travel If no travel was carried out, you can follow the above steps and set each value to 0 before approving. ### Declining an Active Overnight Period Select **Decline** on a pending active overnight period to approve it at 0 minutes with a reason. See [Declining an Active Overnight Period](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/creating-a-sleepover-or-active-overnight-support#declining-an-active-overnight-period). ### Shift Approvals While viewing your shifts within the [Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule), you can also view and action the approval of shifts. > **Important** > > Only shifts that are published and have also been clocked in and out by the Support Worker can be approved. Begin by selecting the shift you would like to view. ![The Schedule in Day view grouped by Support Worker, with one shift highlighted on a Support Worker's row.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-9.png) From within the shift, click the ellipsis (3 dot menu) next to the Support Worker's name, then select **View Approval Details** ![An open support on the Details tab, with the three-dot menu on the Support Worker's shift highlighted and open, and an arrow pointing to View Approval Details.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-10.png) A dialog box will appear showing all the details that need approval, as well as options to complete the approval steps. ![The Shift Approval Details panel showing the Support Worker, date, duration, a 5 of 5 Pending status and the shift's comments, with the Approve hours and Approve all travel buttons highlighted above the Shift Hours and travel details.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-11.png) ### Cancelled Shifts A cancelled shift shows a red exclamation mark in **Status**. Hover over it to see the selected pay behaviour. - Charge / Not Charge. - Pay / Not Pay ![The Shift Approvals list filtered to Needs Review, with an arrow on a red exclamation icon beside one shift's Status and its highlighted popup reading This shift has been cancelled, with No charge and Pay tags.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/cancel-support-4.png) If a cancelled Support is not displayed in this list, it may be because the Support is sitting on the **Shift Alerts** page. By default, cancelled shifts will move to Shift Alerts as they will not have been clocked in/out of. Head to [Shift Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-alerts) for more information. ## Undo Shift Approval Occasionally, a shift may be approved by mistake and the approval will need to be removed. This can be done from the **Shift Approvals** page, provided the support has not yet been invoiced or included in a **Timesheet Batch**. Before making any changes, make sure you have selected the correct date range so the relevant shift is displayed. ### Steps to undo a shift approval 1. Navigate to the **Shift Approvals** page. 2. Select the relevant **date range** to locate the shift you need to update. 3. Set **Review Status** to **Reviewed**. 4. Find and expand the affected shift. 5. Choose one of the following options: - Select **Undo All Approvals** to remove every approval from the shift, or - Select the **Undo Approval** icon beside a specific approval to remove only that approval. ![The Shift Approval Details panel for a Reviewed shift, with the Undo All Approvals button highlighted at the top and arrows on the red undo icon beside each Approved status for the shift hours and Start Travel distance.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/delete-shift-approvals-1-guide.png) 6. The shift will revert back to **Needs Review** if any approvals are removed. > **Important** > > You can only undo approvals if the support has **not** been invoiced and has **not** been **Timesheet Batched**. ## Viewing Shift Alerts from Shift Approvals When the selected date range has outstanding **Shift Alerts**, a red banner appears above the shifts. Select it to review missed clock entries, cancelled shifts, and other alerts. ![The Shift Approvals page with a red banner highlighted above the shift list, reading There are 18 unresolved shift alerts in this date range, and an arrow on its View Shift Alerts button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-1a-guide.png) You can find more information on [Shift Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-alerts). ## Why approval matters for pay A shift is only picked up by a [timesheet batch](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/timesheet-batches) once it is **fully reviewed**. An unreviewed shift is skipped, so the worker is not paid for it in that pay run. After approval, it can be included in a later batch. To be included, a shift must have: - **Approved start and end times** - the hours approval on the shift. - **All travel approved** - any travel on the support that was driven by the shift's worker. A single unapproved travel claim holds up the whole shift. - **All active overnight periods approved** - where the shift is a sleepover with recorded [active overnight periods](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/creating-a-sleepover-or-active-overnight-support). The shift must also be assigned to a worker and have already ended. One case no amount of approving will fix: if the support was **cancelled with a pay behaviour of "No pay"**, the shift is excluded from timesheet batches regardless of its approval state. See [Support cancellations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-cancellations). > **Chasing a shift that didn't get paid?** > > If a worker says a shift was missed in their pay, check it here first. The usual cause is an unapproved travel claim or active overnight period on an otherwise-approved shift. ## Opening the Timesheet Batch a Shift Was Paid In Once a shift has been picked up by a [timesheet batch](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/timesheet-batches), you can open that batch from the shift itself. 1. On the **Shift Approvals** page, set the date range so it covers the shift. 2. Set the **Review Status** filter to **Reviewed**. A batched shift is fully approved, so it never appears under Needs Review. 3. Find the shift - its **Status** carries a **Timesheet Batched** chip. 4. Click the **ellipsis (3 dot menu)** on the shift row, then **View Timesheet Batch**. ![A reviewed shift on the Shift Approvals page marked Reviewed and Timesheet Batched, with its highlighted 3 dot menu open on View Timesheet Batch.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/shift-approvals-view-timesheet-batch-guide.png) This lands on the **Details** of the batch the shift was included in, which also has an [Award Interpretation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/timesheet-batches#award-interpretation) menu breaking the shift's hours down into pay lines. > **The menu only appears where there is a batch to open** > > A shift that has not been picked up by a timesheet batch has no 3 dot menu. You also need permission to open timesheet batches - see [Roles & Permissions](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/users/roles-permissions). ## Best Practice - Work through [Shift Alerts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/shift-alerts) first, so missed clock ins and outs are resolved before you start approving. - Always confirm discrepancies with workers before approving large variations. - Check travel claims carefully to ensure they align with scheduled expectations. - Approve everything for the pay period before creating the timesheet batch, so nothing is left behind. ## Video Walkthrough for Shift Approvals Video walkthrough: shift approvals.