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Substitutions

Temporarily reassign shifts when someone is unavailable without changing the rotation.

Substitutions allow you to reassign on-call responsibility for a specific time window. Whether someone is on vacation, unavailable for a day, or needs backup coverage, substitutions handle it cleanly without altering the underlying roster schedule.

Prerequisites

  • An existing roster with generated shifts
  • Access to edit the roster

1. Open the Substitution Dialog

  1. Navigate to On-Call in the sidebar
  2. Open the roster you want to modify
  3. Click on the user’s shift in the timeline
  4. Select Add Substitution

2. Configure the Substitution

Field Description
Substitute User The user being replaced (pre-filled from selected shift)
With User The replacement user who will cover the shifts
From Date Start date of the substitution
To Date End date of the substitution

Date ranges must not overlap with other substitutions for the same user.

3. Save the Substitution

Click Save to apply the substitution. The roster view updates immediately to show the replacement user.

Result

The replacement user now appears in the timeline for the specified date range. The original rotation remains unchanged for dates outside the substitution window.

What Substitutions Do

  • Replace the originally scheduled user with a substitute for a specific date range
  • Route alerts to the substitute user during that window
  • Keep the underlying rotation logic intact
  • Apply immediately without regenerating the entire schedule

Visual Indicators

In the roster timeline:

  • The replacement user appears in place of the original
  • Substituted shifts may show distinct styling to indicate the override
  • Hovering shows details including the original assignment

Editing and Deleting Substitutions

To modify an existing substitution:

  1. Click on the substituted shift
  2. Edit the dates or replacement user
  3. Save changes

To remove a substitution:

  1. Click on the substituted shift
  2. Click Delete Substitution
  3. The original user returns to the schedule

Use Cases

Vacation Coverage

When a team member takes time off:

  1. Create a substitution covering their vacation dates
  2. Assign a colleague to cover
  3. The substitute receives alerts during that period

Shift Swaps

When team members want to trade:

  1. Create substitutions for both directions
  2. User A covers User B’s dates
  3. User B covers User A’s dates

Emergency Coverage

When someone becomes suddenly unavailable:

  1. Create an immediate substitution
  2. Coverage transfers instantly
  3. Original schedule resumes after the end date

Summary

Aspect Behavior
Original rotation Unchanged
Alert routing Goes to substitute
Duration Custom date range
Overlapping substitutions Not allowed