Shift Linking is an Early Access feature in Roster Manager that helps you manage related shifts as a connected set. It is useful when a workday is split into multiple shifts but should be assigned to the same employee.
Back Office users with existing linked shifts will find those links are now visible and can be managed in Roster Manager; no migration is required.
To request access to this feature, open a ticket with Humanforce Support.
About linked shifts
Linked shifts are shifts that belong together. When shifts are linked, Roster Manager treats them as one group for key assignment and review workflows.
The most important rule is that a linked group is intended to have one assignee. If you assign or reassign a linked shift, Roster Manager checks whether that employee can work the linked set, not just the single shift you started from.
Use linked shifts when you want to:
Keep split shifts or related shifts together.
Assign the same employee to several related shifts.
Review the total hours and cost for a connected set of shifts.
Reduce the chance of accidentally managing related shifts separately.
Think of linked shifts as a group relationship, not a chain. If shifts A, B, and C are linked, they all belong to the same linked set.
Find linked shifts in the roster
In Roster Manager, linked shifts display a link icon 🔗 the shift tile. The icon tells you that the shift belongs to a linked set.
Hover over the icon to see the Linked shift tooltip.
Click the linked icon to select the other shifts in the same linked group that are currently loaded in the roster view.
Selecting the link icon is the fastest way to answer: “Which other shifts belong with this one?”
Create a linked shift group
You can create a linked group by selecting multiple shifts and using the floating toolbar.
Go to Roster Manager.
Hold CTRL and select two or more shifts that should belong together.
In the floating toolbar, select Link Shifts.
Review any warning or confirmation message.
Confirm the action to create the linked group.
After the shifts are linked, they remain selected and display the link icon.
What Roster Manager checks when you link shifts
Linking shifts is more than a visual action. Roster Manager checks the selected shifts before creating the link.
If the selected shifts are unlinked and compatible, linking proceeds.
If the selected shifts contain multiple assignees, linking is blocked.
If the selection contains one assigned employee and one or more unassigned shifts, you may be asked to confirm that the employee will be applied to the unassigned shifts.
If the selected shifts already belong to different linked groups, linking is blocked.
If the selected shifts overlap, you receive a warning before the link is completed.
Linked shifts are intended to share one assignee. If your selection contains conflicting assignees, Roster Manager prevents the link.
Review linked shifts in the Shift Editor
When you open a shift that belongs to a linked set, the Shift Editor shows a linked shifts panel in the left-hand rail.
Use this panel to review all of the shifts in the group, and click on any shift to view or edit the full details.
The new panel displays total hours and cost summary information.
Same-day shifts are sorted by start time when the editor is reopened.
The shift you are currently editing is highlighted in the panel.
If you make changes to one shift and then try to move to another shift in the linked set, Roster Manager may ask you to save or discard your changes first. Linked Shifts is not a bulk editing tool; shifts must be edited one at a time - except in the case of the employee assigned to the shift.
Assign employees to linked shifts
The core assignment principle is simple: one employee should work the linked set.
When you assign an employee from the Shift Editor, the employee search considers the linked set. This helps you choose an employee who is valid for all shifts in the group, instead of only the shift currently open.
When saving an assignee against a shift, Roster Manager validates the employee against all shifts in the set. If it detects a problem, you may see warnings or a confirmation step before the change is saved.
Using Fill Shift with linked shifts
During Early Access, the Fill Shift (Advanced Search) dialog only considers the currently selected shift when filtering for employees. However, after you select an employee to assign, the system validates that employee against all shifts in the linked set as part of the Shift Editor confirmation step.
This means an employee may appear in the Fill Shift dialog but still trigger a warning or be blocked later if they are not suitable for every shift in the linked group.
Unassign linked shifts
When you unassign a linked shift, Roster Manager may ask whether you want to:
Unassign all shifts in the linked set.
Unlink and unassign only the selected shift.
Choose the option that matches whether the group should remain together.
Unlink shifts
You can remove the relationship between linked shifts by selecting the shifts and using the floating toolbar, or through supported unassign flows.
If at least one selected shift is linked, the Unlink option can appear.
If you remove only some shifts from a linked group, Roster Manager may warn that you are splitting the group.
If unlinking or deleting shifts leaves only one shift in a group, Roster Manager removes the remaining single-shift link so it is no longer shown as linked.
Leave and availability interactions
If a linked shift is affected by approved leave and the roster action removes the employee from that shift, Roster Manager unassigns and unlinks that affected shift. This helps prevent an unassigned shift from remaining connected to a group that still has an assigned employee.
After leave-related changes, review the linked set to confirm the remaining shifts still reflect the intended block of work.
FAQ
Shift Linking is still in Early Access, so some related workflows are not yet part of the supported experience.
Do linked shifts show in Template Manager? Template Manager support is limited during Early Access. Linked shift features may be hidden or unavailable there.
Do linked shifts appear in Employee or Department Roster? Rostering areas outside Roster Manager may not fully support linked shift editing yet. The shifts are present, but the linking functionality is not available.
What about Bulk Editing or Bulk Assignment involving Linked Shifts? Some bulk workflows are restricted when linked shifts are detected. To maintain the integrity of the linked set, linked shifts are omitted from some of these workflows and an info banner will provide additional context to the user.