The short answer
Shift and rota software publishes the plan by site or department, assigns cover and swaps shifts with approval, and compares that with what is later clocked. In hospitality and retail the usual failure is a rota in a WhatsApp group that does not match the real working-time record.
The rota is not the record. Article 34.9 ET asks for real start and end times, not the timetable you posted on Monday. The plan and the clock-in have to sit together.
This article is the shifts product. How leave fits team cover is in the shifts-and-leave guide; here the topic is rotation, swaps, and not letting the plan live in a chat.
What is shift software, and why does it not replace clock-in?
It plans who works when. Clock-in records who actually worked. They are different pieces. A posted rota does not meet the daily-record duty; a clock-in with no plan does not tell you whether that night was covered.
- The rota assigns shifts by site or department and shows same-day cover.
- Clock-in notes real start and end times (art. 34.9 ET / RDL 8/2019). If they do not match, the problem is visible; it is not argued on Friday.
- A WhatsApp group with a photo of a spreadsheet is neither a stable plan nor a record. It is lost, forwarded, and not kept for four years.
- The 37.5-hour week is not law. The rota is built from the company’s agreement or pact, not from a headline.
How do you publish a rota the team will actually check?
If only the supervisor has the plan on their phone, the team asks every day “what time am I in?”. The software works when the rota is published by site or department and can be checked without asking for a screenshot.
- You publish the site or department plan. Hospitality, retail or any rotation: people see their shift.
- Same-day cover is visible: who is missing, who is doubling, which gap is left.
- Approved absences and leave have to be visible when you plan. Otherwise you assign someone who will not come.
- One place. If the “official” rota is the group and the system is something else, the group wins and you lose the trail.
How do you swap shifts without another WhatsApp group?
The informal swap (“you cover me on Saturday”) is how “I thought I was off today” starts. The software is worth it if the change is requested, approved and the rota updates.
- Assignment and swaps with approval: not a deal in a thread, a change with who signed it off.
- The team sees the new rota. It does not depend on having read the group at eleven at night.
- If the change is not approved, the plan does not move. Fewer Saturday-night holes.
- You still need a manager. The tool does not invent cover; it shows whether it is there.
Why do the plan and the clock-in have to sit together?
Because Inspection looks at actual hours, not the shift poster. And because payroll and the payroll firm cannot close a month where the plan said 22:00 and the clock-in does not exist.
The rota is not the record
Article 34.9 asks for daily start and end times, kept for four years and accessible. A plan does not replace that. LISOS: roughly €70 to €7,500 if the record fails.
Planned versus actual
The report compares what was assigned with what was clocked. That is where a miss, overtime or an uncovered shift appears.
Same module
Shifts, clock-in and absences are looked at together. Three tools (or three groups) are three truths.
Does it work for hospitality, retail and rotating teams?
Yes. The module is built for hospitality, retail and any rotating operation. The pattern is the same: one site, shifting rotas, people covering each other, and a clock-in that has to exist afterwards.
- Rotas by site or department, not a single spreadsheet nobody updates.
- Same-day cover visible: opening, closing, weekend, split shift.
- Swaps with approval, instead of a second “shifts-only” group.
- Tied to clock-in: web, app or WhatsApp Business to mark time; the chat is not the archive of the plan or the record.
- You do not have to use every screen on day one. You can plan first and open clock-in when the team already checks the rota.
FAQ
Does a rota count as a working-time record?
No. Article 34.9 asks for real start and end times each day. The rota is the plan. If you only show the plan, you do not have a record.
Can people swap shifts in the software?
Yes: assignment and swaps with approval. The change does not live in a group; it updates the rota when it is approved.
Does it work for a bar or a small shop?
Yes. The problem is not size: it is a plan in a chat and a clock-in somewhere else — or nowhere.
What if the plan and the clock-in do not match?
It shows in planned versus actual. You then decide whether it was a miss, overtime or a badly covered shift. You do not rebuild it from memory.
Do we have to drop the WhatsApp rota group?
If the group is the archive, yes. WhatsApp can notify; it cannot be where the plan or the record lives.
What does it cost and how do we try it?
Vacly Time starts at €8.89 per employee per month, VAT included. 15-day trial, no card required.
How Vacly shifts handle this
[Vacly Time shifts](/producto/tiempo/turnos) publish the rota by site or department, assign and swap with approval, and sit next to clock-in and absences. Built for hospitality, retail and rotation: fewer WhatsApp groups and fewer “I thought I was off today”. The plan does not replace the article 34.9 record. From €8.89 per employee per month, VAT included.