Shift Transfer - Shifton Help

Employees can transfer their shift to another team member, handing off the entire shift to a specific colleague.

What Is This?

A shift transfer is different from a swap: instead of exchanging shifts, one employee gives their shift to another employee entirely. The original employee ends up with no shift for that period, and the receiving employee picks up an additional shift. This feature also relates to the shift drop functionality, where an employee can release a shift without specifying who should take it. Shift transfer is useful when an employee knows exactly which colleague can cover for them.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Module	Schedules module must be active
Setting	“Allow employees to drop shifts” must be enabled in schedule settings
Shift	The employee must have a published shift to transfer
Recipient	The target employee must be in the same schedule

Step-by-Step Instructions

Enabling Shift Transfers (Manager/Admin)

Navigate to Schedules from the left sidebar.

Open the schedule and click Settings (gear icon).

Find the “Allow employees to drop shifts” option and enable it.

Save the settings.

Transferring a Shift (Employee)

Open your schedule and locate the shift you want to transfer.

Click on the shift to open its details.

Select “Transfer shift” from the available actions.

Choose the colleague you want to transfer the shift to from the list of eligible employees.

Selection Criteria	Details
Same schedule	Only employees in the same schedule are shown
Position match	Depending on settings, only employees with the same position may appear
Availability	Employees with conflicting shifts may be flagged

Add an optional comment explaining the transfer.

Click Submit to send the transfer request.

Responding to a Transfer Request (Receiving Employee)

You will receive a notification about the incoming shift transfer.

Open the notification or navigate to the Requests section.

Review the shift details (date, time, position).

Click Accept to take the shift, or Decline to reject the transfer.

Manager Approval (If Required)

If manager confirmation is configured, the transfer request appears in the pending requests queue.

Review the transfer details.

Click Approve or Reject.

Both employees are notified of the outcome.

Access Permissions

Role	Enable Setting	Transfer Shift	Accept Transfer	Approve/Reject
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Administrator	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	Yes (assigned schedules)	Yes	Yes	Yes (assigned schedules)
Employee	No	Yes (when enabled)	Yes	No

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between a shift transfer and a shift swap?
A: In a swap, two employees exchange shifts. In a transfer, one employee gives their shift to another without receiving a shift in return.

Q: Can I transfer a shift to someone in a different project?
A: No, transfers are limited to employees within the same schedule.

Q: What happens to my hours if I transfer a shift?
A: The transferred shift is removed from your schedule, reducing your scheduled hours. The receiving employee gains those hours.

Q: Can the receiving employee decline a transfer?
A: Yes, the receiving employee must accept the transfer. They are free to decline if they cannot work the shift.

Q: What is “shift drop” and how does it relate to transfer?
A: Shift drop allows an employee to release a shift without choosing a specific person to take it. The shift then becomes available as an open shift. Transfer is a directed version where you specify exactly who should receive the shift.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
“Transfer shift” option not available	“Allow employees to drop shifts” is disabled	Enable the setting in schedule settings
No eligible employees to transfer to	No other employees in the same schedule or position	Check that the schedule has other employees assigned
Transfer request declined by colleague	The colleague cannot work the shift	Try transferring to a different colleague or post to open shifts instead
Transfer pending for a long time	Manager confirmation required but not yet reviewed	Contact your manager to review the pending transfer
Shift still shows on my schedule after transfer	Transfer not yet accepted or approved	Wait for the recipient to accept and manager to approve (if required)