The work schedule is an essential management tool for the smooth running of a company. Delays in providing it to employees can have a negative impact on the general well-being and productivity of the organization. The deadline for communicating work schedules depends on the company’s collective bargaining agreement. In the absence of regulations, the “reasonable” deadline for transmitting work schedules to employees is 7 days. Using schedule management software allows you to optimize the communication of your schedules. The online tool centralizes companies’ HR information and enables employees to consult their schedules at any time.
Creating a work schedule
The essential steps in creating a work schedule
The work schedule is a company personnel management tool. It indicates a team’s working days and hours. This makes it possible to efficiently organize employees’ tasks to ensure a company’s productivity. To create an effective schedule, you need to :
- Determine the company’s objectives and needs
- Identify available resources: manpower and budget
- Define staff functions and tasks
- Define the schedules best suited to the company’s operations: daytime work, night shifts, on-call periods or 24-hour assistance.
- Identify peak and off-peak periods throughout the year
Based on this information, you’ll be able to design a work schedule that’s adapted to your activity, while complying with certain obligations.
Mandatory information on the work schedule
The work schedule must include a certain amount of information if it is to be legal and provide employees with a clear picture of howtheir working hours are organized within the company. The employer’s main obligations with regard to the creation of a work schedule (in the case ofcollective schedules for all employees within the same structure) are :
- The dates of the period concerned
- The start time of the working day
- End of working day schedule
- Days and duration of rest periods
Schedule presentation
While the content of a work schedule is regulated, the law is silent on the form it should take. Whether on paper or via online personnel management software, employers are free to choose what suits them best, depending on the specific features of their business. However, they must ensure that employees have easy access to their schedules, to avoid misunderstandings and organizational problems.
Communicating the work schedule to the team
What is the ideal timeframe for communicating a schedule to employees?
Officially, French law imposes no time limit on the communication of work schedules to employees. This obligation is defined in the collective bargaining agreement applicable to each company. Ideally, the employer should give at least 7 days’ “reasonable” advance notice. The best thing to do is to communicate the schedule to employees as early as possible.
This period is often longer in a company that practices on-call duty. In this case, and in the absence of a collective agreement, on-call personnel must be informed of their working hours at least 15 days in advance.
The different ways of transmitting schedules
Posting on company premises
In the case of a collective schedule, the employer is obliged topost the employees’working hours on the company premises. The system for posting schedules is also specified in the collective agreements for each structure.
Companies offering individualized working hours to their employees are not obliged to post the working hours of each employee, or even to provide a hard copy of the schedules. They must, however, allow employees to consult their work schedules on site.
Online timetable management for free access at all times
Poor communication of work schedules can have damaging consequences for a company, disrupting its organization. An employee who does not have access to his or her schedule is likely to make a mistake or arrive late for work.
If the employee is informed too late of a change in his or her work schedule, he or she may be unavailable, or simply refuse to accept the change (if this possibility was not indicated in the employment contract). This can lead to delays that will slow down productivity. Problems linked to poorly communicated schedules can also have an impact on the day-to-day life of employees, whose dissatisfaction will have consequences for good relations within the company.
Theuse of HR software makes it possible to mitigate the consequences of poor personnel management, and to limit the risks that could arise from communicating work schedules to employees too late.
Online tools such as Shyfter facilitate personnel management within a company by centralizing all human resources information (contracts, work schedules, time and attendance) in one place. An all-in-one tool for improved organization and 24-hour access to employee schedules.
This communication solution is particularly useful for structures with complex flexible schedules, such as the catering trades, or service companies with regularly changing working hours . With an online management tool, you can stay in touch with your employees andoptimize your communications. It’s a time-saving way of thinking about internal organization.
The deadline for communicating schedules to employees is important. A minimum deadline of at least one week is strongly recommended. Indeed, late transmission or last-minute changes can have an impact both on the employee’s state of mind, who will have to review his or her organization, and on the company’s efficiency. To mitigate the consequences of poor personnel management, theuse of HR software such as Shyfter is essential. It provides a solution to the problems associated with communicating schedules, while reducing the time it takes to transmit schedules to employees.