Updates to Mobile Shift Swap feature

Purpose of the Shift Swap Feature

The Shift Swap feature is designed to provide flexibility to employees by allowing them to drop a shift they cannot work, provided another qualified employee immediately swaps that shift in exchange for another employee shift.

Employee Flexibility: Allows employees to manage their personal schedules without creating gaps in the company schedule.
Guaranteed Coverage: Ensures that a dropped shift is immediately replaced, maintaining continuous departmental coverage without manual manager intervention at the initial stage.
Compliance & Oversight: The mandatory final approval step guarantees that all shift changes comply with labor laws, employee qualifications, and current workload requirements.

The Three-Step Shift Swap Cycle

The Shift Swap process is a sequential, three-step cycle: Drop, Pickup, and Approval.

Part 1: Initiating the Swap Request (Original Employee)

The original employee who wishes to exchange their assigned shift follows these steps to propose a trade:

Navigate to Shift Swap Feature: Go to the main navigation menu and select "Shift Swap" or "Shift Shop".
Select "Offer Shift": Choose the option to "Offer Shift" to begin the process of dropping your current shift.
Choose Shift to Drop: A list of your scheduled shifts will appear. Select the specific shift you are unable to work and wish to trade.
Arrange Shift Trade: Select the "Arrange Shift Trade" option to proceed with finding a replacement.
Select Trading Partner: From the list of available, eligible departmental employees, select the name of the colleague you wish to swap shifts with.
Select Swap Shift: Review the selected colleague's schedule and select the specific shift of theirs that you are willing to accept in exchange for your own.
Provide Reason: Enter a clear, professional reason for the shift swap request (e.g., "Personal appointment," "Family obligation," etc.).
Submit Request: Click "Drop Shift" or "Submit Swap Request" to formalize the submission.

Result: The swap request is now pending review by the intended recipient (the trading partner).

Managing Your Request

Review Pending Actions: You can monitor the status of your request by navigating to the "Pending Actions" section.
Cancel Request: If you change your mind before the colleague accepts the trade, you can cancel the request at any time from the Pending Actions view.

Part 2: Receiving and Accepting the Swap (Trading Partner)

The employee selected to swap shifts (the recipient) follows these steps:

Review Notification: The recipient will receive an automated notification (typically under the "Notifications" section) indicating a pending shift swap request.
Access Request Details: Click the notification to view the full details of the proposed swap (which shift is offered and which shift is requested in return).
Decision: Accept or Reject the request based on your availability and willingness to take the offered shift.

Result: Once the trading partner Accepts the swap, the request is immediately escalated to the Manager/Supervisor for final authorization.

Part 3: Final Manager/Supervisor Approval

The request now enters the final stage of the Approval Cycle to ensure compliance and coverage.

Review Request: The Manager/Supervisor accesses the request via the "Requests" on the app or "Team Request" section of their dashboard on the website version of Ameego.
Evaluate Details: The manager reviews all pertinent details of the swap, including the qualifications of both employees, scheduled hours, and labor compliance.
Final Decision: It is the manager's responsibility to either Accept the swap (updating the schedule) or Reject the swap (maintaining the original schedule).

3. Key Requirement: Mandatory Pickup

The mandatory pickup requirement is the most crucial characteristic of the Shift Swap feature and is central to maintaining continuous coverage.

A dropped shift must be picked up by another employee before the original employee is relieved of their obligation to work that shift.

Requirement	Implication
No Gaps Allowed	An employee cannot simply drop a shift and leave a scheduling hole.
Immediate Replacement	The system enforces that a replacement is secured before the request is sent for final approval.
Original Obligation	If a dropped shift is not picked up, the shift remains assigned to the original employee, and they are still expected to work it.

In summary: The Shift Swap feature guarantees that when an employee successfully drops a shift, a replacement is already secured and awaiting final management authorization, thereby securing continuous departmental coverage at all times.