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Rotation in Rota

Summary

Rotation is where admins build and publish shift rotation patterns in Admin Rota. A rotation links shift policies to teams, defines how shifts rotate over weeks, and sets the cycle start date employees see on My Rota.

Create shift policies on Shift and teams on Team before publishing a rotation.

In this article

  • Before you begin
  • Using the Rotation tab
  • Navigating to Rotation
  • Viewing rotations
  • Adding a rotation
  • Shifts step
  • Pattern step
  • Editing a draft rotation
  • Viewing a published rotation
  • Publishing a rotation
  • Deleting a rotation
  • Using the activity log
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Before you begin

Rota must be on your organisation’s contract. Admin Rota is available only when the rota add-on is active.

You need access to Admin Rota.

Plumm shows the Rota item in Admin when you have:

  • The Rota Admin page permission.
  • SuperAdmin access.

Rota Admin is not shown for the Mental Health;L & D package.

Create shift policies on the Shift tab and teams on the Team tab first.

Using the Rotation tab

Use Rotation to define how teams cycle through shifts over time.

After publishing, employees in assigned teams see shifts on My Rota from the cycle start date.

Navigating to Rotation

Go to:

Admin > Rota > Rotation

The page title is:

Admin Rota

Select the Rotation tab.

Viewing rotations

Each rotation card shows:

  • Title
  • Shift name tags for shifts in the rotation.
  • Created By
  • Edited By
  • Status

Status options:

  • Draft – shown with a yellow tag.
  • Published – shown with a green tag.

Cards also show:

  • Shifts in a day count.

Use Search to filter rotations.

Placeholder:

Search

If there are no rotations, Plumm shows:

Nothing to show here yet

Actions depend on the rotation status.

Published rotation actions

  • View
  • Delete
  • Activity Log

Draft rotation actions

  • Edit
  • Delete
  • Publish
  • Activity Log

Selecting:

  • A Published card opens View Rotation.
  • A Draft card opens Edit Rotation.

Adding a rotation

Select Add Rotation.

The panel heading is:

Add Rotation

The form shows:

Need help with setup? Click here

The link opens the knowledge base article for adding a rotation in Rota.

The wizard has two steps:

  • Shifts
  • Pattern

Shifts step

Complete the rotation details.

Name

Required.

Placeholder:

Title

Empty validation:

Required field

Description

Required.

Placeholder:

Description

Empty validation:

Required field

Number of shifts in rotation

Required.

Minimum:

2

Maximum:

4

Shift blocks

For each shift block (#1 through #4), configure:

Shift Name

Required.

Placeholder:

Enter Shift Name

Empty validation:

Required field

Shift Policy

Required.

Default:

Select

Choose a policy from the Shift tab.

Empty validation:

Required field

A preview table shows:

  • Monday through Sunday.
  • Day Off.
  • Timing.
  • Break.

Select Next to open Pattern.

Pattern step

The intro text is:

Configure shift rotation pattern and frequency at which the rotation will happen

Rotation pattern

Configure how shifts rotate.

Options include:

Employees rotate shift alternatively between

Select which shifts alternate.

Employees rotate shift in uneven cycles

Choose a pattern from the dropdown.

Default:

Select

Shift Duration

Tooltip:

Select number of weeks each shift is going to last before rotating.

Enter the number of weeks.

Suffix:

week(s)

Team Assignment

Assign teams to shifts.

Note:

A team already assigned to a shift cannot be assigned to a different shift. To assign it to a new shift, it must first be removed from the currently assigned shift.

Grid columns:

  • Shifts
  • Teams

Assign one team per shift row.

Empty validation:

Required field

Sample pattern

The sample pattern displays the rotation based on the selected settings.

Cards show ranges such as:

From Week 1 to Week 2

Cycle Start Date

Required.

Placeholder:

DD/MM/YYYY

Empty validation:

Required field

Past dates are blocked.

Validation:

Cycle Start date cannot be a past date

Save options

Save as Draft

Saves the rotation with status:

Draft

Toast:

  • Shift Rotation added – first save.
  • Shift Rotation updated – later saves.

Save and Publish

Saves the rotation and sets the status to:

Published

Select Back to return to Shifts.

Editing a draft rotation

Open:

three-dot menu (⋮) > Edit

or select a Draft rotation card.

The heading is:

Edit Rotation

Update:

  • Shifts.
  • Pattern.

Save using:

  • Save as Draft.
  • Save and Publish.

Viewing a published rotation

Open:

View

from the menu or select a Published rotation card.

The heading is:

View Rotation

Fields are read-only.

Save buttons are hidden.

Publishing a rotation

From the Draft rotation list, select:

Publish

The heading is:

Publish Rotation

Message:

Are you sure you want to publish this rota?

Select:

  • Confirm
  • Cancel

Success toast:

Rota published successfully

Failure toast:

Unable to publish the rota.

You can also use Save and Publish while creating or editing a draft.

After publishing:

  • Edit is no longer available.
  • Create a new rotation to change the pattern.

Deleting a rotation

Open:

three-dot menu (⋮) > Delete

The heading is:

Delete Rotation

Message:

Are you sure you want to delete this? This action cannot be undone.

Select:

  • Confirm.
  • Cancel.

Success toast:

Rotation deleted

Failure messages can include:

  • Unable to delete the rotation.
  • Something went wrong, Please try again.

Using the activity log

Open:

three-dot menu (⋮) > Activity Log

The heading is:

Activity Log

The panel shows:

Need help with setup? Click here

The link opens:

view-activity-log

If there are no entries, Plumm shows:

Nothing to show here yet

On failure:

Failed to load activity logs. Please try again later.

Log headings include:

  • Rota Created.
  • Rota Updated.
  • Rota Published.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • What is the difference between Draft and Published?
    Draft rotations can be edited and published later. Published rotations are read-only on the Rotation tab.
  • Can I edit a published rotation?
    No. Published rotations are view only. Create a new rotation to replace it.
  • How many shifts can one rotation include?
    Between 2 and 4 shifts.
  • Can the same team be assigned to two shifts in one rotation?
    No. Each team can be assigned to one shift row in the rotation. Remove it from one shift before assigning elsewhere.
  • What does Cycle Start Date control?
    It controls the date the rotation cycle begins for employees on My Rota. It cannot be in the past when saving.
  • Where do employees see the rotation?
    Employees see the rotation on My Rota after the rotation is published and the cycle has started.