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  • Return to work: Why it’s important to stagger shift times

Return to work: Why it’s important to stagger shift times

To get back to work as safely as possible, you might consider alternating start times for your staff. Here’s why.

Thursday, Apr 27, 2023
1 min read

Now that the government has started to ease restrictions, you might be planning to reopen your business soon.

But before you do, you need to think carefully about how you’re going to keep a safe two-metre distance between people. One thing you could try is staggering staff shifts…

How do you stagger shifts?

It’s simple really. Instead of your employees working their normal hours, you alternate their start and end times so that they don’t all arrive and leave work at the same time.

So, say you’ve got a team of ten people, instead of having them all work from 9am to 5pm, you might split them up into three groups. One group starts at 8am, another starts at 8.30am and well, you get the idea…

By spreading out your staff’s start times like this, you make sure there are fewer people in your business at any one time—meaning that it’s easier for your people to keep two metres apart.

Do I have to stagger shift times?

No, you don’t have to. But it’s one of several government guidelines to help you effectively comply with the requirement for physical distancing in the workplace.

What’s the easiest way for me to plan staggered shifts?

With BrightHR’s smart HR software, you can set up staggered shifts in no time.

Simply use the schedule planner to create tailored shifts for each of your employees. Then, use the schedule calendar to review the shifts and make sure there’s enough space between each one.

Once you’re happy, you can publish your new schedule. BrightHR will even send your staff an automatic notification whenever you add a new schedule or edit an existing one, so that your people always know when to turn up.

As a BrightHR customer, you can start planning staggered shifts right away. All you have to do is log into your BrightHR account to get started.

Not a BrightHR customer yet?

To learn more about how our software can help you manage your business and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, call us today: (1) 888-220-4924.


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