Swap Eligibility Rules and Why Swaps Get Rejected

Swap Eligibility & Common Rejection Reasons

The system automatically checks several rules before allowing a swap:

Both staff must:

• Be in the same craft group (e.g., both RNs or both ENs)
• Have the required scopes for the shift's stream
• Not be on leave on the target date
• Not already be assigned to another shift on the target date

Hard blocks (the swap cannot proceed):

• Rest period violation – not enough hours between consecutive shifts
• Maximum consecutive days – the swap would create a streak beyond the allowed limit
• Craft-group mismatch, missing scopes, leave conflict, or double-booking on the target date

Warnings (the swap can still proceed; a roster builder makes the call):

• Fortnight hours over your max band – the swap would push you above your contracted fortnight hours
• Fortnight hours below your min band – the swap would leave you under your contracted minimum

The swap modal shows a live Fortnight hours impact bar for both you and your colleague — the same bar admins see when they review the swap, so the numbers will match. If a swap straddles two fortnights, you'll see one bar per affected fortnight (labelled gain and loss).

Common rejection reasons:

• "Different craft groups" – you can only swap with someone in the same role
• "Leave conflict" – one of you is on leave that day
• "Already assigned" – one of you already has a shift that day
• "Rest period violation" – not enough rest between shifts
• "Roster builder declined" – the approver rejected it for operational reasons

If your swap was rejected and you're unsure why, check the rejection reason in Shift Deck → My Requests.