Shift Request
Ananya Deshpande works on the Day Shift on the press line at the Nova Industries Pune branch. From Monday, 16 November 2026, she has a training course every morning for one week, so she wants to work the Evening Shift, 14:00 to 22:00, from 16 to 20 November. Her supervisor has to agree, and HR must know which shift she works so that her check-ins are counted correctly.
A Shift Request records this. The employee, or HR on their behalf, selects the shift and the dates and sends the request to an approver. When the approver sets it to Approved and submits it, Frappe HR creates a Shift Assignment for those dates. Auto Attendance then reads her check-ins against the Evening Shift instead of the Day Shift. For how requests fit with shift types, assignments and the Roster, see Shift Management.
Before you begin
- The Employee record is Active.
- The requested Shift Type exists. It must not be the employee's Default Shift.
- An approver is set. Add users to the Shift Request Approver table on the employee's Department, or set Shift Request Approver on the Employee record.
- Employees can create their own requests. Submitting a request needs the HR User or HR Manager role.
Set the approvers
Open the Department, here Production - NID, and add one or more users in Shift Request Approver under Approvers. The first approver in the list is the default for employees in the department. To give one employee a different approver, set Shift Request Approver on their Employee record; that approver is then filled in on their requests.
Only a user in the department's list, or the employee's own Shift Request Approver, can approve a request.
Create a Shift Request
- Open the Shift & Attendance workspace and select Shift Request under Shift Assignments. Select Add Shift Request.
- Select the Shift Type, here Evening Shift, and the Employee. The employee name, department and company are filled in.
- Check the Approver. It is filled in from the Employee or the Department, and you can select another approver from the department's list.
- Enter the From Date and To Date, here 16 to 20 November 2026. Leave To Date empty if the change has no end date.
- Select Save. The request stays in Draft status and is shared with the approver, who gets a notification, even if they do not otherwise have access to Shift Requests.
Approve or reject the request
The approver opens the request, sets Status to Approved or Rejected and selects Save. Only a user who can submit Shift Requests can change the status, and the request can be submitted only when it is Approved or Rejected.
After saving, the approver selects Submit and confirms. The employee is notified of the decision.
What happens after submission
When an Approved request is submitted, Frappe HR creates and submits a Shift Assignment with the same employee, shift type and dates, and links it to the request. The request shows it under Shift Assignment at the top of the form.
The assignment starts on the From Date and ends on the To Date. If To Date is empty, the assignment has no end date. Its Shift Request field points back to the request.
A submitted Rejected request creates nothing. Cancelling an approved request also cancels the Shift Assignments it created. For many requests at once, use Process Shift Requests in the Shift Assignment Tool, which sets the selected requests to Approved or Rejected and submits them.
Troubleshooting
Employee has already applied for Shift that overlaps within this period
Another request for this employee that is not Rejected or cancelled covers some of the same dates, and its shift times overlap with the new one. Cancel or change the other request, or pick dates that do not overlap.
Only Approvers can Approve this Request
The Approver on the request is not in the department's Shift Request Approver list and is not the employee's Shift Request Approver. Add the user to one of them, or select a listed approver.
You can not request for your Default Shift
The requested Shift Type is the Default Shift on the Employee record. The employee already works this shift when no assignment applies, so no request is needed.
You do not have permission to change the Status of a Shift Request
Changing the status needs permission to submit Shift Requests, which the HR User and HR Manager roles have. Ask HR to approve it, or give the approver that permission.
Only Shift Request with status Approved and Rejected can be submitted
The request is still in Draft. Set the status to Approved or Rejected, save, and then submit.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employee request a shift from the mobile app?
Employees can create Shift Requests from the Frappe HR mobile app, and approvers can act on them there. The request follows the same rules as in the desk.
What happens to the employee's other shift on those dates?
The request adds a Shift Assignment for the dates. If the employee already has an active assignment on any of those dates, submitting the request fails unless Allow Multiple Shift Assignments for Same Date is ticked in HR Settings. Even then, two shifts whose times overlap are not allowed. Check the week on the Roster before approving.
How is attendance marked for the requested shift?
Check-ins on those dates are matched to the Evening Shift, and Auto Attendance marks Attendance for it if it is turned on for that shift.