The break-room swap policy.
Copy this onto one page, stick it by the schedule, and stop re-litigating swaps every week.
01
The one rule above all
A swap isn't real until a manager approves it in the shared board. Verbal agreements, group-chat promises, and sticky notes don't count. If it's not approved where everyone can see it, the original person is still responsible for the shift. This single rule eliminates 90% of swap drama.
02
Deadlines that hold
Requests posted with less than 24 hours' notice need a manager's explicit yes — no exceptions for regulars, no exceptions for emergencies that happen every Friday. Inside 4 hours, the manager finds coverage, not the requester. Write the numbers down; "plenty of notice" means nothing until it's a number.
03
Who can cover whom
Only trained staff cover trained stations — no first-week hires on bar during rush, no exceptions. Keep a simple list of who can do what, posted next to this policy. Skill mismatches are how slow nights become disaster nights.
04
No-shows and late swaps
Miss a shift you agreed to cover and it counts exactly like missing your own. Three undocumented absences in 90 days triggers a formal conversation. Log everything in the board history so it's facts, not feelings.
Quick answers
Do we really need this written down?+
Yes. Unwritten rules get enforced unevenly, and uneven enforcement is how you lose good people. One page, plain language, posted where schedules live.
What about shift trades vs giveaways?+
Treat them identically: both need a named cover and a manager approval in the board. A giveaway with no taker is just an open shift — post it as one.
Never run this playbook again.
shiftswap turns this whole guide into one shared board. Post it, claim it, approve it — done.