24/7 staffing
Around-the-clock operation requires seamless shift planning with early, late and night shifts.
Industry solution
Care scheduling: 24/7 rotas with rest-period hints.
The shift schedule for home care, nursing homes and clinics, without paperwork.
No credit card required · Built on GDPR principles
Hosted in Frankfurt (EU)Cancel monthly256-bit encryption
Early, late & night at a glanceAutomatic rest-period alerts
24/7 operation, night shifts, strict rest-period requirements — Shiftdesk supports care facilities with efficient staff scheduling oriented toward working-time law.
* Informational notes based on statutory default values. Not legal advice. Collective-bargaining, company-specific and industry-specific special rules must be reviewed on your own responsibility.
Challenges of scheduling in care and hospitals
Strict rest periods
11 hours of minimum rest between shifts — violations can have employment-law consequences.
Skilled-worker shortage
Tight staffing means every shift has to be optimally covered and absences compensated quickly.
Night-shift premiums
Accurate recording of night, Sunday and public-holiday premiums for payroll.
Sensitive staff data
Health data and absence reasons are subject to special GDPR protection (Art. 9).
High sickness rate
Above-average absences require fast rescheduling and substitute management.
How you plan care teams with Shiftdesk
From the weekly schedule to the analytics dashboard — one system for wards, home care and administration.
Scheduling
Weekly schedule for early, late and night shifts
- Early, late and night-shift templates for rotating duties
- Notices on the 11-hour rest period and night shifts directly in the weekly plan
- Publish open shifts — fill an absence in minutes
- Store qualifications per shift (e.g. skilled staff, assistant staff)
Plan rotating shift systems by drag & drop. Shiftdesk flags potential rest-period and maximum-working-time conflicts under ArbZG right in the schedule.
Early shift · 06:00 – 14:00ArbZG notices on
Markus: move Friday's shift to Saturday.
Time tracking
Hours, premiums and workload at a glance
- Night, Sunday and public-holiday premiums recorded automatically
- Hour accounts per employee, exportable for payroll prep
- Sickness rate and substitute demand visible per ward
Export for payroll preparation
Night, Sunday and public-holiday premiums, hour accounts and sickness rate — bundled in one analytics dashboard you hand over to payroll prep.
Hour account · +12.5 hrsNight premium tracked
Original values: Approved (payroll) 186h 09min · Planned 290h 15min.
Original German desktop app with fictional, industry-neutral demo data. The animation illustrates the workflow without changing any data. The demo shown is not a real customer from this industry.
This illustration is not an automatic forecast of care or staffing needs. The responsible care provider determines staffing and qualification mix; it does not replace professional assessment of staffing ratios or legal review.
How Shiftdesk supports scheduling in care facilities and hospitals
01Shift patterns & qualifications
24/7 shift models
Early, late, night — with templates for rotating shift systems. Weekends and public holidays included.
Qualification planning
Make sure every shift is covered with the right qualifications (e.g. skilled staff, assistant staff).
02Rest periods & night shifts
Rest-period check
Automatic warning when the 11-hour rest period is not met. Visible directly in the schedule.
Time tracking with night shifts
Accurate recording of shifts past midnight. Automatic premium calculation.
03Absences & data privacy
Sick-leave tracking
Record sick reports instantly, plan substitutes and document days of medically certified leave.
Data storage with a GDPR focus
Staff data encrypted in Frankfurt. Special care for health data under Art. 9 GDPR.
- Shift coverage
- 24/7
- Rest-period notices
- ArbZG
- Privacy by design
- GDPR
- Days free trial
- 14
Simple, transparent pricing
A base fee plus a fair per-employee tier. All prices net, plus VAT.
Basic
€25
per month · 6 employees included
- Shift scheduling with drag and drop
- Time tracking (timer + manual)
- Absences with leave balance
- Up to 3 locations
Pro
€45
per month · 12 employees included
- All Basic features
- Unlimited locations
- Payroll preparation & DATEV
- Tablet time clock (kiosk mode)
Enterprise
€120
per month · 30 employees included
- All Pro features
- Public REST API
- Budget management & custom fields
- SLA support (8-hour response time)
All prices exclude VAT · Cancel anytime · No credit card required
App for care staff
Scheduling app for your care team
View shifts, swap them and let others know — without a notice board, without a chaotic WhatsApp group.
Swap a shift without the phone chain
A nurse requests, the care manager confirms — done. Cover a sick day in minutes instead of after-hours phone calls.
Schedule changes straight to the phone
Push notification for new shifts, schedule changes and open duties — live on every device.
Download for free — now on the App Store and Google Play
Time clock for the ward
Tablet time clock for care facilities
Record clock-in and clock-out right at the ward entrance — by PIN, without every care worker needing their own smartphone.
Clock in by PIN at the ward entrance
Pick your name, confirm your PIN, done. No personal account and no private smartphone needed for staff.
Built for 24/7 continuous operation
Fixed to the location, lockable as a single app, with automatic reconnection after a network outage.
Get it now — on the App Store and Google Play
14 days
try without a credit card
Frankfurt
Server location in the EU
Monthly
cancellation
Export for payroll preparation
Scheduling for home care, residential elderly care and hospitals
Whether home care service, residential elderly care or hospital — the demands on the schedule are similar yet differ in the detail. What they share is 24/7 operation with early, late and night shifts, a high need for cover during sickness, and the duty to document working and rest periods cleanly. Shiftdesk models this shift logic in one system — from the small home-care service to a facility with several wards.
In home care, fast rescheduling matters most: if someone drops out, cover has to be in place within minutes. In residential elderly care and hospitals, rotating shift systems, the qualification mix per shift and the correct recording of premiums take centre stage. Shiftdesk covers both via templates, open shifts and a mobile app.
Rest periods and night shifts under ArbZG in view
German working-time law generally requires 11 hours of minimum rest between two shifts and sets special requirements for night work. When planning, Shiftdesk flags potential shortfalls of the rest period and critical shift sequences — as an informational notice in the schedule, not as legal advice. Collective-bargaining and company-specific special rules are reviewed on your own responsibility.
Staff scheduling despite the skilled-worker shortage
Tight staffing means every shift must be covered with the right qualification, and absences must not jeopardise care. With stored qualifications, open shifts for self-sign-up and a transparent substitute search, Shiftdesk reduces the planning effort and makes free duties visible to the team.
Care rotas in practice: example of a home care service
How a home care service with 18 employees plans its routes and shifts in Shiftdesk, from setup to the published schedule.
- 01
Set up the team and qualifications
All 18 employees are created once with weekly hours, contract type and qualification (qualified nurse or care assistant).
- 02
Model routes as shift templates
Morning route, evening route and weekend route become reusable shift templates, including times and required staffing.
- 03
Fill the weekly schedule with rest-period hints
Planners drag employees onto the routes. Shiftdesk flags rest periods under the German Working Time Act and overlaps right inside the schedule.
- 04
Publish and adjust as you go
One click sends the schedule to the employee app. Sick leave is covered via open shifts, swap requests run through the app with approval.
Fictional example scenario for illustration, not a customer reference.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shiftdesk suitable for home-care services and residential facilities?
Yes. Shiftdesk handles rotating early, late and night shifts as well as fast rescheduling in home care. Using locations, departments and qualifications, you can organise small services and facilities with several wards alike.
Does Shiftdesk flag rest periods and night-shift requirements?
When planning, Shiftdesk provides notices on the 11-hour rest period and on critical shift sequences based on ArbZG default values. These are informational notices and not legal advice — collective-bargaining and company-specific special rules must be reviewed on your own responsibility.
How are night, Sunday and public-holiday premiums recorded?
Shifts past midnight and on Sundays and public holidays are recorded correctly; Shiftdesk shows premium times in the hour account. The analysis can be exported for payroll prep.
Is there an app and a time clock for the ward?
Yes. Staff see their schedule in the smartphone app and swap shifts right there. For shared locations there is also the tablet time clock: clock in by PIN at the ward entrance, without every care worker needing their own account.
How secure are health and staff data (Art. 9 GDPR)?
Staff data is processed encrypted on servers in Frankfurt. Absence reasons and health data are treated as specially protected under Art. 9 GDPR and handled accordingly restrictively.
Can employees enter preferred shifts and swap duties?
Yes. Employees store their availability in the app, pick up open shifts themselves and swap duties with each other. Planners keep control via approvals, so preferred-shift scheduling works without paperwork.
How does Shiftdesk help with qualifications and skill mix?
Qualifications such as qualified nurse or care assistant are stored on the profile and visible during scheduling. Assessing the statutory skill mix and regulatory requirements remains the facility's responsibility; Shiftdesk does not replace a legal review.
What does Shiftdesk cost for a care service with 20 employees?
On the Basic plan €60 per month: €25 base fee with 6 employees included plus 14 × €2.50. On the Pro plan €76.20 per month: €45 base fee with 12 employees included plus 8 × €3.90. All prices net plus VAT, cancel monthly, try free for 14 days.
Ready for better shift scheduling?
Start your 14-day free trial now — free and no credit card required. Or book a personal demo.