Free check

Shift plan check: test the whole roster, not just one shift

Paste your roster from Excel. The check walks through every person individually and shows where rest periods, maximum working times or breaks stand out.

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  • No sign-up
  • Your entries are never stored
Shift plan check
Runs in your browser only

Your roster

Example

One line per shift: name, date, from, to, break in minutes. The break column is optional. Separated by tab, semicolon or comma, so pasting straight from Excel works. A header row is detected automatically.

How do I get a CSV file out of Excel?

In Excel or Google Sheets

  1. Create columns in this order: name, date, from, to, break. The break column may be omitted.
  2. File, Save as, choose the file type CSV UTF-8 or CSV (comma delimited). Then pick the file here. If you have Excel open anyway, just select the cells, copy them and paste above.

Good to know

  • Dates work as 05.08.2026, 5.8.2026 or 2026-08-05.
  • Break as minutes (30) or as a time (0:30).
  • Night shifts past midnight need nothing special: just make the end time smaller than the start time, for example 22:00 to 06:00.

Or drag a CSV file here. It is read in your browser only and never transmitted.

Your data stays in the browser. The roster is not uploaded, not stored and never sent to us.

Your result

5findings

Checked across 2 people, 6 shifts and 3 days.

People
2
Shifts
6
of those critical
1

Ben Klein3 shifts, 3 findings

  • Ben Klein: The shift on Mon, Aug 3 has 0 min break recorded. For 8 hr of working time your rule recommends 30 min break.
  • Ben Klein: The shift on Tue, Aug 4 is planned for 8 hr 30 min. The configured daily guideline is 8 hr. Please check break, rest period and balancing time.
  • Ben Klein: The shift on Wed, Aug 5 is planned for 8 hr 30 min. The configured daily guideline is 8 hr. Please check break, rest period and balancing time.

Anna Weber3 shifts, 2 findings

  • Anna Weber: There are only 8 hr between two shifts on Tue, Aug 4. The configured rest period is 11 hr. Please review the gap between shifts.
  • Anna Weber: The shift on Wed, Aug 5 is planned for 13 hr 30 min. The configured daily maximum is 10 hr. Please review before publishing.

The check uses the statutory default values of the German Working Hours Act: 8 and 10 hours per day, 48 hours per week, 11 hours of rest, 30 and 45 minutes of break. Where the findings mention configured values or rules, these defaults are meant, not your own company settings.

How the check works

Why a whole roster shows more than a single shift

Most calculators online check a single shift. But the problems in shift work arise between shifts: a late shift until 10 pm, an early shift from 6 am, and only eight hours of rest are left in between. You only see that when you look at the roster as a whole.

The check therefore groups per person and per calendar week. Daily limits are checked per day, weekly hours per ISO week. A monthly roster is not treated as one huge week but split correctly.

The analysis runs entirely in your browser. Rosters contain personal data, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored. The share link is deliberately missing too, so no names end up in a URL.

Scope

What the check covers

RuleBasisNote
Rest period between two shifts§ 5 ArbZGAt least 11 hours. Shifts running past midnight are taken into account.
Daily working time§ 3 ArbZGFlagged from 8 hours, critical from 10 hours. Counted gross, including the break.
Weekly working time§ 3 ArbZGBased on the ISO calendar week per person, critical from 48 hours.
Rest breaks§ 4 ArbZG30 minutes from 6 hours, 45 minutes from 9 hours. Only checkable with a break column.

Not covered: collective agreements, works agreements, Sunday and public holiday rules, youth protection, maternity protection and the exemptions under § 7 ArbZG. The check is guidance, not a legal review.

From scheduling practice

How to get the most out of it

Paste straight from Excel

Select four columns, copy, paste here. The tab format from Excel is recognised directly, no reformatting needed.

Check the whole rotation

With rolling rosters it pays to paste at least two weeks. The critical transitions often sit at the week boundary.

Include the break column

Without break minutes the check cannot assess breaks. But it will not invent violations either, it tells you instead.

Keep the log

The result can be printed or copied. Useful for making it traceable in the team why a shift was moved.

Shiftdesk

This check while planning, not afterwards

In Shiftdesk the same check runs live inside the roster. Anyone placing a shift that breaks the rest period sees the warning immediately, not in hindsight.

See working-time checksSee shift planner

Free shift-schedule template included

Get the free shift-schedule template for Excel and PDF — with automatic hour calculation, target-vs-actual comparison and a working-hours (ArbZG) checklist.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the shift plan check

Is my roster data uploaded?
No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser. The roster is not sent to a server, not stored and not logged. For the same reason there is no link to share the result here, since that would put names into a URL.
What format does the roster need?
One line per shift with name, date, from, to and optionally break in minutes. Tab, semicolon and comma all work as separators, so cells can be pasted straight from Excel. German and ISO date formats are recognised and a header row is skipped.
Can I check a whole month?
Yes. The check groups per person and per ISO calendar week so the weekly limits are correct. Currently up to 1,000 lines and 200 people are supported.
What does the check not cover?
Collective agreements, works agreements, Sunday and public holiday rules, youth protection, maternity protection and the exemptions under § 7 ArbZG are out of scope, as are rules outside Germany. For breaks and rest periods in Austria and Switzerland, use the break and rest period calculator.
Why do findings appear even though the shifts are short?
Attendance is counted from start to end, that is gross including the break. Five shifts from 8 am to 4:30 pm therefore add up to 42.5 hours a week and sit above the flagging threshold, even though only 40 hours are actually worked.
Does this replace a legal review?
No. The check provides guidance values based on the statutory default values of the German Working Hours Act. It knows nothing about company-specific or collectively agreed particularities. For binding information, consult a specialist employment lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.

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The check provides guidance values based on the statutory default values of the ArbZG, without collective agreements, works agreements and the exemptions under § 7 ArbZG. It does not replace legal advice.