Staff · 1 min read
Covering sick days without a group-chat scramble
A simple plan for the 6am "I can't come in" message: who to ask, in what order, and how to keep it fair.
By Maya Chen ·
Sample content. The author is fictional. The advice is general, so check your local rules.
Plan before the message arrives
The worst time to decide how cover works is 6am with a queue at the door. Agree the process with the team once, write it down, and stick it in the staff app.
Who to ask, in order
- Part-timers who are under their contracted hours this week
- Anyone who listed the day as available
- People who'd earn overtime, only if the first two can't
Asking in this order keeps wage costs down and spreads extra hours to the people who want them.
Ask everyone at once
Messaging people one by one takes an hour. Posting an open shift to everyone who qualifies, first to accept takes it, takes minutes. In Rotabee that's the Open shift button; on paper it's one message to the whole team with a clear "first to reply gets it".
Keep it fair over time
Keep a simple count of who covers. If the same person always steps in, thank them, and make sure they get first pick of the next popular shift.