Who this guide is for: Administrators
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: All plans
Before you begin
Make sure you:
☑️ Have Administrator permissions
☑️ Know which working hours configuration should apply
☑️ Know when the change should take effect
☑️ Have completed Planner setup for the employee
Navigation path
Sense HR Dashboard > People > [Select profile] > Planner > Settings > Working hours schedule
Overview
On a person’s profile, working hours are managed as a timeline of scheduled changes, rather than as a single fixed setting.
This allows you to:
Apply a working hours configuration from a specific date
Schedule future changes in advance
Maintain a clear history of previous working patterns
Each Working hours change is applied using an effective date, and the system guides you through reviewing its impact before confirming it.
Steps to manage working hours schedule
Open working hours schedule
Select the relevant profile
Click Planner in the left-hand navigation menu
Click Settings (upper right)
Select Working hours schedule
Understand the schedule timeline
This page shows all working hours assigned to the employee:
Current working hours schedule
Future scheduled changes (if any)
Each entry includes:
Working hours configuration (name)
Effective dates
Contracted hours
Full time hours
🖊️ Note:
Working hours are applied in chronological order. Future schedules automatically take effect on their effective date without further action.
Add working hours to the schedule
Step 1. Select working hours
Click + Add schedule
Select the a Working hours configuration from the dropdown
🖊️ Note: You are selecting an existing working hours configuration. To create or edit configurations, go to: HR Dashboard > Settings > Calendar & Planner > Working hours
🖊️ Note: Contracted hours populate from the selected Working hours configuration
Select Effective date from which the Working hours will apply
🖊️ Note: Backdated changes+ Add schedule is intended for changes that apply from today or a future date.
If you need to apply a working hours change from a past date, add the schedule using today’s date first. After saving, return to the working hours schedule timeline, select More actions (…) > Edit schedule on the current schedule, then update the effective date to the correct past date.
You can backdate the current schedule up to the employee’s start date, provided the change does not create a gap in the employee’s working hours timeline.
(Optional) Update Full time hours if this is changing
(Optional) Add Notes
Click Next
Step 2. Review how the change fits into the schedule
The system checks how your new schedule fits with existing entries.
You may see:
No overlap — the schedule is added in sequence
Overlap detected — the new schedule replaces or adjusts an existing entry
Click Next to continue
Step 3. Review entitlement impact
Next, the system shows how the working hours change affects entitlement for the current year and next year.
This includes:
Updated entitlement values
Differences from current entitlement
Carryover and adjustments
Expandable calculation breakdowns
💡 Tip: Use the expandable calculation breakdown to see how entitlement has been calculated across the period. This may include previous working hours configurations that still affect the current entitlement, even if they no longer appear on the main schedule timeline.
🖊️ Note:
Changes to working hours affect entitlement because they alter contracted hours and working patterns used in entitlement calculations.
Click Next to continue
Step 4: Review future bookings that may need attention
The system then checks for planner and calendar bookings from the effective date of the change onwards.
You will see either:
A list of future bookings that may be affected and should be reviewed
Or a message confirming there are no future bookings to review
🖊️ Important note:
Events shown here are not automatically changed in the Planner. They are flagged so you can review and confirm they still align with the updated working hours.
Step 5. Confirm the schedule change
Click Add schedule changes to confirm
✅ The new working hours are applied as the current working hours or scheduled on the timeline depending on the effective date.
Edit or delete a scheduled change
You can also update or remove scheduled working hours changes from the Working hours schedule timeline.
Open the More actions (...) menu on a schedule entry, then choose:
View working hours — review the working hours details
Edit schedule — update the scheduled working hours, effective date, full time hours or notes
🖊️ Note: If you need to correct the current working hours, you can backdate the effective date when editing, provided the change does not create a gap in the employee’s working hours timeline and is not earlier than the employee’s start date.Delete schedule — remove the scheduled change
🖊️ Note:
You can edit both current and scheduled working hours entries. Scheduled entries can also be deleted. Current working hours entries cannot be deleted because they represent the employee’s active working pattern.
When you edit or delete a scheduled change, Sense guides you through the same review steps as adding a schedule change, including entitlement impact and future bookings that may need review.
After the change is applied
Once confirmed:
The working hours schedule timeline is updated
Entitlement is recalculated automatically
Any affected future bookings are flagged for review
Review flagged events
If bookings may be impacted:
They will display a warning icon in the planner or calendar
Opening the event will prompt you to review it
🖊️ Note:
Review flagged events to ensure they still reflect the employee’s updated working pattern and booking rules.
Where to see updated holiday entitlement
After applying a working hours change, updated holiday entitlement is visible in:
HR Dashboard > People > [Select profile] > Planner
This view shows:
Total entitlement
Amount taken
Remaining balance
💡 Tip:
This view updates automatically as working hours changes are applied and bookings are made, helping employees and managers stay informed.
Key behaviours to understand
Effective dates determine when changes apply
The effective date determines when the new working hours apply, how entitlement is recalculated, and which bookings may need review.
Entitlement is recalculated automatically
You do not need to manually adjust entitlement when working hours change — the system recalculates it based on the new schedule.
Bookings are not automatically changed
Future bookings are flagged for review but are not edited automatically.
FAQs
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Why can’t I add a new working hours schedule with a past effective date?
A: You can’t add a new working hours schedule with a past effective date because + Add schedule is designed for changes that apply from today or a future date.
If you need to correct or backdate the employee’s current working hours, use More actions (…) > Edit schedule on the current working hours entry instead.
You can backdate the current schedule up to the employee’s start date, provided the employee remains continuously covered by working hours schedules and no gap is created in the timeline.
Q: Can I edit the current working hours schedule?
A: Yes, you can edit the current working hours schedule. Open the More actions (…) menu on the current working hours entry and select Edit schedule.
The system will guide you through the same review steps used when adding a schedule change, including entitlement impact and any future bookings that may need review.
Q: Can I delete the current working hours schedule?
A: No, you can’t delete the current working hours schedule. Current working hours entries can be edited, but not deleted.
Only future scheduled working hours changes can be deleted.
Q: Why do I need to review entitlement impact when changing working hours?
A: You need to review entitlement impact when changing working hours because the change may affect the employee’s contracted hours, working pattern, or effective dates.
The entitlement impact step shows how the working hours change affects entitlement for the current and following year before you confirm it.
Q: Why are calendar or planner events flagged after a working hours schedule change?
A: Calendar or planner events are flagged after a working hours schedule change because future bookings from the effective date onwards may no longer align with the employee’s updated working hours.
These events are not automatically changed. They are flagged so you can review and confirm whether the duration, date, or booking rules are still correct.
Q: Why can I see old working hours configurations in the entitlement calculation breakdown?
A: You may see old working hours configurations in the entitlement calculation breakdown because they can still affect entitlement for the current period.
These configurations may no longer appear on the main working hours schedule timeline, but they can still be relevant to entitlement calculations.