How open shifts get filled: you choose, or first to claim gets it

The setting is under HCT Management, Settings, Scheduling: How open shifts get filled. There are two choices. You choose (every home starts here): when a shift is open, professionals tap I'm interested; you see who on the shift's sheet and tap Give it to … next to one of them. They are told it is theirs, and everyone else who raised a hand hears it was filled. First to claim gets it: a qualified professional taps Claim this shift and it is theirs right away; you get a notice such as Kim took 11:00 AM–2:00 PM today, and the coverage banner clears. A line with a Change link sits on the coverage banner and on Open Shifts, and every change of the setting is listed under Changes with who made it and when.

What it covers: open shifts for one day. That is a whole shift a professional can't make, the hours a professional can't work after Change my hours, a shift you post with Need coverage, and a shift you add as One day with nobody on it. A weekly open shift is a hire, not a cover, so it is always your choice: raise-a-hand, Offer to … and Give it to ….

Who fills this, per shift. When you post a shift (Need coverage on Open Shifts, or Add shift as One day with a spot left open), Who fills this offers Home default, I choose or First to claim. You can also change it on the shift's sheet on the Schedule grid. The shift's own choice wins over the home's.

Qualification always comes first, for a claim to go through and for someone to show with Give it to …: only the Home Care Team (never the Care team), Ready to work (Getting started, and the credential defaults for a direct hire), an overdue required credential when your block is on, the medication permission on a Gives meds shift, and no overlapping shift of their own. When their connected calendar is busy then, you are asked whether to give it anyway, and a yes is recorded. Someone who doesn't qualify shows why in the list, without the button, and sees why on their own board.

Two taps at once: the shift goes to the first one the server writes, and the other sees Someone just took it. The interested list stays with the day and hours, so taking a shift down and posting the same hours again keeps it; a professional can withdraw their interest.

When an agency manages your weekly schedule (you let it under Care Team, on the agency), its administrator may set its own default for your home, and that applies until you take the schedule back; the card says so. When you kept the schedule, the agency's office can only put its people forward on the list; you give it. An agency-placed professional sees the same buttons as everyone else, and their agency office hears when one of its people claims or is given a shift.

The phone notification has fixed words: the professional's first name and that they took an open shift, never the day, the time or anything about the care. The day and the time are in the notice in the app.