Roster Rules to describe who can work when

Rules, also sometimes called “constraints” are the heartbeat of building rosters. Even if its as simple as “someone can’t work two shifts at the same time” to as complex as “John and Mary can’t work at the same time as they have small children”. Our powerful rules system have you covered, both for your own manual rostering, where are rules will alert you if you try to place someone that breaks a rule, or for using with our AI and automatic roster building tools.
Takes less than 30 seconds. No credit card required.

What Are Roster Rules?

Roster rules—also called constraints—are automated rules that prevent common scheduling mistakes. Whether you're avoiding double shifts, limiting overtime, or managing team compatibility, our rules engine makes building safe, efficient rosters easy.
Prevent Overlaps
Avoid assigning someone to two shifts at once
Limit Fatigue
Set caps on weekly hours or weekend duties
Manage Conflicts
Keep incompatible roles or users off the same shift
Why this matters: Manual rostering increases risk of error. Rules catch issues before they happen.

Shift Conflict Rules

Prevent shift overlaps that lead to burnout, errors, and unsafe workloads. Shift Conflict Rules automatically block back-to-back or clashing shifts—ensuring safer, smarter rosters.
Example: If a user finishes a night shift today, they can’t be rostered for a morning duty tomorrow.
No Back-to-Back Shifts
Set cooldown time between shifts
Prevent Overlapping Assignments
Never double-book a staff member
Custom Recovery Windows
Define safe time buffers between critical shifts

Work Rules

Work Rules let you control how much your team works across days, weeks, or payroll cycles—helping prevent burnout, ensure fairness, and meet compliance standards.
Example: Ensure no user exceeds 38 hours per week or is rostered more than 2 weekends per month.
Limit Weekly Hours
Set maximum shift time per user over a cycle
Manage Weekend Loads
Restrict how many weekends a person can work
Apply by Role or Team
Customise rules per specialty or position

User Conflict Rules

User conflict rules affect two users, or roles and how they work together - maybe people don’t work well together, maybe they are both caring for a young family.
Example: Dr. Brown and Dr. Adams are partners with a small child. This rule prevents them from being rostered on the same day.
Block User Pairings
Prevent specific users from working the same shift
Control by Role or Department
E.g., Registrar + Consultant conflicts
Apply to All or Specific Rosters
Customize where and when the rule applies

Leave Conflict Rules

While its typical not to allow users on leave to do shifts, sometimes its more complicated. Leave Conflict Rules ensure staff aren’t booked into critical shifts right before their leave begins.
Example: A user has approved leave starting Saturday. The rule shown pevents them from working the Friday evening shift.
Prevent Pre-Leave Shifts
Block last-minute shifts before staff go on leave
Smart Date Logic
Use "X days before" or "evening before" conditions
Flexible Rules by Role or Shift Type
E.g., avoid complex night duties just before vacation
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What Healthcare Leaders Are Saying About HosPortal

Ross Hanrahan – North Canberra Hospital

HosPortal’s understanding and experience in tackling complex theatre staffing and call allocations has been a godsend for our theatre efficiency and staff satisfaction.  An easy 5 stars from our admin team and staff.

Victoria Sabbouh – Wollongong Hospital

“Great rostering system, very user friendly. More importantly – great technical support staff, respond so quickly to any question, very helpful!” 

Anna McDonald- Royal Hobart Hospital

We moved to Hosportal for our anaesthetic department and theatre allocations rostering 3 years ago.

It has been a vast improvement from out previous system especially for user visibility of staffing and communication of changes.

I have been very impressed with Hosportal’s responsiveness to queries, requests and support.

Cassandra Pellicci – Ramsay Health

The Hosportal team is fantastic to work with. They make the rostering system for my doctors a seamless activity, saving time and reducing stress. In particular,  Shiela’s support has been outstanding, she is always available, responsive, and willing to assist with any questions or issues I have.

Dr. Tharindu Vithanage – Deputy Director, Anaesthesia

Hosportal is probably the best healthcare rostering platform I have ever come across. I have used multiple digital rostering platforms throughout my career, but nothing comes close to what Hosportal can deliver. The easy user interface, incredible nuanced customisability, flexible yet robust rules and logic make the roster generation process incredibly simple. Though the best aspect of Hosportal is the rapid support of their incredibly talented dev teams to further refine and implement new features and incorporate new customisations.

Dr. Thara – Head of Unit – The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The HosPortal team has been an exceptional partner in streamlining our anaesthesia rostering at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. From the initial setup to the go-live phase, they provided clear guidance, timely support, and a genuine commitment to understanding our department’s needs. Their rostering platform is intuitive, adaptable, and has significantly reduced administrative workload, while allowing greater transparency and flexibility for our staff. The team’s responsiveness and willingness to tailor solutions for our workflows have made a real difference in the way we manage allocations. I would highly recommend HosPortal to any department seeking an efficient, user-friendly, and well-supported rostering solution.

Ready to Simplify Your Healthcare Rostering?

Start saving time, improving communication, and optimizing your hospital operations today with HosPortal’s proven rostering solution.
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