Shift Scheduler Blog
Shift Scheduler Roles and Permissions: Member, Manager, and Admin
Shift Scheduler has three workspace roles: Member, Manager, and Admin. The role decides what someone can see and which parts of the schedule they can change.
This guide is the practical reference for those permissions. “Visible” does not always mean “editable”: a Member can see the team schedule without being able to change it, while some settings pages remain visible even when their controls are read-only.
What can change a person's access?
- Roles belong to a workspace. The same account can be an Admin in one workspace and a Member in another.
- Personal actions require a linked person. A user must be linked to their person record before Shift Scheduler can identify “my” schedule, preferences, Time Off, or allowance.
- Admins control Manager access to Overview. Managers see Overview and the People hours summary only when the workspace setting is enabled. Members never see Overview.
- Plan limits still apply. A role may allow an action while seat limits, trial status, or scheduling allowances still prevent it.
Manager access levels
Manager remains one workspace role, but an Admin can choose one of two access levels for it:
- Full management is the existing Manager experience described in the tables below. It includes workspace scheduling, people management, Time Off allowances, and the AI scheduling assistant.
- Shift management only keeps shift management and the other normal Manager tools, including Locations, templates, preferences, Time Off request approval, settings, Overview hours, notifications, exports, and History. It cannot create, edit, reorder, invite, revoke, or open the detail record of a person; view or change any Time Off allowance, including its own; or use AI and personal MCP access. Names and notes remain visible but read-only in schedules and History. Person-related History entries cannot be undone. This access level appears with a light-blue Manager badge.
- Only Admins can assign or change Manager access. Existing Managers without a saved access level are treated as Full management.
The Manager columns below describe Full management unless a row says otherwise.
Role and permission matrix
Navigation and visibility
| Feature or activity | Member | Manager (full access) | Admin |
|---|---|---|---|
| People and Locations schedules | Can view the workspace schedule and basic team information. Cannot open or edit full records. | Can view and manage the whole workspace schedule and full records. | Can view and manage everything. |
| Overview and hours summaries | No Overview access. Can still see their own Time Off allowance. | Available only when an Admin enables Overview for Managers. | Always available. |
| Other workspaces | Can switch to any other workspace where they have an active membership. | Can switch to any other workspace where they have an active membership. | Can switch memberships and create additional workspaces in the organization. |
Scheduling and operations
| Feature or activity | Member | Manager (full access) | Admin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shifts, open slots, and weekly schedules | View only by default. With “Can only assign themselves open slots”, can claim an existing open slot in Locations but cannot edit or remove it afterward. With “Can fully manage shifts for themselves”, can also create, move, edit, copy, bulk-assign, and delete shifts on their own People row. Neither level can create or manage open slots. | Can create, assign, move, update, and delete schedule items across the workspace. | Full scheduling access. |
| People, Locations, and shift templates | View the planning information used in schedules. | Can create, edit, reorder, and delete records and templates. | Full management access. |
| AI rules and scheduling assistant | No access. | Can configure rules and use the AI scheduling assistant. | Can configure rules and use the AI scheduling assistant. |
| History and undo | No access. | Can view workspace history and revert supported changes. | Can view workspace history and revert supported changes. |
Preferences and Time Off
| Feature or activity | Member | Manager (full access) | Admin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own shift preferences | Can add their own likes and dislikes within the collection window and limits. | Can edit their own preferences and preferences for anyone in the workspace. | Can edit preferences for anyone. |
| Blocked days | Cannot create, change, or clear blocked days. Can only add their own likes and dislikes when preference collection allows it. | Can add and manage blocked days for people in the workspace. | Can add and manage blocked days for anyone. |
| Own Time Off | Can request, edit, and delete their own Time Off. Approval depends on the selected Time Off type. | Can request, edit, and delete their own Time Off, but cannot approve it themselves. | Can create, edit, delete, and approve Time Off, including their own. |
| Another person's Time Off | No. | Can create, edit, delete, approve, or reject Time Off for Members, but not for another Manager or an Admin. | Can manage and review every request. |
| Time Off allowances | Can see their own balance but cannot adjust it. | Can see their own and Members' balances, and adjust allowances for Members other than themselves. | Can see and adjust allowances for everyone. |
| Time Off types and approval rules | No management access. | Can manage Time Off types, approval requirements, and allowance rules. | Full management access. |
| Workspace preference policy | Can read the current policy. | Can read the current policy. | Can configure collection windows, limits, and blocked days. |
Access, settings, and integrations
| Feature or activity | Member | Manager (full access) | Admin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invite people and manage access | No. | Can invite Members and manage Member access. Cannot assign or manage Manager or Admin access. | Can invite people and manage every workspace role. |
| Change or remove own workspace access | Cannot change or revoke their own access from team management. | Cannot change or revoke their own access from team management. | Can change or remove their own access only when another active Admin remains. |
| Workspace and organization names | View only. | View only. | Can rename the workspace and organization. |
| Manager Overview setting | No. | Cannot change it. | Can enable or disable Overview for Managers. |
| Billing and subscription | Cannot manage the subscription. | Cannot manage the subscription. | Can manage seats, billing, and the subscription. |
| API keys, MCP keys, and webhooks | Cannot manage credentials. | Cannot manage credentials. | Can create, replace, and remove integration credentials when the plan allows it. |
| Delete own account | Yes. Membership and workspace safeguards still apply. | Yes. Membership and workspace safeguards still apply. | Yes, but must transfer Admin access first if other active members would otherwise be left without an Admin. |
How to read conditional permissions
Visibility is not edit access
Members can use People and Locations to understand the published schedule and cannot change it by default. “Can only assign themselves open slots” adds claim-only access in Locations. “Can fully manage shifts for themselves” additionally enables complete control of their own People row. The same distinction applies in Settings: seeing a section does not necessarily grant permission to change it.
Full Managers have broad access, with deliberate boundaries
A Full Manager runs day-to-day scheduling across the workspace and can manage schedules, people, locations, templates, preferences, AI rules, and History. Access management and Time Off review are narrower: they can act on Members, but cannot grant Manager or Admin access, approve their own Time Off, or manage another Manager's or Admin's request or allowance. A Shift management only Manager keeps operational scheduling tools but not people records, allowances, or AI access.
Overview is a separate choice
An Admin can hide Overview from Managers without removing their scheduling tools. The same switch controls the hours-summary view on People. A Full Manager still sees their own allowance when Overview is disabled; a Shift management only Manager never sees allowance information.
Personal actions depend on the linked person
Shift Scheduler needs to know which person record belongs to the signed-in user. Link the account to a person to manage your own preferences and Time Off in People, on desktop or mobile.
Integration credentials carry Admin-level authority
Workspace API and MCP keys are not limited by the role of the person using them. They authorize the supported operations with Admin-level workspace access, so only Admins can create, rotate, or remove them. Personal AI and MCP sessions are different: they require an active Full Manager or Admin membership and are checked again when tools run.
Plan limits still apply
Permissions answer who may perform an action. Subscription and trial rules answer whether the workspace can perform it right now. Seat capacity and scheduling limits can therefore block an otherwise permitted change without changing anyone's role.
The last Admin protects the workspace
Shift Scheduler will not let the last active Admin be removed or demoted. Everyone can delete their own account, but an Admin must first transfer Admin access when other active members would otherwise be stranded. If the account belongs to the workspace's last active member, deleting it also removes that workspace and its data.