What is the difference between a work schedule and a shift?
Understanding the difference between a work shift and a schedule is essential for correctly setting up your work routine at Pontotel. Although they are separate settings, work shifts and schedules are interconnected: the schedule depends on the prior registration of the work shift to function properly.
Next, we explain in practice how each of them works.
Journey
Work schedule:
This corresponds to the expected hours that each employee must work during the day. It is the daily period in which the employee must be available to the company, including arrivals, departures, and breaks.
- Example: from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Day without work:
It is also possible to register non-working days, which represent days when the employee does not have a scheduled work schedule. This way, the system understands that there is no expectation of clocking in or out on that day, preventing incorrect entries or inconsistencies in the payroll.
- Example: "Day Off" period
Work schedule
The schedule determines the days each employee will work over time. In other words, it organizes the alternation between work days, days off, and shifts, according to the company's needs.
- Example: a 6x1 schedule, where the employee works six days and has one day off.
Before creating a schedule, the work schedule must already be registered in the system. This is because, when creating the schedule, you will assign to each day which work schedule the employee will follow. In other words, the schedule only organizes the sequence of days worked and days off, but it is the work schedule that defines the detailed times of entry, exit, and breaks on each of those days.
Therefore, always register the work schedules beforehand and then link them to the shifts to ensure the correct functioning of the routine in Pontotel.
Below is a detailed step-by-step guide to completing each of the registrations mentioned:
💡 Tip:
Pontotel offers an Interactive Tutorial , a dynamic tool within the Pontotel Gestão , that guides you step-by-step through the initial registrations, such as employer, workplace, work schedule, shifts, users, and more. Simply follow the tool's instructions to configure everything quickly, easily, and without errors. Whenever you need it, activate the Interactive Tutorial to facilitate registrations on the platform!
In summary, the work schedule defines the working hours within each day, and the shift schedule organizes the distribution of those days throughout the week or month.
If you still have any questions or need help defining work schedules and shifts in your company, contact our support team via WhatsApp . We're ready to help!
Updated on: August 8, 2025
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