Purpose Statement

The Trade Settings feature enables administrators to establish policies and workflows for shift trades within their department. This configuration determines how personnel request shift trades, who approves them, what work types apply, and what restrictions exist. Properly configured trade settings ensure compliance with labor agreements, maintain qualified staffing levels, and streamline the approval process while giving personnel flexibility to manage their schedules.

Background Information

Shift trading is a common practice in fire and EMS departments that allows personnel to exchange scheduled shifts with qualified colleagues. This feature supports work-life balance while maintaining operational staffing requirements. Trade settings must be carefully configured to align with department policies, collective bargaining agreements, and FLSA compliance requirements.

Key considerations include:

• Ensuring trades maintain minimum qualified staffing levels
• Establishing clear approval chains that match department hierarchy
• Defining work type and time off type assignments for accurate payroll reporting
• Setting restrictions that prevent abuse or scheduling conflicts
• Maintaining audit trails for labor compliance

Required Permissions

To configure Trade Settings, users must have:

• Access Scheduling
• Access Setup 

Video

Step-by-Step Guide
 

Accessing Trade Settings

1. Navigate to Scheduling Setup from the main menu.
2. Click on Time Off Settings in the setup options.
3. Select Trade Settings to access the trade configuration interface.

Configuring Trade Disclaimer

4. Set the trade disclaimer that users will see when initiating or accepting a trade request. This should include any department-specific policies, requirements, or important reminders about trade procedures.
    

Establishing Request Routing

5. Determine how trade requests will be routed by selecting one of the following approval methods:
   • Let the user select who should approve the request - Gives the requestor flexibility to choose their approver from authorized personnel.
   • Allow any admin with approve/deny permission - Routes requests to all administrators who have trade approval permissions; any qualified admin can act on the request.
   • Notify on duty - Automatically routes the request to personnel currently on duty in a specific assignment or with a specific qualifier. This ensures requests reach actively working supervisors.
   • Select a specific user to whom all requests will go - Designates a single person (typically a scheduling officer or battalion chief) to receive and process all trade requests.
   • All Users with the permission can approve any trade- Allows any administrator to approve trades, even if it wasn't sent to them for approval
      

 

5. Configure request routing escalation to define what happens if the initial approver doesn't respond within your department's timeframe.
    

 

Defining Work Types and Time Off Types

7. Specify the work type that will be assigned to the user who works the traded shift, and select the time off typethat will be assigned to the user who will be off. This ensures accurate reporting and payroll processing.
    

Configuring Report Display Options

8. Determine if you want to reverse trades in reports by enabling this option if desired:
   • When enabled, reports will display the originally scheduled person as working and the person they traded with as off.
   • When disabled, reports show the actual working schedule after trades are completed.
   • Consider your department's preference for payroll auditing and operational reporting.
      

Setting Trading Restrictions

9. Configure Trading Options to establish trade limitations:
   • Limit Trades from a traded shift - When enabled, prevents users from trading away a shift they have already acquired through a trade. This prevents complex trade chains and maintains schedule integrity.
   • Limit trades to matching qualifiers - When enabled, restricts trades to only personnel who possess the same qualifications for the day they are trying to trade off. This ensures qualified staffing is maintained for specialized positions (e.g., paramedics can only trade with paramedics, engineers with engineers).
   • Remove Trade Limits - When enabled, users will able to be on multiple potentially overlapping trades on the same day. 
   • Require reciprocal trades - When enabled, users will be required to use the reciprocal trades, and will not be able to send one way trade requests. 
      

Saving Configuration

10. Click Save to apply your trade settings configuration.
     

Best Practices

Do:

• Align trade routing with your department's chain of command and existing approval processes
• Enable qualifier matching for specialized positions (paramedics, engineers, hazmat technicians) to maintain operational readiness
• Use clear, specific language in your trade disclaimer to set expectations
• Configure work types that accurately reflect actual hours worked for FLSA compliance
• Test trade workflows with a pilot group before department-wide rollout
• Document your trade policy in writing and reference it in the disclaimer
• Review trade settings annually or when labor agreements change

Don't:

• Allow unrestricted trading without qualifier matching if it could compromise response capabilities
• Use generic work types that don't accurately reflect the nature of traded shifts
• Configure routing that creates approval bottlenecks (single approver for large departments)
• Enable trade-from-traded-shift if your department has issues with excessive trade chains
• Forget to communicate changes to trade settings with all personnel

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Not considering overtime implications when configuring work types for traded shifts
• Failing to align trade settings with collective bargaining agreement requirements
• Setting up routing that doesn't account for off-duty approvers
• Not establishing escalation procedures for time-sensitive trade requests
• Overlooking the impact of report reversal on payroll and compliance reporting

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: Personnel aren't receiving trade request notifications. What's wrong?

A: Check the request routing configuration. If "Notify on duty" is selected, ensure the qualifier or assignment has personnel actively scheduled. If a specific user is designated, verify their notification settings and that they have the appropriate approval permissions.

Q: What happens if someone trades a shift but then calls in sick?

A: The person who accepted the trade is responsible for working it. Configure your trade disclaimer to clearly state that accepting a trade creates the same obligations as a regularly scheduled shift. The time off type you've configured will apply if they request sick leave.

Q: Should we reverse trades in reports for payroll purposes?

A: This depends on your department's payroll practices and collective bargaining agreement. Many departments prefer to show actual worked shifts (reverse disabled) for accurate payroll processing, but some prefer to show original assignments (reverse enabled) for budget tracking against scheduled positions.

Q: Can we prevent trades during specific high-risk periods (holidays, special events)?

A: While trade settings don't include date-based restrictions, you can implement administrative controls by temporarily adjusting approval routing to a specific supervisor who can apply discretionary judgment during those periods.

Q: How do we handle trades that affect overtime calculations?

A: Configure work types carefully to accurately represent the nature of the traded shift. Consult with your payroll administrator to ensure the work types and time off types you've selected properly integrate with your overtime calculation rules and FLSA requirements.