What an overloaded day is and how to clear it

A day is overloaded when its visits, loading and travel run past the team member's hours and flex. Here is what marks it and what to do.

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What it is#

Every team member's day has its normal hours and any flex you allow. The diary counts the time the day uses: the visits, the loading time at each stop and the travel between them. The part beyond normal hours but within flex is flex. Anything past the flex is overload.

The diary never overloads a day on its own. A visit that fits nowhere is left unplaced for you. Overload comes from something you chose, such as Move it anyway or Place it anyway, or from a change after the day was planned, such as leave, a shorter working day or a crew member's absence.

When to use it#

Look for it whenever you move work by hand, record leave or change a team member's hours. The diary marks the day so you can decide.

How to do it#

  1. On the diary, look for red hatching on a team member's day, with a band saying how long the day is overloaded by. The key lists it as Overloaded.
  2. Open the day and decide what should give.
  3. Drag a visit to another time, day or team member, or open a visit and move it from there.
  4. Or leave it as it is if the team member has agreed to the longer day.

What your customer sees#

Nothing. The overload is marked for you only. If you move a confirmed visit to another day or from morning to afternoon, the customer is told the new day and whether to expect you in the morning or the afternoon, never a clock time.

What happens next#

When a day becomes overloaded, you get the notice A team member's day is overloaded. It says how far the day runs beyond the team member's hours and the flex you allow, and what you can do about it. In the Mailbox it carries the badge Day overloaded.

When the extra time comes from visits you placed yourself, the day is marked amber as Extended by you instead, because it was your decision.

The team member sees the longer day on their page.

Good to know#

  • If the overload comes from leave over confirmed visits, you get the notice about confirmed visits on leave instead of this one.
  • No notice is sent for a team member who has left.
  • The overload notice is on unless you switch it off in your notification settings.
  • A team member's One-off extra hours tab lists every day they went beyond their pattern, including overloaded days.
  • The same rules apply in automatic mode ("Let the diary plan itself") and self mode ("I place visits myself"). In both, only a deliberate choice or a later change can overload a day.

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