Time tracking for healthcare staff
In brief: In the healthcare sector, tracking hours is a headache: night shifts, on-site on-call duty, standby duty, frequent overtime, multiple premiums and handovers between teams. Approximate time tracking means an incorrect payroll export, unrecorded overtime and frustrated employees. Shyfter offers time tracking built for the 24/7 operation of healthcare, with automatic premium calculation and a direct export to your payroll provider.
Why time tracking in healthcare is different
Time tracking in an accounting firm is simple: arrive at 9 am, leave at 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday. In healthcare, nothing is that linear.
Shifts that cross midnight
A night shift starts at 10 pm and ends at 6 am the next day. Another starts at 8 pm and ends at 8 am. These overnight shifts complicate the calculation of hours: which hours count on which day? Which hours qualify for the night premium? A standard time tracking system is not designed for this reality.
On-call hours
A doctor on call is on site from 8 pm to 8 am. During those 12 hours, they are called out 3 times for a total of 4 hours of actual work. The rest of the time, they are available but not working. How these hours are paid depends on the type of on-call duty (on site or standby) and on the applicable collective agreement. Your time tracking system must capture these nuances.
Standby duty
A laboratory technician is on standby at home. They are called in at 11 pm for an urgent analysis, arrive at 11:20 pm, finish at 12:45 am and go home. How should they clock in? Does travel time count? Does the shift start with the call or with the arrival? The rules vary between agreements, but time tracking must be precise enough to apply them.
Shift handovers
At each shift change, 15 to 30 minutes of handover are needed. The outgoing team briefs the incoming team on the patients' condition. These overlapping minutes are working time for both teams. If the outgoing shift ends at 2 pm and the handover lasts until 2:20 pm, those 20 minutes are extra hours for the outgoing team.
Structural overtime
In healthcare, overtime is not the exception, it is the norm. A nurse who stays 20 minutes after the shift to finish a treatment. A doctor who extends a consultation. An emergency that arrives 5 minutes before the end of the shift. Over a month, these overruns add up to significant hours. Without precise time tracking, they go unrecorded.
What happens without reliable time tracking
Invisible overtime. Without time tracking, 15 minutes of daily overrun go unnoticed. Over a month, a nurse accumulates 5 to 7 hours of unpaid overtime. Over a year, that is more than 70 hours. Multiply by the number of caregivers: the amount is considerable, and employees know it.
Miscalculated premiums. A shift that ends at 6:10 am instead of 6 am: are those 10 minutes paid at the night premium or as regular hours? Without precise time tracking, the calculation is approximate. Across the whole team and over the year, errors pile up, one way or the other.
A laborious payroll export. Without structured time tracking data, the schedule manager rebuilds the hours by hand: attendance sheets, Excel tables, corrections, checks. This takes several days a month and creates errors.
Conflicts with staff. "I worked 3 nights last week and I only have 2 premiums on my payslip." Without reliable time tracking data, you cannot settle it. The employee loses trust. Management loses credibility.
How Shyfter handles time tracking in healthcare
Time tracking built for 24/7
Shyfter time tracking works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Night shifts, on-call duty and call-outs are clocked like any other shift. The system handles overnight shifts without calculation errors.
Several ways to clock in
Depending on your facility and its constraints:
- Fixed tablet: installed at the entrance of the ward, employees clock in with a badge or a code
- Smartphone: employees clock in on their phone, with optional geolocation for home care
- NFC badge: a quick tap, suited to environments where hygiene rules out touchscreens
Clocking in takes a few seconds. In a ward where every minute counts, that is essential.
Automatic premium calculation
Shyfter automatically distinguishes the types of hours and applies the matching premiums:
- Night hours: premium as set by the collective agreement
- Saturday hours: premium where applicable
- Sunday hours: premium as set by the agreement
- Public holiday hours: premium as set by the agreement
- Overtime: premium according to the day and the applicable rules
You configure the rates of your country and agreement once; the calculations are then automatic. You no longer have to check by hand whether the 10 minutes after 6 am are night or day hours.
Tracking on-call and standby duty
Create specific time tracking types for on-site on-call duty and standby duty. A person on site clocks in on arrival and departure. On standby, they clock each call-out (start and end). Shyfter calculates pay according to the configured rules: a standby allowance plus pay for the call-outs actually worked.
Managing handovers
Handover time is configurable per ward. If the shift ends at 2 pm and the handover lasts 20 minutes, Shyfter automatically adds those 20 minutes to the outgoing shift. They appear in the hours summary and in the payroll export.
Real-time alerts
Shyfter alerts you when:
- An employee is approaching the weekly hour limit
- The minimum rest between two shifts (11 consecutive hours in the European Union) risks not being respected
- Overtime exceeds a configurable threshold
- An employee has not clocked in (unreported absence)
These alerts let you act before the problem shows up on the payslip.
Payroll export in the healthcare sector
A complex export
A payroll export in healthcare is not just "number of hours x hourly rate". It must break down:
- Regular day hours
- Night hours (with their specific premium)
- Saturday, Sunday and public holiday hours (each with its premium)
- Overtime (with the right premium rate for the day)
- On-site on-call hours
- Standby hours (allowance plus call-outs)
- Leave, sick leave, training
This breakdown must be correct for every employee, every month. By hand, it takes several days. With Shyfter, it is a one-click export.
Connection to your payroll provider
Shyfter connects to more than 50 payroll providers, including the Belgian social secretariats SD Worx, Securex, Acerta, Liantis, Partena and UCM. Time tracking data is formatted to your provider's specifications. See the integrations page for the full list.
Traceability and archiving
Time tracking data is archived and available for consultation. In case of a dispute, an inspection or a question from your payroll provider, you find the history of each employee: hours clocked, changes, corrections. This traceability is an asset for regulatory compliance.
Time tracking as a management tool
Visibility on the real payroll cost
Real-time time tracking gives you the actual payroll cost, not the planned one. You see what each shift, each ward and each type of hour really costs. This data feeds the management of your payroll costs.
Spotting imbalances
A ward that systematically generates 10% overtime has a staffing problem. Time tracking makes it visible. You can then adjust staffing, change shifts or hire an additional employee. Without data, the decision is made blind.
Fairness and transparency
Each employee sees their clocked hours, their premiums and their monthly summary. Transparency reduces conflicts and builds trust. A caregiver who knows their 20 minutes of overrun are counted feels respected. That is an important retention factor in a sector where staff turnover is high.
FAQ
How do staff on standby at home clock their hours?
The employee on standby clocks each call-out on their smartphone: start time and end time. Shyfter records these call-outs and calculates pay according to the configured rules (standby allowance plus the hours actually worked, with night or weekend premiums where applicable). The time between call-outs is covered by the standby allowance.
How do I manage time tracking in a ward where staff have no access to a phone?
Install a time tracking tablet at the entrance of the ward. Employees clock in with an NFC badge or a personal code, in less than 3 seconds. For sensitive wards (operating theatre, intensive care), the NFC badge is the most hygienic and fastest option.
How do I correct a time tracking error?
The ward manager can edit a time entry in Shyfter, with a mandatory justification. Every correction is logged: who changed what, when and why. This traceability protects both employer and employee in case of a dispute or an inspection.
