On-call swaps between colleagues: the four rules of a clean swap.

Why swaps help, and why they get out of hand.

A family emergency, a wedding, a course: a swap solves it without redoing the rota. But when it’s agreed on WhatsApp and nobody writes it down, the published rota no longer says who is on call, rest on the neighbouring days breaks, and the fairness counters stop matching reality.

The four rules of a clean swap.

1. Offer in writing: which on-call, for which on-call, and with whom.
2. Accept: the colleague accepts or declines; nobody inherits an on-call without saying so.
3. Approve: whoever runs the rota approves, after checking what follows.
4. Record: the swap stays on the rota and in everyone’s counters.

What to check before approving.

• Rest around the new dates: 11 consecutive hours’ rest in every 24 (section 11 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 in Ireland, regulation 10 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 in Great Britain), and the day off your team gives after a night.
• Weekly rest for both people.
• That neither has approved leave or another duty that day.
• That the role is the same: a swap between a vet and a vet nurse doesn’t cover the same need.

Vets and vet nurses: no cross swaps.

A vet’s on-call is swapped for another vet’s on-call. Mixing teams leaves a slot without the role it needs, even if the headcount adds up.

How it works in Djed.

• Offer: from the web or the app, a member picks one of their upcoming on-calls and a colleague’s from the same practice and team. The colleague and the admins get a notification.
• Accept: the colleague accepts or declines; whoever asked can withdraw it until it’s approved.
• Approve: an admin approves or declines. On approval, Djed checks again that each person can do on-call, has no approved absence that day, isn’t already on call at another practice and that the day isn’t locked; otherwise the swap is declined without changing anything.
• Keep: once approved, both on-calls are pinned as human decisions: if you rebuild the month, the engine doesn’t move them, and the fairness counters update.

One limit to know: on approval, Djed doesn’t recheck the rest rules around the new dates. The admin has to look at the neighbouring days, as in the list above. On-call swaps are part of the Clinic plan (€119 excl. VAT a month per practice): see the plans in detail. And so swaps don’t skew the split, read how to measure fairness for night on-call.

Sources and date checked.

• Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, revised edition (sections 11 to 17 and 25).
• Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833), regulations 4 to 12. Northern Ireland has its own regulations, the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, with the same limits.
• Neither law sets a procedure for swaps between colleagues: the process described is a way of organising.

Texts checked on 5 October 2026. This guide is not legal advice: for your own situation, speak to your HR or employment adviser.