AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HotSchedules®, which provides the first cloud-based intelligent operating platform for the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries, today announced the release of enhanced features that address new predictive scheduling regulations enacted in major cities across the country. The breakthrough features – available with HotSchedules’ new cloud-based intelligent back office platform, Clarifi™ – address the unique scheduling challenges with configurable labor rules, manager alerts to potential compliance violations, shift transaction reporting and continuous electronic documentation. Current and future HotSchedules customers affected by the predictive scheduling regulations are able to turn on and use the predictive scheduling features today.
“Predictive Scheduling legislation has been a key compliance concern impacting many full-service and limited service restaurants - especially multi-unit franchise owners and their corporate franchisors. We developed new predictive scheduling features so that operators, HR teams and finance teams can get in front of and manage the regulations and avoid potential penalties,” said David Cantu, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at HotSchedules. “It’s also important that we provide scheduling and mobile communication tools for hourly employees, so that they can achieve flexibility and work-life balance while still fulfilling the needs of the business.”
The release of HotSchedules’ new predictive scheduling features is part of a larger effort to address compliance challenges restaurateurs face. Earlier this year, the company released its new Time & Attendance Module as well as schedule configurations for employees who are minors. The release also closely coincides with New York City’s enforcement of its Fair Work Week legislation, which begins November 26, 2017. Predictive scheduling laws have already been enacted in Seattle and San Francisco with the state of Oregon slated to go into effect in July 2018.
Although the specifics of the regulations vary from state, city and municipality, the predictive scheduling movement aims to minimize scheduling practices that can make it difficult for hourly employees to plan their personal lives around their work hours. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 47 percent of part-time hourly workers ages 26-32 receive a week or less of advance notice for their schedule. Hourly employees and predictive scheduling activists have cited difficulty managing school schedules, childcare, transportation and earnings when they have little-to-no control over their schedules.
HotSchedules helps restaurants manage evolving predictive scheduling requirements with configurable features, including:
- Schedule Audit Report: Including shift transactions and schedule modifications
- Shift Approval Alerts: Notifies managers of minimum time between shifts when approving shift transactions
- Shift Transaction Reporting: Time stamps of the schedule position, as well as documentation for all shift transactions and modifications
- Right to Rest: Notifies managers if they are about to make a decision that could violate predictive scheduling regulations
- Mobile Scheduling App: The HotSchedules App lets employees swap and pick-up shifts, communicate with other employees, receive their schedules on their mobile device and manage time-off and availability
“The launch of the new predictive scheduling features is another powerful example of the ways the Clarifi™ platform can help busy restaurant managers make better decisions around compliance and give hourly employees mobile tools to manage their schedules,” said Mike Arenth, Chief Executive Officer at HotSchedules. “By combining scheduling and time and attendance data with configurable labor rules, mobile alerts, shift transaction reporting and continuous electronic documentation, our labor management and compliance tools can help minimize risk and help reduce the cost of penalties or class-action lawsuits.”
To learn more about HotSchedules Clarifi, visit hotschedules.com
About HotSchedules
With a continual focus on innovation, HotSchedules provides the first cloud-based intelligent operating platform, solutions and services for the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries. Designed for independents, multi-unit franchise operators and international enterprise brands, HotSchedules serves over 2 million users across 130,000 locations in 26 countries helping them control costs, maintain compliance, improve visibility, increase profitability and drive operational consistency. For more information visit: https://www.hotschedules.com.
Media Contact:
Christine Beggan
ICR for HotSchedules
203.682.8329
Christine.Beggan@icrinc.com