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Overview

Working schedules allow you to define when staff members are available to receive alert notifications. When an alert is triggered outside someone’s working hours, Signal delays the email notification until the start of their next working period. This ensures staff aren’t disturbed during evenings, weekends, or holidays while still capturing all safeguarding information in the system.
Working schedules only affect email notification delivery. Alerts are still recorded in Signal immediately and can be viewed by logging in at any time.

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How Working Schedules Work

1

Alert is Triggered

An incident is created that matches an alert rule
2

Schedule Check

Signal checks the recipient’s working schedule
3

Delivery Decision

If within working hours, the email is sent immediately. If outside working hours, the email is scheduled for the next working period.
4

Email Delivered

The notification arrives at the appropriate time

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Default Working Schedule

Every Signal tenant has a default working schedule that applies to all users unless they have a specific schedule assigned:
DayHours
Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
SaturdayNot working
SundayNot working
The default schedule is created automatically when your school sets up Signal. You can modify it to match your school’s standard working hours.

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Managing Working Schedules

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Viewing Schedules

Navigate to Settings > Working Schedules to see all configured schedules. Each schedule card shows:
  • Schedule name
  • Whether it’s the default schedule
  • Number of users assigned
  • Working days and hours

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Creating a New Schedule

1

Navigate to Working Schedules

Go to Settings > Working Schedules
2

Click Create Schedule

Click the Create Schedule button
3

Enter Schedule Details

  • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., “Part-Time Staff”, “Senior Leadership”)
  • Working Days: Select which days are working days
  • Hours: Set start and end times for each working day
4

Save

Click Save to create the schedule

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Editing a Schedule

  1. Go to Settings > Working Schedules
  2. Click on the schedule card you want to edit
  3. Make your changes
  4. Click Save

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Deleting a Schedule

  1. Go to Settings > Working Schedules
  2. Click on the schedule card
  3. Click Delete
  4. Confirm the deletion
You cannot delete the default schedule. If you delete a schedule that has users assigned, those users will revert to using the default schedule.

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Assigning Schedules to Users

Schedules can be assigned to multiple users. Users without a specific schedule assigned will use the default schedule.

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To Assign Users to a Schedule

  1. Go to Settings > Working Schedules
  2. Click on the schedule you want to assign users to
  3. Click Manage Users
  4. Select the users to assign
  5. Click Save

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Schedule Priority

If a user is assigned to a specific schedule, that schedule takes priority over the default. Each user can only have one schedule assigned at a time.

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Example Schedules

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Part-Time Teaching Staff

For staff who work specific days:
DayHours
Monday9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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Extended Hours for Safeguarding Leads

For DSLs who need earlier notification:
DayHours
Monday - Friday7:00 AM - 6:00 PM

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Term-Time Only

For staff who shouldn’t receive alerts during holidays, you can adjust schedules at the start of each holiday period, or use the default schedule and manually adjust during breaks.

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Best Practices

Start with Defaults

The default schedule works for most staff. Only create custom schedules when needed.

Consider DSL Availability

Safeguarding leads may need extended hours to receive urgent alerts promptly.

Review Regularly

Update schedules when staff working patterns change, such as at the start of a new term.

Document Decisions

Keep a record of why certain schedules are configured for audit purposes.

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Troubleshooting

Check:
  1. What schedule is assigned to the user?
  2. Is the current time within their working hours?
  3. Is the schedule configured correctly (correct days and times)?
Remember that alerts outside working hours are delayed, not lost.
Verify:
  1. The user’s assigned schedule matches their actual working hours
  2. The time zone settings are correct
  3. The default schedule hasn’t been modified unexpectedly
You cannot delete the default schedule. For other schedules, ensure no users are assigned before deleting, or reassign those users first.

Alerts Overview

Learn how alerts work in Signal

Configuring Alert Rules

Set up rules that trigger alerts