Staff schedules and time off in a salon: how it works in Slotsy

On 9 October 2026, checking this topic before writing the article, I read the Slotsy code and found four things that did not work. A special day for a staff member (a day off or different hours) was saved, but clients could still book. Time off for part of a day, say 14:00–16:00, did not remove those hours from the booking page. "Any Available Staff" could book a client to someone on vacation. And there was no warning about bookings that already fell inside the time off. Instead of publishing, we fixed it; it has been in production since 11 October 2026, together with closing the studio for several days and every year, staff entering their own time off, and managers editing schedules.

On 11 October I checked it in the demo studio in production. Service Private Pilates (55 minutes), Thursday 15 October: Alex had time off 10:00–12:00, Sofia had a special day "day off". On the booking page only Alex was left for that day, and with "Any Available Staff" the hours 10:00–11:30 were gone; 09:00, 12:00–14:00 and 16:00 remained.

Short answer. In Slotsy each staff member has a weekly schedule with breaks (Schedules → Staff Schedules). You add time off for a whole day or for a few hours, a special day changes the hours on one date, and a closure shuts the whole studio for up to 62 days in a row or every year on the same date. All of this disappears from the booking page and the widget at once. If clients are already booked in that time, before saving you see their list and choose: keep the bookings, or cancel them with your own message to each client. A staff member can enter their own time off, and the owner is notified. Start: 79 zł net a month for up to 5 people. Checked 12.10.2026.

Create a Free account in Slotsy: 0 zł for one person, no card, it runs alongside your current system. In 15 minutes you can set your weekly schedule and a first time off; a team of up to 5 is the Start plan, 79 zł net a month.

Weekly schedule

Schedules → Staff Schedules → pick a person → tab "Weekly Schedule". For each day you set the working hours; "Add break" adds a break, "Day off" switches the day off, and "Copy" / "Paste" move one day's settings to another. A staff schedule has to fit within the company hours: the editor warns: "Staff schedule must be within company schedule".

Clients see only the hours when the person works. There is one schedule per person; more on that in the section on what Slotsy does not do. Screen reference: staff schedules.

Time off for days or for hours

Tab "Time Off" → "Add Time Off". You enter a start date and an end date, pick a type (Vacation, Sick leave, Personal, Training, Other), then "Full day" or "Hours", for example 14:00–16:00. The reason is optional.

Time off for a whole day removes the person from the booking page on those dates. Time off for hours removes only those hours; the rest of the day stays bookable. The hours apply to the start date: for several days with hours, add each day separately.

One date with other hours

Tab "Special Days": click a date and the "Working day?" switch. Off means a day off on that date, on lets you set other hours. Example: a Saturday shortened to 10:00–14:00. "Reset to normal" removes the exception and the date goes back to the weekly schedule. More: special days for a staff member.

The whole studio closed

Schedules → Company hours → Special Days → date → "Working day?" off. The "Until (optional)" field lets you close up to 62 days in a row, every day gets the same settings. "Repeat every year" suits 25 December, 1 January or 11 November. Easter moves, so you add it each year. If a day has a yearly rule, changing or deleting it applies to all years. Reference: studio closures.

What happens to clients who are already booked

Before saving time off, a special day or a closure, Slotsy checks that time. If there are bookings in it, a window titled something like "2 bookings are in this time" appears with a list: time, client, staff member. Each row has "Open in the calendar", which opens that day in a new tab so you can move the visit by hand.

Then you choose one of two:

• "Save and keep the bookings": the change is saved, the visits stay.
• "Cancel 2 bookings…": you write the text in "What to tell the clients", and each client gets a cancellation email with your words.

Nothing is saved until you choose. Paid visits are not refunded automatically; you refund them in Payments. You see every client the change affects before you save it.

"Any Available Staff"

When a client picks "Any Available Staff", Slotsy offers an hour only if someone who does this service works then and is free. The client is booked to the person with the fewest bookings that day. Time held for a booking that is waiting for payment or approval is not offered again.

Staff enter their own time off

Staff and receptionists have "My time off" in the menu. The entry takes effect at once, with no approval step. The owner, admins and managers get a bell notification and a push with the number of bookings that fall in that time. The staff member can only keep those bookings; what happens to them is the studio's decision. A manager can edit the team's schedules, time off and special days; the staff profile, rates, roles and company hours stay with the owner and admins. Reference: my time off.

How other systems do it

Data from the systems' own pages and help, 9.10.2026, no ratings. "Not described" means I did not find it in their materials, not that the feature surely does not exist. Prices are net.

For Booksy, the help describes "Grafiki pracy", breaks, editing one day's hours, "Dodaj nieobecność" with days and hours, a reason and a "zatwierdzona" flag, and "Rezerwacja czasu", which blocks time from online booking. When a staff member's hours change or the business is closed on a day with visits, "pojawi się pytanie, czy chcesz je odwołać lub przełożyć"; the help does not describe a list of visits. What happens to existing visits when you add a "nieobecność" is not described, and neither is a holiday list (you block dates by hand).

Fresha repeats shifts every 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks, with an end date, allows up to 10 shifts a day, and has time off with an "Approved" checkbox. For closed periods its help says "Existing appointments will remain unless manually rescheduled", and clients can be notified "using your preferred communication method". "Any team member" is assigned by four strategies: fill open calendars, take turns, ratings, custom order.

In Bookero an employee has several ranges a day, there are "dni wolne, lub urlopy" and a temporary block, and employees cannot edit their own availability ("Pracownik nie ma możliwości ich edycji").

Fresha is better for shift work: a repeat every 2–4 weeks and four ways to assign "any team member". If your team works alternating weeks, Fresha does it with one rule, while in Slotsy you set each week's hours by hand. For 3 people Bookero and Fresha are cheaper than Slotsy; at 5 people Slotsy is the cheapest of the four (79 zł against 89.90 / 95 / 285). Pick Slotsy if you want to see every affected client before you change a schedule and your team works the same week every week. Booksy prices: how much Booksy costs.

What Slotsy does not do yet

• No "every second week" rotation and no schedule that changes from a given date: the weekly schedule is one per person.
• Hours of a part-day time off apply to its start date only; for several days with hours, add each day.
• No built-in list of public holidays: you add them once with "Repeat every year", and the movable ones (Easter, Corpus Christi) every year.
• Paid visits cancelled from the window are not refunded automatically: you refund them in Payments.

Frequently asked questions

Can a client book a staff member on vacation in Slotsy? No. Time off for whole days removes the person from the booking page and the widget on those dates, and time off for a few hours removes only those hours. Checked in production on 11.10.2026.

What happens to clients who are already booked when I add time off? Slotsy shows their list before saving the change. You choose: keep the bookings or cancel them with your own message; each client gets an email, and you refund paid visits yourself in Payments.

Can I close the salon for holidays every year? Yes. In Company hours → Special Days you turn on "Repeat every year", and "Until (optional)" lets you close up to 62 days in a row. Easter has to be added each year.

Can a staff member add their own time off? Yes, in "My time off". It takes effect at once, and in Slotsy the owner, admins and managers get a notification with the number of bookings in that time.

Does Slotsy do alternating weeks? Not yet. Fresha repeats shifts every 1–4 weeks, and in Booksy you can copy a week on a computer or tablet (9.10.2026).

How much does a schedule for 5 people cost? Slotsy Start is 79 zł net a month for up to 5 people; Booksy 285 zł, Fresha 95 zł, Bookero 89.90 zł net (prices from their pages, 9.10.2026).

How does "Any Available Staff" pick a person? In Slotsy only among people who do the service, work at that hour and are free; the booking goes to the one with fewer bookings that day.

The other measurements of simple booking in Slotsy are in one place: simple online booking.

Slotsy features checked 11–12.10.2026; Booksy, Fresha and Bookero pages and help — 9.10.2026. Prices are net.

Start with one thing: create a Free account and set your weekly schedule. The Free plan is for one person, 0 zł, no card, and your current system can run alongside; for a team: Start, 79 zł net a month, up to 5 people. It takes about 15 minutes.