Consecutive

This constraint allows you to control how many consecutive shifts or days employees can work. It can be used to set both minimum and maximum limits on consecutive work periods, helping you balance employee workload and prevent burnout.

Constraint schema

object

Used to set targets and limits on the number of consecutive shifts that an employee works.

Show properties

string

required

Unique identifier for the constraint.

array of string

Labels for the constraint. Labels can be used to group constraints together. For example, if multiple constraints are related to the same shift type, they can all be labeled with the same label.

required

The importance of the constraint. The higher the importance, the more the solver will take the constraint into account. Under strict importance, the constraint may never be violated.

object

Filters to determine the scope of the constraint. Used to indicate what the constraint should be applied to (which employees, which shifts, etc). Leaving this empty means that the constraint always applies.

Show filters – properties

object

Used to filter which employees the constraint should be applied to. If not specified, the constraint applies to all employees.

Show employees – properties

array of string

List of employee ids that the constraint should be applied to.

array of string

List of employee labels that the constraint should be applied to.

object

Show matchTypes – properties

string (enum: NONE | ANY | ALL)

Used to indicate how to apply the id filters. For example, if set to NONE, entities with the specified ids will be excluded. Default: “ANY”.

string (enum: NONE | ANY | ALL)

Used to indicate how to apply the label filters. For example, if set to ANY, entities that have any of the specified labels will be included. Default: “ANY”.

object

Used to filter which shifts the constraint should be applied to. If not specified, the constraint applies to all shifts.

Show shifts – properties

array of string

List of shift ids that the constraint should be applied to.

array of string

List of shift labels that the constraint should be applied to.

object

Show matchTypes – properties

string (enum: NONE | ANY | ALL)

Used to indicate how to apply the id filters. For example, if set to NONE, entities with the specified ids will be excluded. Default: “ANY”.

string (enum: NONE | ANY | ALL)

Used to indicate how to apply the label filters. For example, if set to ANY, entities that have any of the specified labels will be included. Default: “ANY”.

object

required

Show targets – properties

integer

The minimum number of consecutive entities that an employee should ideally work. This cannot be set as a strict limit and will be treated as a target instead.

integer

The maximum number of consecutive entities that an employee can work. Currently only supports importance STRICT.

Maximum consecutive shifts

To limit the maximum number of consecutive shifts or days an employee can work, use the max property in the targets object. This limit can only be enforced with STRICT importance, meaning the solver will never violate it.

The below constraint strictly prevents employees from working more than 4 consecutive days. If an employee works on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, they must have at least one day off before working again.

{
  "id": "cc-max-4-days",
  "importance": "STRICT",
  "targets": {
    "max": 4
  }
}

Minimum consecutive shifts

To encourage employees to work a minimum number of consecutive shifts, use the min property in the targets object. This is treated as a target rather than a strict requirement, so the solver will try to achieve it but may not always succeed.

The below constraint encourages employees to work at least 3 consecutive shifts when they do work. This helps create more predictable work patterns and reduces fragmentation.

{
  "id": "cc-min-3-shifts",
  "importance": "MEDIUM",
  "targets": {
    "min": 3
  }
}

Combining minimum and maximum

You can combine both min and max targets in a single constraint to create a preferred range of consecutive work periods. Note that when using max, the importance must be STRICT for the maximum limit to be enforced. The minimum target will be treated as a target that the solver will try to achieve.

The below constraint encourages employees to work between 3 and 5 consecutive days when they do work. The solver will try to achieve at least 3 consecutive days (as a target), and will strictly prevent more than 5 consecutive days.

{
  "id": "cc-3-to-5-days",
  "importance": "STRICT",
  "targets": {
    "min": 3,
    "max": 5
  }
}

Filtering by employees and shifts

You can combine both employee and shift filters to create very specific rules for certain groups of employees working certain types of shifts.

The below constraint strictly limits senior employees to a maximum of 2 consecutive intensive shifts, while other employees are not affected.

{
  "id": "cc-senior-intensive-max-2",
  "importance": "STRICT",
  "filters": {
    "employees": {
      "labels": ["senior"]
    },
    "shifts": {
      "labels": ["intensive"]
    }
  },
  "targets": {
    "max": 2
  }
}

Getting started

Concepts

Entities

Other

Constraint schema

Maximum consecutive shifts

Minimum consecutive shifts

Combining minimum and maximum

Filtering by employees and shifts