🎯 For Admins and Schedule managers.
Looking for summer to winter DST transition?
This article highlights what you need to know to keep your records in Planday accurate if you have scheduled shifts that overlap daylight saving time changes.
When does DST start this year?
DST transition for the winter to summer seasons can occur at different dates around the year across the globe. The changes will occur on the following days:
Region | 2023 Start Date | 2024 Start Date | 2025 Start Date | 2026 Start Date |
EU & UK | 26 March 2023 | 31 March 2024 | 30 March 2025 | 29 March 2026 |
USA & Canada | 12 March 2023 | 10 March 2024 | 9 March 2025 | 8 March 2026 |
Australia | 1 October 2023 | 6 October 2024 | 5 October 2025 | 4 October 2026 |
Explanation:
European Union (EU): DST starts on the last Sunday in March.
United States (US): DST starts on the second Sunday in March.
Australia: DST starts on the first Sunday in October.
For other regions, you can find more information on TimeAndDate.com
When the DST period begins, the clocks advance one hour during the warmer months. Practically, this means that on the date when the DST period begins, the clock will instantly advance by one hour (for instance, when the clock strikes 01:00 am, it would immediately become 02:00 am instead. So, on this date, the hour between 01:00 and 01:59:59 disappears in any given time zone).
Please note that the exact time for the clock adjustment depends on the time zone of your country, and it can be different from the example given above. This change usually happens during the night to minimise work schedule disruptions.
What does this mean for you, and how to make adjustments in Planday
The DST practice can have different implications for managing your organisation in Planday. It depends on your policies and the country where you conduct your operations. The following fixes only apply if you have night shift employees working at a time that crosses over a DST change.
Planday doesn’t automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time (DST).
If a shift falls during the changeover, you’ll need to manually decrease the shift or update Punch Clock entries by removing an hour.
Check and edit the shift duration for the shifts that overlap with the DST. As the clock changes forward (and one hour will be removed), you should ensure that the shift duration remains correct.
For example, a shift starting at 10:00 pm and ending at 04:00 am should account for six payable hours. If scheduled on a DST start day, it should account for five rather than six hours. For this overlapping shift, you must manually decrease the length to correctly account for the actual worked hours (remove one hour).
Check your payroll data to ensure no discrepancy or miscalculation in the number of hours worked for the date when daylight saving time changes occurred. If your payroll data depends on approved shifts and, by extension, on the duration of those shifts, making sure that the shift duration is correct should also be enough to correct your payroll data.
Remember to also communicate any changes to your employees to ensure that everyone is on the same page and avoids confusion.
See related articles:
DST article on TimeAndDate.com
DST by country on Wikipedia.com
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