Split shift
A split shift divides one working day into two separated blocks with a long break between them, rather than a single continuous stretch. A restaurant worker on 11:00 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 22:00 is on a split shift. The gap is longer than a meal break and normally unpaid.
Split shifts follow demand. Restaurants, transport and clinics all have two peaks and a dead middle. A continuous shift would pay for the dead middle.
For the employer the pattern is efficient. For the person, the day is still eleven hours long though only eight are worked. The gap is usually too short to go home and too long to spend well.
The recording problem is specific. Four punches in a day instead of two. Any system assuming the first and last punch bracket the working day will overstate the hours badly.
Cover planning gets harder too. One person on a split covers two peaks. Lose them to illness and two holes open at opposite ends of the day. A single replacement rarely fixes both. Plan the cover per block instead.
Where this shows up in PeopleMuster
PeopleMuster records each punch as it arrives. A split day shows its blocks, not one stretch from first entry to last exit.
Questions people ask
How long does a gap have to be to make a shift split?
There is no universal threshold. In practice the gap is long enough that people leave the premises. That distinguishes it from a meal break of an hour or less.
Is the gap in a split shift paid?
Normally not. This depends entirely on the employer's policy and where the work happens. This page states no rule about it.
How should split shifts be recorded?
As two blocks with their own start and end. Not as one long span. The worked total must exclude the gap, or every report built on it will be wrong.