How to use the pto coverage conflict checker
- Enter the number of people on the team and the minimum on duty you need each working day.
- Tick Count weekends as working days if your team works on weekends.
- Paste the time off requests, one per line: name, first day, last day, as YYYY-MM-DD. A single day repeats the date.
- Read the number of days that fall short, the fewest people on duty on any day, and the table of short days with who is off.
Formula
For each working day, off = the number of distinct people with a request that covers the day
On duty = team size - off
A day is short if on duty is below the minimum
Short by = minimum - on duty
Only days with a request are checked, so days with nobody off are never short as long as the team is at least the minimum. A person with two overlapping requests counts once.
A team of five with a minimum of three
Ana is off 2026-03-02 to 2026-03-04, Ben is off on 2026-03-03, Chloe is off 2026-03-03 to 2026-03-06 and Dev is off on 2026-03-09. Six working days have at least one person off.
On Tuesday 2026-03-03, Ana, Ben and Chloe are all away. That leaves 2 on duty against a minimum of 3, so the day is short by 1. Every other day keeps at least 3 on duty, so one day falls short and the fewest on duty on any day is 2.
Resolving a conflict
When a day is short, the table shows who is off, so you can ask one person to move or find cover. A change of one day often fixes it. Before you decide, look at how much time off each person has available, with the PTO accrual calculator.
The minimum is your own need for each working day. It may differ by day or by role, in which case run the page once for each group.
Planning cover
To work out how many hours the team needs to cover a week, use the staffing hours calculator, and to plan breaks across the day use the staggered break schedule generator. To check that the remaining shifts are shared fairly, see the schedule fairness score calculator.
Public holidays are not marked on the page. Enter them as a request for each person who is off, or leave them out of the dates you check.
Assumptions and limits
- Every person on the team can cover any duty, and the team size is the number of people who normally work.
- Requests are approved or planned days off. The page does not check balances or approvals.
- Weekends are skipped unless you tick the option. Holidays are not known to the page.
- Dates use the YYYY-MM-DD format and a request ends on or after its first day.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check time off conflicts?
Enter the team size, the minimum on duty and the requests. The page counts who is off each day and lists the days that fall below the minimum.
What if one person has two requests that overlap?
They are counted once on each day, so the overlap does not make a day look worse than it is.
Do weekends count?
Only if you tick the option. By default the page checks Monday to Friday.
Can the minimum change by day?
Not on one run. Run the page again for another group or day of the week, with the minimum for that group.