diff --git a/djangorota/djangorota/templates/base.html b/djangorota/djangorota/templates/base.html
index e13e0eb..2e32b34 100644
--- a/djangorota/djangorota/templates/base.html
+++ b/djangorota/djangorota/templates/base.html
@@ -47,13 +47,17 @@
       document.body.addEventListener('htmx:afterSwap', function(evt){
         try{
           const target = evt.detail && evt.detail.target;
+          // DEBUG: log HTMX swap target and modal children to help diagnose intermittent swapErrors
+          try{ console.debug('[DEBUG] htmx:afterSwap target=', target && (target.id || target), ' evt.detail=', evt.detail); }catch(e){}
           if(!target || target.id !== 'modal') return;
           const modal = document.getElementById('modal');
           if(!modal) return;
 
           // If server returned empty content, hide modal and clear selections
           const raw = modal.innerHTML || '';
+          try{ console.debug('[DEBUG] modal.innerHTML length=', raw.length, ' modal.children=', Array.from(modal.children).map(c => c.nodeName + (c.id ? '#'+c.id : '') + (c.className ? '.'+c.className.split(' ').join('.') : ''))); }catch(e){}
           if(!raw.trim()){
+            try{ console.debug('[DEBUG] modal content empty — hiding modal'); }catch(e){}
             modal.style.display='none';
             try{ if(window.clearAllCalendarSelections) window.clearAllCalendarSelections(); else if(window._calendars) Object.values(window._calendars).forEach(c=>c.clearSelection && c.clearSelection()); }catch(e){}
             return;
@@ -81,6 +85,7 @@
             }
 
             if(contentElem){
+              try{ console.debug('[DEBUG] tagging existing element as modal-content:', contentElem); }catch(e){}
               contentElem.classList.add('modal-content');
             } else {
               // fallback: if there was no element to mark (unlikely), safely create a wrapper
@@ -98,7 +103,7 @@
                 modal.appendChild(wrapper);
               }catch(e){
                 // If moving nodes fails, log but don't throw — keep modal visible with whatever was returned.
-                console.error('modal wrapping fallback failed', e);
+                console.error('[DEBUG] modal wrapping fallback failed', e);
               }
             }
           }
diff --git a/djangorota/rota/views.py b/djangorota/rota/views.py
index 2e23373..437b250 100644
--- a/djangorota/rota/views.py
+++ b/djangorota/rota/views.py
@@ -266,15 +266,13 @@ def worker_create(request):
 						{"rota": rota},
 						request=request,
 					)
-					resp = (
-						f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
-						+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-					)
+					resp = f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
 					response = HttpResponse(resp)
+					# close modal via HX-Trigger to avoid racing OOB swaps that target #modal
 					response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 					return response
-				# If we couldn't render the worker list (no rota), just close modal
-				response = HttpResponse('<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>')
+				# If we couldn't render the worker list (no rota), just close modal via trigger
+				response = HttpResponse('')
 				response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 				return response
 			# Non-HTMX POST -> redirect
@@ -332,10 +330,7 @@ def worker_edit(request, rota_id, worker_id):
 			form.save()
 			# Return updated worker list OOB and close modal
 			worker_list_html = render_to_string("rota/partials/worker_list.html", {"rota": rota}, request=request)
-			resp = (
-				f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
-				+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-			)
+			resp = f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
 			response = HttpResponse(resp)
 			response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 			return response
@@ -405,10 +400,7 @@ def worker_delete(request, rota_id, worker_id):
 
 		rota = get_object_or_404(RotaSchedule, pk=rota_id)
 		worker_list_html = render_to_string("rota/partials/worker_list.html", {"rota": rota}, request=request)
-		resp = (
-			f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
-			+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-		)
+		resp = f'<div id="worker-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{worker_list_html}</div>'
 		response = HttpResponse(resp)
 		response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 		return response
@@ -515,10 +507,7 @@ def request_leave(request, token=None):
 					{"leaves": worker.leaves.all(), "token": token},
 					request=request,
 				)
-				resp = (
-					f'<div id="leave-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{leave_list_html}</div>'
-					+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-				)
+				resp = f'<div id="leave-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{leave_list_html}</div>'
 				response = HttpResponse(resp)
 				# Trigger modal close and a leaveUpdated event so client can refresh calendar highlights
 				response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal,leaveUpdated"
@@ -633,7 +622,7 @@ def _oob_update_options_display(request, rota):
 		{"rota": rota, "options_pretty": options_pretty},
 		request=request,
 	)
-	resp = '<div id="rota-options-display" hx-swap-oob="true">' + options_html + '</div>' + '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
+	resp = '<div id="rota-options-display" hx-swap-oob="true">' + options_html + '</div>'
 	response = HttpResponse(resp)
 	response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 	return response
@@ -943,11 +932,11 @@ def leaves_json(request, worker_id):
 	"""Return JSON list of leave ranges for a given worker."""
 	worker = get_object_or_404(Worker, pk=worker_id)
 	data = []
-	for l in worker.leaves.all().order_by('start_date'):
+	for leave in worker.leaves.all().order_by('start_date'):
 		data.append({
-			'start': l.start_date.isoformat(),
-			'end': l.end_date.isoformat(),
-			'reason': l.reason,
+			'start': leave.start_date.isoformat(),
+			'end': leave.end_date.isoformat(),
+			'reason': leave.reason,
 		})
 	return JsonResponse({'leaves': data})
 
@@ -1100,8 +1089,7 @@ def shift_add(request, rota_id):
 			resp = (
 				f'<div id="shift-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{shift_list_html}</div>'
 				+ '<div id="shift-form" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-				+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-				)
+			)
 			response = HttpResponse(resp)
 			response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 			return response
@@ -1146,8 +1134,7 @@ def shift_edit(request, rota_id, idx):
 			resp = (
 				f'<div id="shift-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{shift_list_html}</div>'
 				+ '<div id="shift-form" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-				+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-				)
+			)
 			response = HttpResponse(resp)
 			response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 			return response
@@ -1191,8 +1178,7 @@ def shift_delete(request, rota_id, idx):
 		resp = (
 			f'<div id="shift-list" hx-swap-oob="true">{shift_list_html}</div>'
 			+ '<div id="shift-form" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-			+ '<div id="modal" hx-swap-oob="true"></div>'
-			)
+		)
 		response = HttpResponse(resp)
 		response["HX-Trigger"] = "closeModal"
 		return response