Within the Rule Manager, include an option to "Inactivate" a specific rule. This keeps the user from having to delete a Rule for any reason (such as testing). Also, include the ability to re-activate the rule if needed in the future. When creating a rule, allow the user to indicate a starting and ending date for the rule.
Example: Create a field that would allow you to indicate when a rule would begin to start popping up for staff and also an ending date for it to stop, at which time the rule would just inactivate.