Description: Learn how to set up your work availability for Workforce Management.
Introduction
During the recruitment process with your employer, your availability will typically be discussed and mutually agreed upon. Once an agreement has been reached, you can set your availability to the agreed-upon days and times of the week. This availability is then reflected for your employer. Any subsequent changes to your availability should first be discussed with your employer, and both parties should mutually agree upon changes.
Types of Availability
There are two types of availability you can set:
Available
This is when you are available to work for an employer. Setting availability for an employer means you are exclusively available for this employer during these times and cannot be scheduled anywhere else.
When you create an available set for an employer, you will automatically be shown as unavailable for all other employers during these times. You do not need to create a separate unavailable set.
Unavailable
This is when you are not available to work: for example, you may be unable to work on Tuesday and Thursday mornings because you have college lectures. Unavailable sets can be created for either a single employer or multiple employers.
Each availability set has a start and end date, and you can create multiple sets.
Recurring Availability
Both availability and unavailability sets are created as recurring availability, meaning your availability or unavailability repeats.
You can set the recurrence as either every week or every two weeks.
Date-specific availability
One-off availability occurs when you are unavailable for a specific date and/or period within that day. For example, you may have a dentist appointment between 1 pm - 3 pm on Friday, May 12th, a time on a typical Friday when you would normally be available, or you may wish to go on vacation from Monday, February 1st, to Sunday, February 7th.
One-off availability requests such as these should be created as time-off requests.
To Set Your Availability
You can set your availability from your Mobile Device or a Responsive Desktop via a web browser. The following is the process for setting your availability from a Mobile Device (method for most users).
When logged in to Workforce, go to the More Menu > My Availability.
Select the "+" button to bring up the Add Availability screen.
First, select the type of set you wish to create (availability or unavailability).
Next, select the employer to which this availability set will apply.
- Availability sets can only be created for a single employer
- Unavailability sets can be created for one or more employers
Now, select the dates and times of your availability.
You can select as many days and times within the one availability set as long as they repeat for the same period.
Next, select whether the availability set will repeat every week or every two weeks.
Finally, select when the availability set will start and end. You can also select 'Indefinitely' as the end date, meaning the availability set has no end date.
When you have completed the required fields, select the Publish Availability button.
To View your Availability
Availability sets can be viewed under My Availability. The sets are separated based on status:
- Current sets are shown under the Active tab
- Future sets are shown under the Upcoming tab
- Sets that are awaiting approval either from you or from your manager are shown under the Pending tab
You can swipe left and right to move between the sets if there are multiple availability sets.
To view the details of an individual set, select it.
To Edit your Availability
Select the Active, Upcoming, or Pending tab under My Availability to find the availability set you wish to edit. Select the set to open the detailed view when you have found it.
Select the ellipsis in the top right corner and select Edit Set.
This will bring up the Edit Availability screen.
Select the attributes you want to update.
| Availability type | Cannot be changed |
| Employer | Can be changed for unavailable sets only |
| Repeats | Can be changed |
| Starts | Cannot be changed if the set is active |
| Ends | Can be changed |
| Days/Times | Can be changed |
For available sets:
Select the Send Request button to submit the changes.
A confirmation screen will appear, where you can choose to enter a message to your manager about why you are making the changes. When you are ready to submit, select Confirm. The changes will be submitted to your manager for approval.
For unavailable sets:
Select the Publish Changes button to make the changes live. Unavailable sets do not require manager approval, so they are instantly set live.
Approval Process
Unavailable sets do not require manager approval when they are created or edited.
Available sets do not require manager approval when created; however, any changes will require manager approval. Your manager will receive a notification requesting approval before the changes are considered active.
Manage Initiated Availability Requests
At times, your manager may create an available set on your behalf. If this does not conflict with one of your existing unavailability sets, then it will be automatically created and set as active.
Any changes to existing availability requested by your manager require your approval before they are considered active. You can choose to either approve or decline the request.
Managers cannot create or edit unavailability sets. You exclusively own these.
Any sets requiring your approval can be found under the Pending tab with a status of "Pending approval" from you.
To see what changes have been made to an availability set awaiting your approval, select Show changes. This will bring up a list of what has changed from the original set.
Conflicts
When you create, edit, or approve an availability set, the app checks to ensure that your availability does not conflict with an existing set.
If you try to create an available set for the same days/times as an existing available set for another employer, you will see an error message preventing you from doing so.
If you try to create an available set for the same days/times as an existing unavailable set for the same employer, you will see a warning message and be asked if you would like to proceed.
Where both an available and an unavailable set exist for the same times, you will be considered available during this time, and your employer will be able to schedule you.
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