Availability for Casual Employees

There may be times when your employer may require you to update your availability to help with rostering or sending you shift offers.

Availability differs to leave in that it is unpaid and may be reoccurring.

This article includes the process to apply for both types of Availability. Read on to understand the differences.

• Updating your Ongoing Availability
  
• or Once-off Availability 

What is Ongoing Availability?

• These are your Unavailable times that will be recurring indefinitely, meaning you cannot be rostered on your unavailable days.
• For example, you care for your children each Monday and therefore cannot work any Mondays.
• In this type of Availability, you will 'UPDATE' weekly, biweekly or monthly as it stays set until you update it away from this normal pattern.

What is Once-off Availability?

• This is a request to be Unavailable for a specific day or group of days.
• For example, you need April 20 - 24th off for a family holiday.
• This type of Availability is a 'REQUEST' and it will not come into effect until approved by an Admin of your business.

To use Availability:

1. Login to your employee portal or foundU Employee App.
2. Select the Time Off button at the bottom of your screen.
3. Select the Availability tab > Change Availability button.

3. Choose either:

• 'Ongoing': your unavailable times will be recurring indefinitely, meaning you cannot be rostered on your unavailable days, or;
• 'Once off': your request will be made for a specific day or group of days only.

Please note: When attempting to select a date in availability and it is greyed out (and unselectable), this means 1 of 2 things:

1. Your employer may have a set period of warning required before the change can take effect, or
2. You already have a pending or approved leave or availability request for the same date range. 

Updating your Ongoing Availability:

1. Select the date the change is to start.
2. Select the relevant day/days.
3. For those days, select one of the following
   
   
   • Unavailable - Not available to work for the entire day.
   • Partial - Select the hours within the day you are unavailable to work e.g., 9am-12pm.
     You can also +Add another time span for other hours throughout that same day. 
     - Then add in the Start and End time.
4. Click +Add another time span to add any additional times.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for any other days of the week by pressing +Set other days.
6. Click Update Ongoing Availability. Before you do, you will be able to review your changes, details are located directly above the Update Ongoing Availability button.

Updating your Once-off Availability: 

Remember, this is a request for a non-reoccurring day off. e.g a uni exam day

1. Select Change Availability > Once off.
2. Select your date range for your once-off request. 
3. Select your Availability type:
   (Unavailable or Partial)
4. Add a reason for your request e.g., Uni exams.
5. Click Submit Availability Request. The 'i' indicates that this is a request only and will not come into effect until your manager approves it.
   
   

 

**You can also use your Once Off request to override your usual availability. Once granted this request will allow you to be available without affecting your ongoing availability pattern.

For example, when you are on uni holidays and are now available to work days that you have previously marked as unavailable in your ongoing availability. 

All Once Off requests will remain Pending until your employer has approved or declined them. Once approved this will update and you will be sent an email.