Employee availability is the days and hours an employee is able to work. Collecting it in writing, and building the schedule around it, cuts no-shows and swaps. In some cities it also affects what the employer owes when schedules change.
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Days and times available | Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. |
| Times not available | Sundays, for religious observance |
| Hours wanted | 30 to 35 hours a week |
| Effective dates | From September 1, when classes start |
| Other limits | No closing shifts before a 6:00 a.m. opening |
Use the employee availability form and see predictive scheduling for the local laws.
To build shifts, approve swaps and spot coverage gaps in one place, see EZTime employee scheduling software.
A grocery store hires a stock clerk who lists his availability as Monday to Saturday, and notes that he cannot work Sundays because of religious observance. The store usually requires every clerk to take one Sunday a month.
The store manager wants to make an exception only if it is easy. HR explains that this is a request for religious accommodation, so the question is whether excusing him from Sundays would be a substantial burden in the overall context of the business, not whether it is inconvenient.
The store has 14 clerks, several of whom ask for extra Sunday shifts for the higher pay, so swapping him out of Sundays costs very little. His availability is saved in the scheduling system, which now warns the scheduler if he is placed on a Sunday. The store records the accommodation and the reason.
Availability changes are normal: a new semester, a second job, a change in childcare. Ask for changes in writing with an effective date and enough notice to build the schedule around them, often two weeks. Record the reason only if the employee offers it or if it relates to a request for accommodation.
When availability shrinks, talk about it rather than quietly cutting hours. Ask what hours they can still offer, whether the change is temporary, and whether swapping some shifts with coworkers helps. A clear conversation keeps a good employee who might otherwise feel pushed out.
Four student cashiers update their availability in August for the fall semester, each losing weekday mornings. The store manager sees the changes two weeks ahead.
She offers the morning shifts as open shifts to other staff first, and moves two part-timers with free mornings onto them. The students keep evening and weekend shifts. No shift goes unfilled in September, and none of the students quits over the change.
The days and times an employee is able to work, as they told the employer.
Often yes, unless a local scheduling law, an agreement or an accommodation says otherwise. Repeatedly doing it usually leads to call-outs and turnover.
In an at-will state, availability can be a lawful reason, but not when the limit is a religious practice or disability that must be accommodated.
Whenever it changes, and many employers ask everyone to confirm it each quarter.
Days and times available, times not available, the hours wanted and the date the availability takes effect.
It can, when the job needs certain hours, as long as the requirement is applied to everyone and considers requests for religious or disability accommodation.
Post open shifts, approve swaps and see labor rule alerts in one place, so changes are recorded instead of lost in texts.