How can I inform my manager of when I am free to work?
When communicating with your managers about when you can work, there are 2 ways this can be done in foundU. These are:
- Updating your Availability
- For casual employees, the main way to communicate your working hours is by submitting your availability.
- Unlike leave, availability is unpaid and can be recurring.
- Additionally, all employment types, not just casuals, can submit their availability.
- Applying for Leave
- Leave is generally available for any full-time or part-time employee and accrues for each ordinary hour worked.
- Most leave types are generally paid; however, if required by your employer, casual employees may submit LWOP (unpaid) leave applications.
- For further information about this process, please refer to our guide here.
Below, we explain the 2 types of Availability and provide tips for their effective use. These types are:
-
Ongoing Availability
- Once off Availability
Ongoing availability
Your ongoing availability is your main availability type, as it tells your managers your regular available hours. Once set, ongoing availability recurs indefinitely, moving forward until you update it again.
Everyday use cases when you would update your ongoing availability include:
- New university/ TAFE class schedule
- New childcare/ parenting arrangements
- School holidays
- VISA status change
Let's look at one of these use cases in a bit more detail.
Cassandra will be caring for her sister's children every Monday starting February 10th. How can she update her availability so her managers do not roster her?
Through her Employee App, Cassandra can update her ongoing availability by setting herself as unavailable on Mondays starting from February 10th.
This will keep her marked as unavailable for work every Monday until she decides to change her ongoing availability again.
For information on updating your ongoing availability, please refer to Updating your Availability here.
Once off availability
Applying for once off availability is similar to requesting leave. You'll use this type of availability when you need to request a specific span off days off. Unlike the other type of availability, with once-off availability, you'll submit a request that requires your manager's approval.
When submitting your once off availability request, you can request a single, partial, or multiple days off.
Common use cases when you would update your once off availability include:
- Special events (weddings, anniversaries etc)
- Weekends away
- Upcoming medical appointments
- School events
Let's look at one of these use cases in more detail.
Eleni's partner has organised a romantic day for her on Valentine's Day. How can she ask her managers for this day off?
Eleni can submit an availability request through her Employee App, informing that she is unavailable on February 14th.
This request will be sent to her manager to be approved or declined. Eleni will receive notification of the decision via email or SMS.
- If her request is declined, her manager can roster her for February 14th, so she should check her upcoming shifts.
For information on updating your once off availability, please take a look at Updating your Availability here.
Checking your availability
We recommend keeping your availability up to date so that your rostering managers know when you're free to work. This helps them see all the hours you're free to take on shifts or when they're planning rosters.
Where you update your availability may change depending on whether you're a new or existing employee on the platform. Let's explore both below.
New Employees
If you're new to foundU or have just registered, your employer may request your availability during onboarding.
This request is optional for your employers to include; once you become an employee, it is best practice for you to review and update your ongoing availability.
Current employees
Current employees can access their availability from the quick menu > Time Off > Availability.
The Availability page serves as the main area for all availability-related needs. From here, you can:
- Update your Availability (both Ongoing and Once Off).
-
Review your ongoing availability for the current week and any upcoming changes by selecting the Review button.
Note: This option will appear only if there’s an upcoming change to your ongoing availability. - View a history of your Once Off Availability requests and confirm their status:
- Pending - The request is awaiting manager review.
- Approved - The request has been accepted.
- Declined - The request was unsuccessful.