Create requests or change your availability

Creating time-off or want-to-work requests and changing your availability to work is easy with TimeForge!

Staff requests are immediately sent to management for manager approval, and you will receive notifications through TimeForge and email when your request is approved or denied.

In many restaurants, retail businesses, and other industries, staff members are required to work with two different concepts for work preferences:

1. Availability is when you are normally available to work. For example, you may be available on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 8am - 2pm. Perhaps you are not available to work on Tuesdays or Thursdays because of school conflicts or another job. Availability sheets are typically passed out on a continuous basis (school semesters are common) and are filled out by staff members.
2. Requests are normally one-time changes to your normal availability. For example, you may be available next Tuesday to work because your professor canceled class. In many locations, requests are placed in some sort of log book - either an industry specific manager log (such as a Red Book from Red Book Solutions or a Beat Yesterday book) or a simple spiral notebook or binder.

TimeForge supports both types of work preferences from a single Availability & Requests page. Recurring requests can be be made within TimeForge, similar to an Availability sheet, and individual daily Requests can also be made within TimeForge.

TimeForge supports 4 different types of Availability and Requests that enable staff members to easily customize their work schedule:

• Available to work. By default, you are always available and can be scheduled to work. Create either Wants to work, Does not want to work, or Unavailable to work requests to change your availability. Each of these types is explained below.
• Wants to work. If you would like to work a particular shift, for example on a day that works well with your schedule, create a Wants to work request.
• Does not want to work. These requests indicate that you would prefer to not work but can work if required.
• Unavailable to work. If you cannot work, an Unavailable to work request will ensure that you are not placed on the schedule during this time frame.

While logged in, select the Requests tab in the left side menu.

The Request Calendar shows the current week and any requests or availability that have been made, both approved and pending. You can navigate around this page by clicking on the Previous Week or Next Week buttons. Alternatively, you can use the date selector (centered between the Previous/Next buttons) to jump directly to the work day of your choosing.

To create a request or update your availability, click on the date links above each column on the calendar, or click and drag your mouse over the date and times you want to adjust. This will open a pop-up window, allowing you to fill out the details of your availability request.

After clicking on a date on the Calendar, the above pop-up will be displayed.

1. Choose the appropriate request (Wants to work, Available to work, Does not want to work, or Unavailable to work).
2. Enter a reason for management to review, and if necessary.
3. The Happens selection can be modified so that the request can happen:
   • One time:  The request occurs only once on the start date
   • Daily:  The request occurs every day between a start date and end date
   • Every weekday (Mon - Fri):  The request happens on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
   • Every weekend (Sat - Sun):  The request happens on Saturday’s and Sunday’s in between the start date and the end date
   • Every Mon, Wed, and Fri:  The request occurs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s in between the start date and the end date
   • Every Tue and Thurs:  The request occurs on Tuesday and Thursday’s in between the start date and the end date
   • Weekly:  You can pick which days of the week the request occurs on
   • Monthly:  The request can occur either monthly or based on the day of the month.

TimeForge will also allow you to make a request for specific parts of the day.  You can enter your own time range by unselecting the checkbox that says All Day.

Managers can require that all requests and availability changes be made several days in advance, to ensure that the labor schedule is not disrupted. In this example, requests must be made at least 7 days in advance, and TimeForge will not allow you to continue:

After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.

Request time off

This article will show you how to request time off in TimeForge using a Leave Type. The Leave Types you have access to will depend on your company’s rules regarding PTO (for example, they might offer a week’s worth of paid leave after your first year, or you might be required to accrue your leave over time based on the number of hours you worked). Leave types can be paid or unpaid, accrued or not.

If your employer requires you to submit PTO requests a certain number of days in advance, TimeForge will automatically let you know if you try to create a request that does not meet the requirements.

You can either use the date selector in the middle of the page or the Next Week button to the right. Many businesses require employees to submit their requests at least a week in advance.

When you’ve found the right date, you can either:

1. Click the link at the top of the appropriate column, or
2. Select a time period by dragging the cursor between two times (e.g. 1PM and 5PM, to request a half day).

If you are using a leave type, such as PTO or some other accrued leave, make sure you select it in the drop down menu. You will only be able to view and select leave types for which you are eligible.

Be sure to fill out the rest of the form, then click the Next button to submit your request. Your manager will be notified of the pending request, and you will be able to see and edit the request both on your Today page as well as under Requests.

Edit or delete an availability or time off request

Editing and deleting requests and changing availability is easy with TimeForge! Prior to manager approval, Pending Requests can be edited or deleted. After a request is approved by management, you cannot edit the request, but you may delete it.

Requests that are pending manager approval can be seen on your Request Calendar with a small caution icon next to them. These requests may also be edited or deleted.

Click the Edit link to bring up the request form.

If you have made a mistake in the request, you can edit or delete the request from this screen, prior to manager approval.

After a request or change to availability has been made, you can see the request and status on your Today page.