Overview: The Availability feature allows Administrators, Managers, and Employees to set preferred or unavailable work hours for a specific day, week, month, or year.
Important! The Scheduling Add-On is required to access Availability. More information about what's included in the Scheduling Add-On here.
Instructions:
Enable Availability
1. To enable Availability, start by clicking Settings in the top navigation, followed by Scheduling:
2. If it's not already enabled, check the box next to Enable Scheduling and Save once done:
3. With Scheduling enabled, scroll down and check the box next to Enable Availability and Save:
4. If you want employees to enter their own availability, then proceed to the next section.
If you want Managers to add availability for their assigned workers, click here instead.
Set Employee Availability Permissions
1. Once Availability has been enabled, you can specify which employees can access their availability from the Settings --> Scheduling page by checking the box next to Allow Employees to access their own availability, and then clicking Save:
2. You can then update employee availability permissions to:
Can Edit Availability
Can View Availability
No Availability Access
—in bulk by selecting the radio button at the top of a column header or the radio button on a per-employee basis:
3. After you've made the proper selections, click Save:
4. If you want Managers to add availability for their assigned workers, then proceed to the next section.
Set Manager Availability Permissions
1. Once Availability has been enabled, you can specify which Managers can enter or view availability for assigned employees.
To set manager permissions, start by clicking Employees in the top navigation:
2. Then, click View next to the name of a manager. You can reference the Manager column to see who is a manager quickly:
3. Once in the manager's profile, click Employees assigned from the left-hand menu, then within that section, click Edit Assignment:
4. You can then update Manager Availability Permissions to:
Edit—They can add, edit, or delete availability for assigned workers.
View—They can only view availability for assigned workers.
None—They can not view or add, edit, or delete availability for assigned workers.
—in bulk by clicking Select All at the top of a column header or by clicking the individual buttons on a per-employee basis:
5. After making the proper selections, click Save when done:
6. You'll be taken back to the manager's profile, where you'll see their updated Availability Permissions:
How to Add Availability (Web)
Once Availability has been enabled from the website, Administrators can add preferred or unavailable work hours to employees.
1. To add Availability from the website, start by clicking Schedule in the top navigation, followed by Availability:
2. Once on the Availability page, click an open spot on the calendar where you'd like to add availability:
3. Doing so will populate an availability creation box where you can specify the availability:
Date
Type (Unavailable or Preferred)
Range (All Day or From/To a specific time)
Repeat Duration
Location, Department or Position (If available)
And add a note if needed. Save once done:
4. After saving, you'll be taken back to the Availability page, where you can see the newly added preferred or unavailable work hours:
5. If you head to the Schedule page, you'll be able to see the availability as a light grey box, intended to give you availability preferences at a glance:
6. If you create a shift on a day where availability has been added, you will be able to reference their preferred or unavailable work hours to ensure the schedule aligns with employee preferences:
Important! Want to get notified if a schedule is attempted to be published that overlaps with an employee's unavailable time? More information here.
How to Add Availability (App)
Once Availability has been enabled from the website, Administrators can add preferred or unavailable work hours to employees from the Buddy Punch mobile app.
1. After logging into the app, click Availability in the bottom navigation. (Left image below)
2. On the Availability page, click the + button in the top right-hand corner. (Middle image below)
3. This will take you to the Add Availability page, where you will want to start by clicking the Choose Employee dropdown and making a selection. (Right image below)
4. After choosing an employee name, you can then specify the Availability:
Date
Type (Unavailable or Preferred)
Range (All Day or From/To a specific time)
Location, Department or Position (If available)
And add a note if needed. Save once done. (Left image below)
5. After saving, you'll be taken back to the Availability page, where you can see the newly added availability. (Middle image below)
6. If a note was entered, it will be indicated by an ( i ) icon. Click it to expand the note. (Right image below)
7. Now when adding a shift on a day where availability is set, preferred or unavailable work hours will be readily visible (Left image below), along with any notes that were included with the availability, as noted by an ( i ) icon. (Right image below)
FAQ
Q: Why don't I see Scheduling in the Settings menu?
A: Scheduling is required to access the Availability feature. More information about what's included in the Scheduling Add-On here.
Q: Can management get notified if schedules are created that overlap with an employee's unavailable time?
A: Yes, Administrators and Managers can get notified if a shift that was created overlaps unavailable work hours. More information here.