Availability & Unavailability
Manage employee availability constraints and unavailability requests in WoPora.
Availability & Unavailability
The Availability module lets employees declare when they cannot work, and lets managers review and approve these constraints before scheduling. Navigate to Dashboard -> Unavailability (manager view) or use the Staff Portal (employee view).
What is Unavailability?
Unavailability is a recurring or one-off constraint that tells the scheduler an employee cannot be rostered during a specific time. Unlike leave requests, unavailability does not consume leave balance --- it is purely a scheduling constraint.
Unavailability Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Submitted by the employee, awaiting manager review |
| Approved | Accepted --- the scheduler will respect this constraint |
| Declined | Not accepted --- employee can still be rostered during this time |
How Employees Submit Unavailability
Employees submit through the Staff Portal:
- Log in to the Staff Portal and go to My Availability
- Click Add Unavailability
- Set the type: One-off (specific dates) or Recurring (repeating pattern)
- Set the time range and add a note
- Submit
Manager Approval View
- Go to Dashboard -> Unavailability
- The Pending tab lists all outstanding requests
- Click a request to see the employee, dates/times, and their note
- Click Approve or Decline (provide a reason if declining)
Approved unavailability shows as a constraint in the scheduler --- the employee will not appear as available for those times.
Recurring Unavailability
Recurring constraints are powerful for employees with fixed commitments --- e.g., every Wednesday afternoon. Managers can set an end date when approving so the constraint expires automatically.
Availability Overview
The Availability Overview at Dashboard -> Unavailability -> Calendar shows a colour-coded view of all approved unavailability across the organisation or filtered by team/location. Review this before building the weekly roster.