Bring leave and availability into scheduling
Instead of collecting availability in one place and building the schedule somewhere else, Workforce Manager keeps these workforce constraints close to the rota.
Record availability before building the rota
Employee availability belongs close to scheduling. Instead of reconstructing who can work from messages, notes or separate spreadsheets, managers can use availability information while preparing shifts. Keeping it current gives the schedule a clearer picture of when an employee is available or unavailable.
Use approved leave as a hard scheduling constraint
Once leave is approved, Workforce Manager can prevent the employee from being intentionally assigned during that absence. This applies to manual planning decisions and is especially important for auto scheduling, where approved leave is treated as a hard constraint rather than a preference that can be ignored to fill coverage.
Keep leave visible across work locations
Employees who work at more than one location should not need to submit the same absence separately for every workplace. Approved leave can remain company-wide even while schedules, open shifts and many day-to-day views are filtered to a selected work location. This helps another location avoid scheduling an employee who is already on approved leave.
Review requests before they affect staffing
Managers can review employee requests and make a decision before the schedule is finalised. The goal is to make absence information visible early enough to adjust coverage, use another eligible employee or leave an open shift when necessary. Approved and rejected requests do not need to remain mixed indefinitely with items that still require attention.
Combine availability with other scheduling rules
Availability is only one part of a safe rota. Workforce Manager can consider it alongside role eligibility, contracted hours, employment percentage, existing shifts, rest patterns and workplace staffing requirements. Auto scheduling should never exceed a hard contracted-hours limit simply because another employee is unavailable.
Give employees a clearer view of their requests
Employees can use their own account to see schedule-related requests and approved leave without needing manager access. This creates a clearer record of what has been requested and what has been approved, while the manager remains responsible for the final staffing decision.