Employee availability form for a small team

Collect the days and times each person can work, the date that pattern starts and any exceptions. Keep this information separate from assigned shifts: someone saying they are available on Tuesday has not been scheduled to work that day.

Download the weekly form and exceptions sheet (Excel). Make one copy per person. The weekly sheet contains a row for each day; a second sheet records dated changes. Blank fields mean the information has not been provided.

What should an availability form include?

Include the person's name, the relevant location, the time zone, the effective date and the date submitted. Record times as ranges with an explicit start and end. Ask for only the information needed to plan work; private reasons for an unavailable period do not belong in a shared team calendar.

Use a status for each day: Available, Unavailable or Not provided. This prevents a blank Tuesday from being mistaken for permission to schedule any hours. A person who is available for only part of a day should enter the time window instead of selecting the whole day.

Weekly availability template

Here is a fictional example for one employee. These entries describe possible working periods, not an assigned schedule.

Resolve Thursday with the person before using the pattern. Keep the two Monday periods separate; filling the gap would imply availability that was never offered. The workbook has two period fields per row, and another row can represent additional periods for the same day.

How to collect staff availability

1. Send the blank form with a clear return date and the period you are planning.
2. Ask each person to enter their recurring pattern and known exceptions.
3. Check missing days, overlapping periods and ambiguous end times with that person.
4. Record the date you reviewed the information.
5. Keep the current version in the place managers use when planning work.

Use one collection process for everyone. Mixing handwritten notes, private messages and several emailed files makes it difficult to tell which version is current. Give people a way to ask for a correction after submitting the form.

Use a staff availability spreadsheet

Keep the workbook with the people who need it to plan staffing, and choose one owner to update the current copy. Use list validation for the day status so everyone uses the same words.

The file is an editable record, not a scheduling system. If you share it through a file service, check the service's sharing permissions. Worksheet protection can help prevent accidental edits, but Microsoft explains that it is not a security feature. It does not replace control over who can open the file.

Availability vs schedule

Availability describes when a person says they can work. A schedule assigns actual work periods. Store hours describe when the location is open to customers. Keep all three visible as distinct records when deciding coverage.

A store might open at 10:00 while a team member can work from 08:00. That does not automatically create an early shift. Likewise, a period outside public opening hours might be used for setup if the manager explicitly schedules it under the business's normal process.

Record an availability change request

Ask the person for the new pattern, its start date and whether the change is temporary or ongoing. Keep the previous version until the new one has been reviewed and takes effect. Tell the person which record is now being used.

Changing availability does not by itself change an already assigned shift or approve time off. Resolve those through the business's separate scheduling and leave processes. The form should help people identify a conflict early rather than imply a decision has already been made.

Handle one-off availability exceptions

Use a dated entry when one day differs from the normal week. Record whether the person is unavailable or has replacement time windows for that date. Agree whether the exception replaces the whole day's usual pattern; the template assumes that it does.

For example, someone normally available on Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 might enter 13:00 to 17:00 for one specific Friday. The manager should use that shorter window on that date and the regular pattern on later Fridays.

Check split availability periods

Record each uninterrupted window separately. Avoid overlaps such as 09:00 to 13:00 and 12:00 to 16:00. Ask the person to confirm whether they meant one continuous period or two distinct ones before changing the entry.

For overnight windows, state the dates on both sides of midnight or split the window across the two days. A single unexplained "22:00 to 02:00" entry is easy to assign to the wrong date during a quick review.

Set an availability time zone

Use a named zone such as America/Denver when locations span regions. A bare time such as 09:00 does not tell a remote manager which local clock applies. Confirm the zone before comparing windows across stores, and review it if the employee's normal working location changes.

Where headoffis fits

headoffis is coming soon. Availability supports a repeating weekly pattern and dated exceptions; Store hours holds the location's separate opening calendar. Employees can edit their own availability, and authorized managers can manage the broader calendars. These features do not assign shifts or approve leave.

Use the form alongside the daily store routine and location task guide. Join the waitlist for launch news.

← All posts