Feature Request: Allow staff to mark when they are not available + request time or days off

[spencerlynn]

The title of this post has been edited from the original: New timecards - is there time off?

We are enjoying the new scheduling features on the Team App - but my staff need to be able to request specific days off - not just every Thursday. Or I need to be able to block "OFF" days with a specific date and time. Is this possible?

[JustinC]

Hi, I just looked at the timeline for this launch, it's a gradual rollout and will be available to all Team Plus,  Square Payroll, Restaurants Plus, Retail Plus, and Appointments for Team subscribers. It's expected to rollout 100% by the end of next week. 

Hang tight! @KennedysCoffee @snoproblems

[catskingdomNH]

HI I am definitely looking for this feature? I need to be able to make my own comments on certain days off especially future needs on specific days... Thanks

[JoeCravin]

Our employees are changing their availability in the middle of the schedule when they want time off.  They are basically giving themselves time off without requesting/being granted time off.  Availability changes need to be allowed during certain times or entered by a manager.  My employees are trying to run my business.  I am spending more time on the schedule than ever before.

[moxiecoffee]

@JustinC - A few months ago you said "It's expected to rollout 100% by the end of the week." However, I'm still not seeing it on our end. We'll probably have to go back to When I Work if Square doesn't have the option to request time off. That's probably the single most important feature in scheduling (having run coffee shops for 10 years). How can we possibly get this to work? Someone said I can sign up for beta and that feature exists there?

[RS6]

Yes!  We need the ability to request blocks of time off vs. whole day. For example, if they can't work on March 2 in the morning due to a dr appt but are available the rest of the day.  Would be nice if we could copy one entire week's schedule to the next week (rather than repeating a certain employee every Monday or Tuesday).  

[moxiecoffee]

@JustinC any update on this? It's been over 6 months and we haven't seen this feature. Is it available yet? Why or why not? I've kept my subscription in hopes that it would be rolled out, but nothing?

[JJ_]

Hey there @RS6 and @moxiecoffee 

I believe what you're looking for has already been released and is available with Shift Scheduling. 

Here's how to accomplish Time Off Requests: 

Team Plus provides your team the option to request time off directly from the Square Team app for any unpublished schedules. Once a team member requests time off, you’ll receive an email notification, as well as a notification in your online Square Dashboard. From here, you can approve or decline the request, and the team member will receive an alert letting them know your decision. You’ll also receive a notification if another team member already has approved time off within the same time frame as someone else. To get started with time off requests, have your team member(s):

1. Log in to the Team app and tap More.

2. Tap Time off  > Request time off.

3. Use the date selector to choose the appropriate time frame for the time off request, and add a note under the Reason section.

4. Tap Request off.

Team members can monitor their requests, as well as cancel any pending or approved requests, by visiting the same section of the Square Team app. 

Note: Team members cannot request time off for schedules that have already been published.

To approve or decline time off requests made by your team members:

1. Visit the Shifts section of your online Square Dashboard, then select Schedule > Shifts.

2. Click the “...” button and select Requests.

3. Click Review request to view the details of the time off request and click either Decline or Approve. You’ll also have the option to leave a note.

4. Once you approve or decline the request, the team member who sent the request will receive an email notification as well as a push notification from the Square Team app if they have them enabled.

You can also approve or decline requests directly from any in-progress schedule — just click on the shift you want to edit to open the Shift details screen. Prior to publishing, you’ll receive a notification if any outstanding time off requests need to be approved or declined. You can choose to individually approve or decline these requests or automatically decline all pending requests.

Note: If plans change, you can easily cancel a time off request that’s already been approved — just click into the shift block with the approved time off and select Cancel

I hope this information is helpful!

[mooretoys]

When an employee is telling me about a vacation or a long period of time they won't be available, I'd like to be able to add that to the schedule (I could do this in HomeBase and am just now converting to Square shifts, so I might just have to stay with HomeBase  because of some of the missing functionality, especially since I had my schedule built through the summer and don't want to have to go back to my employees and ask them to re-request time off.)

[deballen]

This post is pretty old, why hasnt it been addressed, I too need to be able to mark them unavailable. More work to have to circle back when they're scheduled and then have to change it! Please program this function! THANK YOU!

edit--just saw the post about having employees request it off through the app--not everyone is app savvy, and i constantly have to walk the older employees through it...some of them even have flippy-phones.... Would still be great if we can block them out on our end, especially if there's other reasons beside their time requests...