Plan Around What People Can Actually Work.
Availability captures when each worker can and can't work. Workers submit it from the app — by hour, by day, or by whole weeks — and can save recurring patterns so they don't have to re-mark every Tuesday off. Full-timers who are basically always available flip a single 'always available' switch instead. As you build the schedule, the calendar overlays availability on every potential assignment: green where the person is free, red where they've said no, grey where they haven't said. You stop assigning shifts to people who can't work them, and they stop having to remind you why they can't.
What Each Side Sees.
Submit once, update anytime.
Mark hours, days, or whole weeks as available or unavailable. Save patterns that repeat — Tuesdays off, every other Sunday, no shifts before 10am. 'Always available' mode for full-timers who don't need to mark every week. Update from the app whenever life changes.
Overlap visible as you plan.
When you assign a shift, the calendar tells you immediately whether the person flagged that slot as unavailable. Color-coded overlay: green where they're free, red where they're not, grey where they haven't said. Filter the calendar to show only available people for a given slot.