Managing Candidate Availability in the Temp Workflow

Firefish allows you to manage candidate availability directly from their candidate record or while scheduling shifts within a Temp Job.

Availability is candidate-wide, meaning any changes made from a Temp Job's Availability Pool also update the candidate's overall availability. This helps prevent overlapping bookings and ensures recruiters have an accurate view of when a candidate can work.

This article explains how to record availability statuses, manage recurring unavailability and understand rest periods and scheduling restrictions.

Contents

• Understanding Candidate Availability
• Viewing Availability on the Candidate Record
• Adding Availability Statuses
• Managing Recurring Availability
• Managing Availability from a Temp Job
• Understanding Rest Periods
• Understanding Scheduling Restrictions
• Searching for Available Candidates 
• Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding Candidate Availability

Candidate availability can be managed from two locations in Firefish:

Location	When to use it
Candidate Record > Availability	Manage a candidate's overall availability, including holidays, sickness and regular unavailable periods.
Temp Job > Availability Pool	Check and update candidate availability while planning or assigning shifts for a particular job.

Both locations update the same underlying candidate availability information.

Important: If you record a Holiday, Sick or Not Available status from a Temp Job, it updates the candidate's overall availability and is reflected across their other Temp Jobs. You do not need to record the same absence against every job.

Viewing Availability on the Candidate Record

The candidate record provides an overall view of a candidate's availability and scheduled commitments.

To view availability:

1. Open the relevant Candidate Record.
2. Select the Availability tab.
3. Review the candidate's schedule, including existing availability statuses and temporary shifts.

This is the recommended place to manage general availability, particularly when a candidate works across several Temp Jobs.

For example, if a candidate advises they are on holiday next week, you can record this directly against their candidate record rather than opening each Temp Job.

Adding Availability Statuses

Availability statuses allow you to record periods when a candidate cannot work or has another commitment.

Firefish supports the following statuses:

Status	Purpose
Holiday	Candidate is on annual leave or holiday.
Sick	Candidate is unavailable due to sickness.
Will Call In	Candidate is expected to call regarding their availability.
Rest	Candidate is unavailable during a rest period.
Not Available	Candidate is unavailable for another reason.
AWOL	Record an absence without leave.
Compliance Breach	Record unavailability relating to a compliance issue.

To add an availability status from the candidate record:

1. Open the candidate's Availability tab.
2. Select the relevant date or time on their availability schedule.
3. In the Add a Status window, choose the required status.
4. Enter the From Date/Time and To Date/Time.
5. Save the status.

The status is added to the candidate's availability and is visible when reviewing their schedule from a Temp Job.

Example: Recording a holiday

A candidate advises that they are unavailable from Monday to Wednesday.

Select Holiday and enter the relevant start and end dates and times.

Firefish records the absence against the candidate, so recruiters managing their other Temp Jobs can see that they are unavailable.

Important: Availability statuses cannot overlap existing shifts or other availability statuses. Review any conflicting commitments before saving an unavailable period.

Managing Recurring Availability

If a candidate has a regular pattern of unavailability, you can create a recurring status instead of entering each occurrence individually.

For example, a candidate may be unavailable every Tuesday or every other weekend.

To add recurring availability:

1. Open the candidate's Availability tab.
2. Select the required date or time to open Add a Status.
3. Choose the status and enter the start and end times.
4. Enable Recurring.
5. Configure the recurrence settings:
   • Frequency: How often the status repeats, measured in weeks.
   • Days: Which days of the week the status applies to.
   • End Date: When the recurring pattern should stop.
6. Save the recurring status.

Example: Weekly unavailability

A candidate is unavailable every Monday morning.

Create a recurring Not Available status, select Monday and enter the relevant times.

Firefish adds the recurring unavailable periods to their schedule, and these are reflected when managing the candidate across Temp Jobs.

Managing Availability from a Temp Job

You can also review and update availability while working within a Temp Job.

This is useful when planning shifts and a candidate advises you of a change to their availability.

To access availability from a Temp Job:

1. Open the relevant Temp Job.
2. Select the Availability Pool stage.
3. Switch between Calendar View and List View to review candidates and their availability.

Adding a status from a Temp Job

1. Open the Availability Pool.
2. Switch to List View.
3. Select the relevant date or time against the candidate.
4. In Add a Status, choose the required status.
5. Enter the From and To dates and times.
6. Save your changes.

Important: Any status added here also updates the candidate's overall availability. It is not limited to the Temp Job you are working on.

For example, if a candidate reports sickness while you are planning shifts for one client, recording Sick in that job's Availability Pool makes the absence visible across their other Temp Jobs.

Calendar and List Views

The Availability Pool provides two ways to review candidate availability.

• Calendar View: Provides a visual overview of candidate availability and scheduled shifts.
• List View: Allows you to review availability across selected dates and times and add statuses.

Within Calendar View, you can also reorder candidates by dragging them into your preferred order. Changes are saved automatically and are reflected in both views.

Understanding Rest Periods

Firefish can automatically apply rest periods following confirmed shifts to help prevent scheduling conflicts.

Rest requirements are configurable and can include:

Restriction	Behaviour
Minimum rest between shifts	Adds a rest period after a confirmed shift based on the configured duration.
Consecutive working days	Applies a longer rest period once the configured consecutive-working-day limit is reached.
Overnight shifts	Calculates rest from the actual shift finish time, including shifts crossing midnight.

For example, if a candidate finishes an overnight shift at 06:00 and a nine-hour rest period applies, their rest period ends at 15:00 that day.

Rest periods are reflected in the candidate's overall availability, helping recruiters avoid assigning shifts that conflict with their configured rest requirements.

Note: The exact rest duration and consecutive-working-day restrictions depend on your agency's configuration.

Understanding Scheduling Restrictions

When assigning candidates to shifts, Firefish checks their availability and existing commitments.

If the proposed shift conflicts with an existing booking, unavailable period or scheduling requirement, the candidate may be prevented from being assigned.

Common reasons include:

Restriction	What to check
Holiday, Sick or Not Available	The candidate has an availability status overlapping the proposed shift.
Existing Shift	The candidate is already assigned to a shift at the same time.
Rest Period	The shift overlaps a mandatory rest period.
Consecutive Working Days	The assignment would exceed the configured consecutive-day restriction.
Compliance Requirements	The candidate does not meet the required compliance conditions for the shift.
Rest Conflict	A rest period generated by the proposed shift would overlap another commitment.

If a candidate is unavailable, check their overall schedule on the candidate record or within the Temp Job's Availability Pool.

Where a status has been recorded incorrectly, it should be amended or removed before attempting to assign the shift.

For more information about allocating candidates and resolving assignment restrictions, see Assigning Candidates to Temp Shifts.

Searching for Available Candidates 

You can search for candidates who are available on specific dates and times. This helps you find candidates for upcoming shifts without checking each candidate's schedule individually.

Search results use the candidate-wide availability recorded on the candidate record and in the Availability Pool, together with your default availability assumption and the candidate's compliance.

To search for available candidates:

• Open Advanced Search for candidates.
• In the Availability search, enter the dates you want to search.
• To search for a set time on each day, select Specific Time and enter the start and end times.
• Choose whether to Include Weekends.
• Choose whether to Include Partial Matches.
• Select Search.

Option	What it does
Dates	The period you want candidates to be available for.
Specific Time	Limits the search to set times on each day, such as 09:00 to 17:30.
Include Weekends	Includes Saturdays and Sundays in the dates searched.
Include Partial Matches	Includes candidates who are available for some, but not all, of the period searched.

Firefish returns candidates who are available at those times, and the Availability column shows whether each candidate is available for all or part of the period.

The Availability Column

The Availability column is now a standard column in all candidate search results. It shows each candidate's availability for the dates and times searched.

The results of the availability column show:

• Green: Available
• Orange:  Partially Available 
• Purple: On Rest - Partially Available 
• White: Unknown
• Red: Not Available

Why a candidate shows as Not Available

Availability search results reflect anything that would prevent the candidate from being added to a shift. Common reasons include:

Reason	What to check
No Availability Status	The candidate has no status for the period and your default availability assumption is set to Unavailable. Record an available status for the candidate, or review your default availability.
Unavailable Status	The candidate has a status that blocks shifts during the period searched, such as Not Available.
Compliance	The candidate is non-compliant. Once their compliance details are updated, they show as available.

For more information about default availability and availability statuses, see the candidate availability settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I record candidate holidays and sickness on the candidate record or within a Temp Job?

Either option works. For general availability, we recommend using the candidate record. When managing shifts for a particular job, you can record the status directly from the Availability Pool.

Both locations update the candidate's overall availability.

If I record a Holiday against one Temp Job, will it appear against the candidate's other jobs?

Yes. Availability statuses are candidate-wide, so an absence recorded from one Temp Job is reflected across their other Temp Jobs.

Can I record availability for part of a day?

Yes. Use the From Date/Time and To Date/Time fields to specify the unavailable period.

Can I create recurring unavailable periods?

Yes. Enable Recurring when adding a status, then configure the frequency, days and end date.

Can I add an availability status that overlaps an existing shift?

No. Availability statuses cannot overlap existing shifts or other statuses. Review the existing commitment before adding the unavailable period.

Does Firefish automatically add rest periods?

Yes. Rest periods are applied following confirmed shifts based on your agency's configured rest requirements.

Why can't I assign a candidate to a shift?

Check for overlapping shifts, unavailable periods, rest restrictions or compliance requirements. Review the candidate's Availability tab to identify the conflict.