Vacancy Requests — The Formal Vacancy Lifecycle
Vacancy Requests — The Formal Lifecycle
A Vacancy Request is a formal record of "I need extra hours of cover for these dates". It's heavier-weight than an Open Shift broadcast because it goes through an approval lifecycle and ties back to budget tracking.
When to use it (vs Open Shift broadcast)
| Use Vacancy Request when… | Use Open Shift broadcast when… |
|---|---|
| Pre-planned cover for a specific event (conference, secondment, parental leave) | Last-minute sick-call cover |
| Backfill for an approved leave block you can't cover from existing staff | Optional overtime / pickup |
| Your org's financial controls require a documented vacancy before agency / overtime spend | Quick fill where budget is already approved |
Where to find it
Two entry points:
- Living Roster → top bar → Vacancy Management panel
- Shift Deck → top → + New Vacancy Request
Step-by-step — raise a Vacancy Request
- Open the Vacancy Request modal.
- Fill in:
- Stream and shift pattern
- Dates — single or range
- Required Craft Group and scopes
- Reason (free text, required — used in budget reporting)
- Approver — usually your line manager or operations admin
- Submit.
The approver is notified. They can Approve, Reject, or Request changes.
What happens after approval
The vacancy automatically appears in:
- Vacancy Planning (Level 2) — added to demand
- Living Roster — empty cell with a 🏷️ vacancy tag
- Shift Deck — broadcast to eligible staff for claim
- Cost Monitoring — counted in projected overtime / agency spend
Tips & common mistakes
- Don't use Vacancy Requests for routine fill — that's what Master Roster + IRIS are for.
- Be specific in the reason field — it's the audit trail your finance team will read ("Cover for RN Smith parental leave 1 Jun – 30 Aug" beats "extra cover").
- Pick the right approver. Some orgs route certain craft groups through different approvers (e.g. doctor cover through a senior medical officer).