Free employee availability template (Excel)
Collect and track staff availability to inform your rostering decisions. Perfect for casual workforces, businesses with varying schedules, and pre-rostering planning.
Employee availability template
Excel format (.xlsx) • Ready to download
No signup required. Works with Excel and Google Sheets.
This employee availability template is a general planning tool only. It records what staff tell you about their availability and does not calculate wages, penalties, overtime or award entitlements. For pay-aware scheduling and compliance support, use dedicated rostering software and check your obligations with Fair Work. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
What's in this template
Comprehensive weekly availability tracking
Employee name & contact
Full name and contact details so you know whose availability each form belongs to.
Day of week rows
Monday through Sunday rows to capture a full weekly availability pattern at a glance.
Available / unavailable
A clear yes/no status for every day so you can see who can work before you roster.
Preferred hours
Start and end time preferences — schedule people into their ideal windows when you can.
Notes column
Space for study, childcare, a second job or other commitments behind each answer.
One sheet per employee
Keep each person’s availability on its own tab so responses stay tidy and easy to compare.
How staff complete the form
Each employee fills in their weekly availability, marking the days they can and cannot work. The preferred hours column helps you schedule people during their ideal times where possible, and the notes column captures the commitments behind each answer.
| Day | Available? | Preferred hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Yes | 9am – 5pm | |
| Tuesday | Yes | Any time | |
| Wednesday | No | - | Uni classes |
| Thursday | Yes | After 2pm | School pickup before 2pm |
How to collect employee availability in Excel
Four steps to a process that actually works
1. Choose your method
Decide how staff will respond — a shared Google Sheet they edit, a Microsoft/Google Form, or this recurring Excel template emailed each cycle.
2. Standardise the form
Capture the same fields every time: name, contact, exact times available and unavailable per day, plus a notes column for context.
3. Set a clear deadline
Give a firm submission cutoff (e.g. Friday 5pm for next week) so you have every response in hand before you start building the roster.
4. Request regular updates
Ask staff to resubmit weekly or fortnightly as their commitments change, then carry the latest answers into your roster.
Prefer to skip the setup? The free template above already has the layout built in. For a fuller process, read our guide to designing roster templates.
How to use this template
Collect availability in four quick steps
Download
Grab the Excel file — no signup, opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Send to staff
Email or print a copy for each employee to complete.
Collect responses
Gather completed forms by your deadline and check for gaps.
Build the roster
Use the availability data to schedule people into shifts they can actually work.
Who uses this template
Ideal for managing flexible workforces
Casual workforces
Track availability that changes week to week across a casual team
Pre-rostering planning
Collect availability before you start building next cycle’s schedule
New staff onboarding
Capture availability from day one as new starters join the team
Once availability is in, our guide on managing staff availability shows how to turn those responses into a fair, well-covered roster.
When email and spreadsheets stop keeping up
Collecting availability by email and spreadsheet works for small teams. But as you grow, chasing responses, consolidating data and cross-referencing it with your roster becomes a time sink. RosterElf lets staff set their own availability in-app, then warns you the moment a shift clashes with it — so you build the roster around real availability, automatically.
Rostering guides
Plan smarter shifts with these how-to guides
How to manage staff availability
A step-by-step guide to collecting, tracking and acting on staff availability without the email chaos.
Read the guideHow to create a staff roster
Turn availability into a roster that balances coverage, cost and fairness.
Read the guideHow to manage shift swaps
Handle swaps and coverage gaps when availability changes after the roster is out.
Read the guideRelated templates
Explore more free roster templates
Employee availability template FAQ
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The simplest method is to give every staff member a standard form to fill in — name, contact, the exact times they are available and unavailable each day, and a notes column for context. You can do this with a recurring Excel sheet (like this free template), a Google or Microsoft Form, or scheduling software that lets staff update availability from their phones. Set a clear submission deadline and ask staff to resubmit regularly as their commitments change. Our guide on managing staff availability walks through each option.
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Put the employee’s name and contact at the top, list Monday to Sunday down the first column, then add columns for available/unavailable, preferred hours and notes. Use one tab per employee so responses stay separate and easy to compare. This free template comes pre-built with that exact layout — or follow the step-by-step section above to build your own. For layout tips see our guide to designing roster templates.
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Yes — it downloads instantly with no signup or email required, and you are free to edit it to suit your team. Browse the rest of our free roster templates if you need a different layout, like a weekly staff roster.
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Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or copy the layout into a new sheet. Sharing it as a Google Sheet means staff can update their availability directly, which saves you collecting separate files.
Before you download
General information only — not legal advice
This document is a general HR template provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the latest changes in legislation or apply to every workplace situation. RosterElf Pty Ltd and the template provider accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this document. Users should seek independent legal advice and customise the template to ensure it complies with all relevant laws, awards and workplace requirements.