Archived Changing Availability

[Owl]

Can/will they fire me for reducing the amount of hours I work? I'm one of about four people that is trained in Market and I usually get between 25 and 32 hours a week (by request, I used to get 38-39). I will have to change my availability in August to accommodate school, but I want to change it sooner to reduce the amount of shifts I have with my least favorite LOD and honestly because I just want less hours for the summer... So I'm thinking about saying I can't close weekends and the night that the LOD I hate always closes. Will they fire me for taking away the days I usually work? Or will they just switch me out of market and give the other market people my hours?

I hope this post makes sense, it's longer and more convoluted than I intended it to be. Thanks. 🙂

 

[Retail Girl]

They won't fire you. They could deny the availability change, though. The one for school they will likely let go through, but you could have a harder time justifying the other one (I wouldn't mention you are looking to avoid a particular LOD ;-) ).

 

[Owl]

I was definitely not going to tell them why I was requesting that night off haha. I might claim a second job though because I am going to be going to school for my Early Childhood Education degree and I want to get a job as a nanny or do odd jobs to build on my experience..

 

[Retail Girl]

Hahaha...I figured, but it couldn't resist.

I'm uncertain how the second job excuse works, honestly...I think some stores go along with that better than others. But I honestly don't know...others here can tell you better.

 

[FallenAngel]

If you cut back your availability, they might give you a lot less hours than you'd like as well. Someone I know did that, and they started scheduling her one day a week.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Go for the am hours on the weekends. That make help you get more hours.

 

[sigma7]

At my store, if you are limited on the weekends then there's a good chance you won't get hired or your availability change request will get denied. Retail is a night and weekend business. That said, if your leadership teams likes you and you are a hard worker with good attendance then I don't see any reason why they would deny the change. School is one of the few reasons for an availability change that is always approved. Bear in mind that reduced availability means that you may get less hours than you want or need since you might not be available when the store needs shifts filled. One thing I've made sure to tell team members that change their availability is that just because they are only available mornings or certain times doesn't mean that we will shuffle everyone else around to accommodate their new availability, so they may get less hours than they are seeking.

 

[looseseal]

I had/will have the exact same issue with availability changes and school, and my LOD was completely understanding about it. Like Sigma said, as long as you're not closing up your weekends and are a good worker, they'll work with you. Put your education first though. Target is just a job.

 

[Mhugh220]

If you cut back your availability, they might give you a lot less hours than you'd like as well. Someone I know did that, and they started scheduling her one day a week.

Happened all the time at my store. When hours got tight, the first people I cut hours from were those who didn't want to work Friday-Sunday. Never approved availability changes for weekends, however I would accommodate changes for school. When TMs got second jobs, I typically did not allow their new job to interfere with my schedule. If you can no longer work for us on certain days then don't expect to get a lot of hours, unless you have weekend availability. This can be challenging because Target pays peanuts and cuts hours often, so I tried my best to work with most TMs.

As for changing the hours rather than the entire day, it may not be much of a difference. Although, weekend nights are busy.