> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.elateuk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Operations overview and overtime

> Find your way around Operations, read the Overview tab, and record overtime or an availability block for a team member.

Operations is where the office keeps watch over the whole organisation: incidents, safeguarding, support planning, assessments, medication, availability, overtime and staff compliance. This page explains the Operations tabs and the **Overview** tab, and shows you how to record overtime.

**Who can do this:** anyone whose role includes **Overtime** can add overtime. By default that is Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers and Care Coordinators. Your organisation can change this in **Settings > Permissions**.

Your organisation may use different words for some things, such as "Service users" instead of "Support recipients". Elate shows your organisation's words everywhere, so follow what you see.

## Who sees Operations

**Operations** appears in the sidebar of Elate on the web for anyone whose role includes at least one of these permissions: **Incidents**, **Safeguarding**, **Tasks and packages**, **Availability**, **Overtime**, **Team**, **Manage medications** or **Assessments**. By default that is Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers, Care Coordinators, Team Leads and Read Only Auditors.

Carers never see Operations, whatever their permissions. A carer finds the incidents they raised on their dashboard and on the profile of the person the record is about.

## The Operations tabs

You only see the tabs your role can open.

| Tab | What it holds | Permission it needs |
| - | - | - |
| **Overview** | Availability, overtime, compliance and staff activity | **Availability**, **Overtime** or **Team** |
| **Support planning** | Your organisation's library of tasks and packages. See [Support planning](/support-recipients/support-plans). | **Tasks and packages** |
| **Incidents** | Every incident record. See [Incidents and safeguarding](/support-recipients/incidents-safeguarding). | **Incidents** |
| **Safeguarding** | Every safeguarding concern | **Safeguarding** |
| **Assessments** | Every assessment and the template library. See [Assessments](/support-recipients/assessments). | **Assessments** |
| **Medication** | Today's round, doses that need review and doses no visit covers. See [Medication (eMAR)](/support-recipients/medication-emar). | **Manage medications**, and only with the Medication (eMAR) module |

<Tip>
  Old links still work. Addresses ending in /incidents, /safeguarding, /support-plans or /medications open the matching Operations tab.
</Tip>

## What the Overview tab shows

Each section shows only if your role holds its permission.

* **Availability** (needs **Availability**): each availability block, with the team member, the reason, the start time and its status: **requested**, **approved** or **declined**.
* **Overtime** (needs **Overtime**): each overtime entry, with the team member, the minutes, the reason and its status.
* **Compliance & expiries** (needs **Team**): team members whose DBS expiry or training expiry is overdue or due within 30 days, marked **Overdue** or **Due soon**.
* **Staff activity** (needs **Team**): the number of visits and hours for each team member. Select **Export CSV** or **Export PDF** to download it.

If you have picked a group, the Overview tab shows that group's team members only, with a notice naming the group. Select **Show everyone** to see the whole organisation again. See [Groups and offices](/team/groups-and-offices).

## Record overtime

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Overview tab">
    Select **Operations** in the sidebar, then the **Overview** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start a new entry">
    In the **Overtime** section, select **Add**. The **Add overtime** panel opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the team member">
    Pick the person in **Team member**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Link a visit, if there is one">
    In **Linked visit**, choose the visit the extra time belongs to, or leave it on **No linked visit**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the time">
    Type the extra time in **Minutes**. It starts at 30 and goes up or down in steps of 5.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Say why">
    Write a short **Reason** so whoever reviews it knows what the time was for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save it">
    Select **Add overtime**. The entry appears in the **Overtime** list with the status **draft**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Add an availability block

You can also record leave or unavailable time from the Overview tab. This needs the **Availability** permission, which by default Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers, Care Coordinators and Team Leads hold.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the panel">
    In the **Availability** section, select **Add**. The **Add availability block** panel opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill it in">
    Choose the **Team member** and a **Reason**: **Annual leave**, **Sickness**, **Training** or **Unavailable**. Set the **Start** and **End** date and time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save it">
    Select **Add availability**. The block appears in the list with the status **requested**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

For reviewing requests and how leave affects the schedule, see [Availability and leave](/team/availability-and-leave).

## Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I approve or reject overtime?">
    New entries are saved as **draft**. An entry can also show **approved** or **rejected**, but the Overview tab has no button to change an entry's status.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who is told when overtime is added?">
    By default, Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins and Care Managers get an **Overtime submitted** notification in Elate. See [Your notifications](/notifications/your-notifications).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where else can I see one person's overtime?">
    Open the team member's profile and select the **Availability** tab. It lists their availability blocks and their overtime entries side by side.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can I see the Overview tab but not the Add buttons?">
    Read Only Auditors can read the Overview tab but cannot add anything, so the **Add** buttons are hidden for them.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related pages

* [Availability and leave](/team/availability-and-leave)
* [Incidents and safeguarding](/support-recipients/incidents-safeguarding)
* [Roles and permissions](/getting-started/roles-and-permissions)


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