For social workers

A duty rota, an out-of-hours phone, and court whenever the court says

Social work looks like office hours and is not. Duty days can run long by definition, out-of-hours cover puts you on call overnight and at weekends, and court dates are set by a listing office with no interest in your rota.

Download on theApp StoreComing soon toGoogle Play

The schedules this actually has to cope with

Freeish is built around these, not around a nine-to-five with the occasional exception.

Duty days

On rotation, taking whatever comes in. A finish time is a hope rather than a plan.

Out-of-hours cover

Evenings, overnight and weekends on a rota — at home and unavailable, sometimes called out.

Court

Listed by the court, not by you, and capable of taking a whole day at short notice.

Visits that overrun

A visit that becomes a crisis does not end because the day was supposed to.

What it sounds like at home

“Duty days finish when they finish and my family plan as though they do not.”
“Court gets listed and takes a day I had promised to somebody.”
“Out-of-hours cover looks like an ordinary evening on any calendar.”
“I cannot say much about why I am late, which makes it harder at home.”
“The rota is one thing and the actual week is another.”

Where Freeish fits

Duty days can carry a realistic finish rather than the nominal one.

Out-of-hours blocks read as unavailable rather than as evenings in.

Court dates go in the moment they are listed, so the day is visibly gone.

Nothing about cases is in Freeish — only when you are working, which is all anyone at home needs.

One week, start to finish

Bea, children’s services

Bea puts the duty rota in for the quarter.
Duty days carry a realistic finish, so nobody holds dinner.
A court date is listed for the 12th and goes in that afternoon.
Out-of-hours weekends show as blocks rather than free days.
Her partner plans the month around what is actually available.

Questions social workers ask

Can I share when I am working without sharing anything about the work?

Yes, and that is the normal way to use it. Freeish holds times; anything you would rather not share can be left out or marked private.

How do I handle a duty day that always overruns?

Put in the realistic finish rather than the rostered one. A time nobody believes is worse than no time at all.

Can colleagues or clients find me on it?

No. There is no directory and no search — only people you personally invite see anything.

Stop being the schedule. Start sharing it.

Now on iPhone — Android coming soon. Free to start. Import a photo of your next schedule and see who stops asking.