Acceptable Use Policy
OpShifts Acceptable Use Policy
Effective date: [insert date]
This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all venues, employers, managers, administrators, staff
members and other authorised users of the OpShifts service, including use of the service through
WhatsApp (the Service).
This Policy should be read with the applicable OpShifts agreement, staff terms of use and privacy
policy. If there is an inconsistency, the applicable agreement between OpShifts and the Venue will
prevail to the extent of that inconsistency.
Purpose
The Service is intended to support legitimate workforce-administration activities, including
communicating about shifts, availability, leave, time-off requests, shift swaps and related roster
administration.
The Service must be used professionally, lawfully, respectfully and only for authorised business
purposes.Venue Responsibilities
Each venue, employer or other organisation using the Service (a Venue) is responsible for its own
use of the Service and for the actions of its authorised users.
A Venue must:
ensure that it has a lawful basis and all necessary authority to provide staff members’
personal information to OpShifts and to communicate with staff through WhatsApp;
provide staff with appropriate privacy information and ensure that its use of the Service
complies with applicable employment, labour, privacy, data-protection, anti-discrimination
and communications laws;
use the Service only for legitimate workforce-management and operational purposes;
ensure that staff communications are accurate, appropriate, respectful and consistent with
applicable workplace policies;
maintain appropriate internal processes for approving shifts, leave, time off, shift swaps and
other employment-related matters;
ensure that only authorised personnel are given administrative access to the Service;
promptly remove or update access for staff, managers or administrators who no longer
require it;
keep account credentials, devices and access methods secure;
ensure that staff have an alternative means of contacting the Venue where WhatsApp or the
Service is unavailable, particularly for urgent absences or workplace matters; and
remain responsible for all employment-related decisions, including decisions concerning
recruitment, scheduling, working hours, leave, pay, performance, discipline, termination and
workplace conditions.
A Venue must not represent that OpShifts makes, approves or is responsible for employment-
related decisions.
3. Staff Responsibilities
Staff members using the Service must:
provide information that is accurate, complete and up to date, including availability and
contact details;
promptly notify the Venue if their telephone number changes or if information recorded
through the Service is inaccurate;
use the Service only for legitimate work-related communications with the Venue;
keep their WhatsApp account and device reasonably secure;
avoid sharing access to their WhatsApp account where doing so could expose work-related
information;
communicate professionally and respectfully; and
follow the Venue’s workplace policies and alternative reporting procedures where the
Service is unavailable.
Submitting availability, leave, time-off or shift-swap information through the Service does not itself
constitute approval. The Venue remains responsible for reviewing and deciding on those requests.
4. Prohibited Use
No user may use, or permit the use of, the Service to:
send, upload, transmit or store unlawful, fraudulent, misleading, defamatory, threatening,
abusive, discriminatory, harassing, hateful, obscene or otherwise inappropriate content;
impersonate another person, misrepresent identity, authority, availability, attendance, leave
status or other work-related information;
submit deliberately false, misleading or incomplete information;
use the Service for personal, political, commercial or other purposes unrelated to authorised
workforce administration;
send spam, unsolicited marketing, chain messages or bulk communications not connected
with legitimate operational use;
infringe another person’s intellectual-property, privacy, confidentiality or other legal rights;
collect, use, disclose or retain personal information except as authorised by the Venue,
necessary for the Service’s intended purpose and permitted by applicable law;
request, share or include unnecessary sensitive personal information in free-text messages,
including detailed medical, diagnostic or health information;
use the Service to make or purport to make automated employment, disciplinary,
remuneration, leave, performance or other consequential decisions about an individual;
rely solely on AI-assisted interpretation of messages where human review is reasonably
required, particularly where an interpretation may affect a staff member’s shift, leave, pay
or other workplace position;
interfere with, disrupt, damage, disable, overload or compromise the Service, WhatsApp
integrations, related systems or security controls;
attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service, another user’s account, data, systems or
networks;
introduce malware, malicious code, viruses, ransomware or other harmful material;
reverse engineer, decompile, copy, modify, create derivative works from or otherwise
misuse the Service, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law; or
use the Service in a manner that breaches applicable law, a court order, regulatory
requirement, the Venue’s workplace policies or any agreement governing use of the Service.
5. AI-Assisted Features
The Service may use AI-assisted tools to help interpret free-text availability messages and convert
them into structured scheduling information.
These tools are intended to support roster administration only. They must not be used as the sole
basis for decisions concerning employment, pay, leave, discipline, performance, termination or other
consequential matters.
Venues must ensure that an appropriately authorised person reviews and remains accountable for
employment-related and scheduling decisions. If a user identifies an apparent error in availability or
roster information, the Venue should review and correct it promptly where appropriate.
6. WhatsApp and Other Third-Party Services
The Service operates through WhatsApp and may depend on third-party telecommunications, device
and internet services. Users must comply with the applicable terms and policies of those third
parties.
Users must not attempt to circumvent WhatsApp’s security, technical restrictions or terms of use.
The Venue should maintain alternative communication arrangements for circumstances in which
WhatsApp or the Service is unavailable.
7. Monitoring and Enforcement
OpShifts and the Venue may investigate suspected misuse of the Service, subject to applicable law
and their respective privacy obligations.
Where OpShifts reasonably considers that a user has breached this Policy, or that use of the Service
creates a security, legal, operational or reputational risk, OpShifts may take proportionate action,
including:
issuing a warning;
restricting or suspending access to the Service;
requiring the Venue to remove or restrict a user’s access;
removing or disabling content where reasonably necessary;
reporting suspected unlawful activity to the relevant Venue, authority or law-enforcement
body where legally permitted or required; and
taking any other action available under the applicable agreement or law.
8. Changes to This Policy
OpShifts may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, applicable law,
security requirements or operational practices. Updated versions may be made available through
the Service, WhatsApp, the OpShifts website or the Venue.
Continued use of the Service after an updated Policy takes effect constitutes acceptance of the
updated Policy, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
11. Contact
Questions about the Service or this Policy may be directed to:
OpShifts (Pty) Ltd
Information Officer: Cameron Torrance
Email: cameron@opshifts.com