We understand that not every week is the same, and therefore you might not be able to do some of your future collections as planned. If you're unwell, if you're going to be away, or if you've had a last minute change of plans or emergency - we've made it super simple for you to skip your collections and find cover for your slot. You can also permanently swap slots with someone in your squad.
Access Skip & Swap options at the bottom of your collection details, in 'My Collection Slots' on the Volunteer Hub:
Skipping and swapping - which one's for what?
🔁 Swap - If you've agreed with another Food Waste Hero to swap your respective collection slots.
⏩ Skip - If you cannot do collections in the future.
🔁 Swapping
How do I swap slots?
If you want to permanently swap your collection slot with a fellow FWH, please head to the Volunteer Hub and navigate to ‘My Collections’. You will be able to swap your slot only with another Food Waste Hero who is collecting on an ongoing basis at the same store.
⚠️ FWHs cannot swap slots without consent. FWHs that swap slots without written consent in the squad chat from the person they are swapping with, will receive a formal warning.
⏩ Skipping
How can I skip a slot if I can't make a collection?
No problem! Please head to the Volunteer Hub and navigate to ‘My Collections’. From there, you will be able to select the collection slot(s) you would like to skip.
When you skip your collections, Olio's Little Helper will send a message in your squad's group chat.
Your fellow FWHs or FWHs outside your squad can then indicate that they'll cover for you by claiming your skipped slot on the Volunteer Hub under 'Available collection slots'.
🙏 Please aim to skip before the day of your collection.
⚠️ Please note
If you skip any collection slot at short notice (within 24 hours of collection), it counts toward a rolling 4-week total. 7 short-notice skips in that window will result in a warning and removal from all your slots.
Unassigning from one-off slots follows the same rule. If you unassign from a one-off slot within 24 hours of collection, it also counts toward your 4-week total. 7 short-notice unassigns will result in a warning and removal from all your slots.
A combination of skips and unassigns also counts — if your short-notice skips and unassigns add up to 7 in a 4-week window, you'll receive a warning and be removed from all your slots.
Skipping or unassigning from one-off slots more than 24 hours before your slot doesn't count toward this total — so if you know in advance you can't make it, just skip or unassign early.
Our system automatically detects when this happens and removes the slot accordingly. This enables us to monitor thousands of collections each week, ensuring that food doesn’t end up in the bin.
‼️ This automation is triggered whether the slot was skipped via Volunteer Hub or the reminder message.
I can't skip the ''one-off'' collection I have
Our system doesn't allow FWHs to skip one-off collections. In this instance, please simply unassign from the slot.
⚠️ Please note
If you unassign from a one-off slot within 24 hours of collection, it also counts toward your 4-week total.
7 short-notice unassigns/skips will result in a warning and removal from all your slots.
Why did you choose 7 skips in a rolling 4 week window?
The maximum number of slots a FWH can have per day is 3. If a FWH were to have 3 slots in an evening, and 3 slots the next day, and suddenly become ill, they would need to skip 6 slots. We don’t want to penalise FWHs in this instance, and so have selected 7 slots as the point of removal, to allow for this situation.
However we will monitor this rule closely and change either the 7 slots, or the 4 week rolling period, if needed, to ensure the integrity and performance of the FWH Programme.
How do I know how many short-notice skips/unassigns I’ve done?
In your Volunteer Hub home screen, under 'My Volunteer Activity', you will find a live counter so you can always see how many short-notice skips or unassigns (one-offs) you've built up over the last 4 weeks.
Who can claim my skipped slot?
Whilst, a message will go out into your squad's group chat when you skip your slot to see if anyone from within the squad can cover the cover slot internally first, any Food Waste Hero who has completed their training will also be able to claim cover slots via the Volunteer Hub. This means that a Food Waste Hero from outside your squad may join your group chat temporarily while they are covering a slot.
What if the FWH who stepped forward to cover my skipped collection can no longer make it? Would this count as a missed collection for me?
No, it would count towards their profile instead.
What should I do if I miss my collection?
If you do miss a collection without skipping your slot in the Volunteer Hub, please follow the steps described in the dedicated FAQ: Missed Collections
What happens if I go on holiday or I'm unwell for a long time?
If you're going to be away for a while (holiday, illness, or any other reason), you've got a couple of options to make sure your collections are covered:
You can skip in advance multiple upcoming collections at once via the Volunteer Hub. Head to 'My Collections' and select all the slots you won't be able to make. The earlier you skip, the better the chances of finding cover!
Unassign from your slot — If you're going to be away for a longer period and aren't sure when you'll be back, you can unassign from your slot entirely. You're always welcome to pick up a new slot when you're ready to return.
We're also planning to build a dedicated 'holiday mode' feature in the future to make managing longer breaks even easier 🙂
Can I appeal a skipping or unassigning warning?
We understand that sometimes life throws unexpected curveballs, and we're sorry if you've received a warning that feels unfair.
Unfortunately, we're not able to offer an appeals pathway for skipping or unassigning warnings. We believe that 6 opportunities provides more than enough room for genuinely unexpected circumstances. As a small team managing thousands of collections each week, we're also not able to review individual circumstances that take place off the app, which is why our automated system is designed to treat everyone equally. It's the fairest approach we can take, and it's there to make sure food gets rescued and doesn't end up in the bin!
The best way to avoid warnings is to skip or unassign as early as possible whenever you know you won't be able to make a collection. Even a few hours extra notice makes a big difference in helping us find cover. 🙏