The short answer
You post a booking in the Gaffr app. It sets the venue, call time, hours, role and the most you'll pay an hour. Gaffr offers it to crew whose right to work, ID and insurance it has checked. Their rate has to be at or under your maximum. The first to accept is booked. The contract for the work is between you and the crew member. Gaffr collects their fee for them, and charges you its own Platform Fee.
What goes into a booking?
- the venue, and where in it to meet. Every crew member offered the booking sees the street address and your "Where in the venue" note. That's before they accept, not only once someone's booked. The meeting-point pin and the site contact go only to the crew member who accepts.
- the call time and how many hours, from 1 to 12
- the role
- the most you'll pay an hour
- one health and safety question about the work, which is passed on to the crew member
- optionally, a site contact: someone at the venue who gets a sign-in link to this one booking. They can see it, including where the crew member is on the way and on shift. They can also mark them as arrived. Nothing else.
How far ahead can I book?
Up to 14 days ahead. A call within the next 4 hours is an on-demand booking, and you choose its exact start time. For an on-demand booking you may also be asked how late the crew member can arrive. The choice runs from on time to 60 minutes after the call.
Where does Gaffr work?
The West Midlands: postcode areas B, CV, DY, WS and WV. A venue just outside them can still be booked if a crew member lives within reach.
Who gets my booking?
Crew whose documents Gaffr has checked and whose rate is at or under your maximum. They're matched on the role, distance and availability. The first to accept is booked automatically.
A crew member can also make a counter offer above their rate. If it's within your maximum, they're booked at once. If it's above your maximum, you decide whether to accept, and the booking stays open to others while you do. Gaffr's fee doesn't rise with a counter.
What do I see about the crew member?
Their first name and photo, and a way to call them. Labels show the checks Gaffr has done, such as "Right to work verified" and "Insurance on file". You don't see their date of birth, nationality or which right-to-work document they used.
Gaffr checks right to work, ID and insurance. It doesn't train crew or check how they work.
Can I see where they are?
While they're on the way, and during the booked hours. Never after the shift.
Can I message them?
Yes, from 24 hours before the call time, through the shift. Afterwards the conversation is read-only.
What happens during the shift?
You define the task: what's needed, the site rules and the induction. If the work needs PPE, the booking records which, and whether you or the crew member provides it. Gaffr doesn't run, inspect or control sites. Health and safety duties on site depend on who controls it; HSE's event safety pages explain who's responsible for what.
- Ending early. You can end the shift early, and you still pay for the hours booked.
- Extending. You can ask for more time, in half-hour steps up to 8 hours at a time. Each request goes on its own card hold and needs the crew member's yes within 10 minutes. If they say no or don't answer, the hold is released.
What happens after the shift?
You and the crew member rate each other. Neither of you sees the other's rating until you've both rated, or 14 days have passed. After a 4- or 5-star rating, the app asks whether to offer them your future bookings among the first.
Something wrong with a shift? Email hello@gaffr.uk. A person looks into it and tells you what they decide, which can be a full or part refund.
What does it cost?
The crew member's rate × the hours booked, plus Gaffr's Platform Fee. What you pay and cancellations explains the card hold, what you're charged and what cancelling costs.