The short answer
You pick your skills in Gaffr Live, and you're offered bookings only for skills you've ticked. Licences and tickets, such as PASMA or IPAF, are an optional upload. A person at Gaffr looks at each one, but Gaffr doesn't train anyone or say anyone is competent. The qualifications a client picks on the booking don't decide who's offered it: the Opportunity shows them, and you decide. Clients see the role they booked you for, not your licences.
Where do I set my skills?
At sign-up, the Skills step asks you to "Pick everything you can do". You need at least one. To change them later, open Settings, Your skills, and tap Save skills.
Your skills also show as labels on your own card in My Gaffr profile.
Gaffr doesn't ask for proof before you add a skill. What you tick is your own account of the work you do. If a skill names a ticket, ticking it is your own word that you hold it.
How do my skills affect which offers I get?
Each booking asks for a role. Gaffr offers it only to crew who have that skill ticked. It looks at other things too, such as your documents, distance, rate and when you're free. Getting offered more work explains the rest.
If you untick a skill, you can't take Opportunities for it, even ones already sent. Bookings you've accepted stay yours.
If a booking near you wasn't offered because of a skill, "Work you weren't offered" says so, naming the role: "Lighting tech isn't in your skills", for example. It may suggest adding a skill, with the line "Only add skills you work."
What does "Not offered right now" mean?
Gaffr can pause a skill for new bookings. If you hold one, Settings, Your skills lists it under "Not offered right now". It stays on your profile, and bookings already made for it still come to you. When it comes back, it's ticked again without you doing anything.
Where do licences and tickets go?
Settings, Documents has a row called "Licences (PASMA / IPAF / etc.)". It's optional: you can go live without it. Sign-up asks for it too, as "Add licences if you hold any."
Gaffr Live asks for a clear photo of your licence, or its PDF. It takes JPEG, PNG, HEIC or PDF, up to 10 MB. The row shows the licence you sent most recently. Tap it to view it, or to replace it.
What does Gaffr check?
A person at Gaffr looks at each upload. Until they have, the row reads "Waiting for review". Then it reads one of these:
- Approved.
- Declined, with the reason.
- More needed, with what they need.
A licence that runs out doesn't pause your account. The documents guide covers expiry dates, reminders and renewals.
Approval means a person at Gaffr looked at the document. It isn't a check of your skills or how you work. Gaffr doesn't train anyone, and doesn't say whether anyone is competent to do a task.
Do the qualifications a client asks for decide which offers I get?
No. Your skills do, including any skill that names a ticket. Every booking answers one question: "Any known hazards, special PPE or qualifications required?" A client who adds details can pick qualifications. The list includes IPAF (MEWPs), PASMA (towers), working at height, first aid at work and a forklift licence.
Before you accept, the Opportunity shows what they picked, like "Needs IPAF (MEWPs)". Gaffr doesn't use it to choose who's offered the booking. Whether you hold what the client asked for is yours to weigh up. Health and safety covers the rest of what the client is asked.
What do clients see?
Once you're booked, the client sees the role they booked you for, with the rest of your card. They don't see your other skills or your licences. The checks on your card are only "Right to work verified", "ID checked" and "Insurance on file". Your Gaffr profile lists everything on the card.
What if a client says I don't have what they asked for?
From when you're booked until you set off, a client can raise a "Problem with this match". One reason is "It's the wrong skill for the shift". Another is "They don't have a qualification I asked for", offered only when the booking asked for one.
You stay booked while a person at Gaffr looks into it. If it's upheld, Gaffr Live tells you "You're off a booking", and says "It doesn't count against you."
Does a substitute need the same skill?
Yes. You can nominate someone to cover a booking. They need to pass the same checks on Gaffr and hold the booking's skill. Gaffr checks, and they need to agree. Until then, you're still booked. Nominations close two hours before the call.
Does the law say who needs a ticket?
Some of the qualifications a client can ask for relate to health and safety law. HSE's pages on working at height and first aid at work explain what the law asks, and of whom. HSE also sets out who's responsible for what at events.
Beyond that, which tickets a booking needs is the client's call. Gaffr can't say which rules apply to a particular person, booking or site.