diff --git a/trains_agent/backend_api/config/default/agent.conf b/trains_agent/backend_api/config/default/agent.conf
index 17d8626..2888844 100644
--- a/trains_agent/backend_api/config/default/agent.conf
+++ b/trains_agent/backend_api/config/default/agent.conf
@@ -102,6 +102,22 @@
     # optional shell script to run in docker when started before the experiment is started
     # extra_docker_shell_script: ["apt-get install -y bindfs", ]
 
+    # optional uptime configuration, make sure to use only one of 'uptime/downtime' and not both.
+    # If uptime is specified, agent will actively poll (and execute) tasks in the time-spans defined here.
+    # Outside of the specified time-spans, the agent will be idle.
+    # Defined using a list of items of the format: "<hours> <days>".
+    # hours - use values 0-23, single values would count as start hour and end at midnight.
+    # days - use days in abbreviated format (SUN-SAT)
+    # use '-' for ranges and ',' to separate singular values.
+    # for example, to enable the workers every Sunday and Tuesday between 17:00-20:00 set uptime to:
+    # uptime: ["17-20 SUN,TUE"]
+
+    # optional downtime configuration, can be used only when uptime is not used.
+    # If downtime is specified, agent will be idle in the time-spans defined here.
+    # Outside of the specified time-spans, the agent will actively poll (and execute) tasks.
+    # Use the same format as described above for uptime
+    # downtime: []
+
     # set to true in order to force "docker pull" before running an experiment using a docker image.
     # This makes sure the docker image is updated.
     docker_force_pull: false
diff --git a/trains_agent/backend_config/defs.py b/trains_agent/backend_config/defs.py
index 02ef2fe..47ec631 100644
--- a/trains_agent/backend_config/defs.py
+++ b/trains_agent/backend_config/defs.py
@@ -46,6 +46,15 @@ class Environment(object):
     local = 'local'
 
 
+class UptimeConf(object):
+    min_api_version = "2.10"
+    queue_tag_on = "force_workers:on"
+    queue_tag_off = "force_workers:off"
+    worker_key = "force"
+    worker_value_off = ["off"]
+    worker_value_on = ["on"]
+
+
 CONFIG_FILE_EXTENSION = '.conf'
 
 
diff --git a/trains_agent/commands/worker.py b/trains_agent/commands/worker.py
index 0155de4..78956ed 100644
--- a/trains_agent/commands/worker.py
+++ b/trains_agent/commands/worker.py
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ from pathlib2 import Path
 from pyhocon import ConfigTree, ConfigFactory
 from six.moves.urllib.parse import quote
 
+from trains_agent.backend_api.services import queues
+from trains_agent.backend_config.defs import UptimeConf
 from trains_agent.helper.check_update import start_check_update_daemon
 from trains_agent.commands.base import resolve_names, ServiceCommandSection
 from trains_agent.definitions import (
@@ -94,13 +96,12 @@ from trains_agent.helper.process import (
 from trains_agent.helper.package.priority_req import PriorityPackageRequirement
 from trains_agent.helper.repo import clone_repository_cached, RepoInfo, VCS
 from trains_agent.helper.resource_monitor import ResourceMonitor
+from trains_agent.helper.runtime_verification import check_runtime, print_uptime_properties
 from trains_agent.session import Session
 from trains_agent.helper.singleton import Singleton
 
 from .events import Events
 
-log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
-
 DOCKER_ROOT_CONF_FILE = "/root/trains.conf"
 DOCKER_DEFAULT_CONF_FILE = "/root/default_trains.conf"
 
@@ -152,6 +153,7 @@ class LiteralScriptManager(object):
         Create notebook file in appropriate location
         :return: directory and script path
         """
+        log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
         if repo_info and repo_info.root:
             location = Path(repo_info.root, execution.working_dir)
         else:
@@ -394,6 +396,13 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
         self._services_mode = None
         self._force_current_version = None
         self._redirected_stdout_file_no = None
+        self._uptime_config = self._session.config.get("agent.uptime", None)
+        self._downtime_config = self._session.config.get("agent.downtime", None)
+
+        # True - supported
+        # None - not initialized
+        # str - not supported, version string indicates last server version
+        self._runtime_props_support = None
 
     @classmethod
     def _verify_command_states(cls, kwargs):
@@ -599,10 +608,19 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
             print('Starting infinite task polling loop...')
 
         _last_machine_update_ts = 0
-        while True:
 
+        while True:
+            queue_tags = None
+            runtime_props = None
             # iterate over queues (priority style, queues[0] is highest)
             for queue in queues:
+
+                if queue_tags is None or runtime_props is None:
+                    queue_tags, runtime_props = self.get_worker_properties(queues)
+
+                if not self.should_be_currently_active(queue_tags[queue], runtime_props):
+                    continue
+
                 # get next task in queue
                 try:
                     response = self._session.send_api(
@@ -642,6 +660,9 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
                     self.run_one_task(queue, task_id, worker_params)
                     self.report_monitor(ResourceMonitor.StatusReport(queues=self.queues))
 
+                    queue_tags = None
+                    runtime_props = None
+
                     # if we are using priority start pulling from the first always,
                     # if we are doing round robin, pull from the next one
                     if priority_order:
@@ -655,6 +676,77 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
             if self._session.config["agent.reload_config"]:
                 self.reload_config()
 
+    def get_worker_properties(self, queue_ids):
+        queue_tags = {
+            q.id: {'name': q.name, 'tags': q.tags}
+            for q in self._session.send_api(
+                queues_api.GetAllRequest(id=queue_ids, only_fields=["id", "tags"])
+            ).queues
+        }
+        runtime_props = self.get_runtime_properties()
+        return queue_tags, runtime_props
+
+    def get_runtime_properties(self):
+        if self._runtime_props_support is not True:
+            # either not supported or never tested
+            if self._runtime_props_support == self._session.api_version:
+                # tested against latest api_version, not supported
+                return []
+            if not self._session.check_min_api_version(UptimeConf.min_api_version):
+                # not supported due to insufficient api_version
+                self._runtime_props_support = self._session.api_version
+                return []
+        try:
+            res = self.get("get_runtime_properties", worker=self.worker_id)["runtime_properties"]
+            # definitely supported
+            self._runtime_props_support = True
+            return res
+        except APIError:
+            self._runtime_props_support = self._session.api_version
+        return []
+
+    def should_be_currently_active(self, current_queue, runtime_properties):
+        """
+        Checks if a worker is active according to queue tags, worker's runtime properties and uptime schedule.
+        """
+        if UptimeConf.queue_tag_off in current_queue['tags']:
+            self.log.debug("Queue {} is tagged '{}', worker will not pull tasks".format(
+                current_queue['name'], UptimeConf.queue_tag_off)
+            )
+            return False
+        if UptimeConf.queue_tag_on in current_queue['tags']:
+            self.log.debug("Queue {} is tagged '{}', worker will pull tasks".format(
+                current_queue['name'], UptimeConf.queue_tag_on)
+            )
+            return True
+        force_flag = next(
+            (prop for prop in runtime_properties if prop["key"] == UptimeConf.worker_key), None
+        )
+        if force_flag:
+            if force_flag["value"].lower() in UptimeConf.worker_value_off:
+                self.log.debug("worker has the following runtime property: '{}'. worker will not pull tasks".format(
+                    force_flag)
+                )
+                return False
+            elif force_flag["value"].lower() in UptimeConf.worker_value_on:
+                self.log.debug("worker has the following runtime property: '{}'. worker will pull tasks".format(
+                    force_flag)
+                )
+                return True
+            else:
+                print(
+                    "Warning: invalid runtime_property '{}: {}' supported values are: '{}/{}', ignoring".format(
+                        force_flag["key"], force_flag["value"], UptimeConf.worker_value_on, UptimeConf.worker_value_off
+                    )
+                )
+        if self._uptime_config:
+            self.log.debug("following uptime configurations")
+            return check_runtime(self._uptime_config)
+        if self._downtime_config:
+            self.log.debug("following downtime configurations")
+            return check_runtime(self._downtime_config, is_uptime=False)
+        return True
+
     def reload_config(self):
         try:
             reloaded = self._session.reload()
@@ -708,12 +800,35 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
         if self._services_mode:
             kwargs = self._verify_command_states(kwargs)
             docker = docker or kwargs.get('docker')
+        self._uptime_config = kwargs.get('uptime', None) or self._uptime_config
+        self._downtime_config = kwargs.get('downtime', None) or self._downtime_config
+        if self._uptime_config and self._downtime_config:
+            self.log.error(
+                "Both uptime and downtime were specified when only one of them could be used. Both will be ignored."
+            )
+            self._uptime_config = None
+            self._downtime_config = None
 
         # We are not running a daemon we are killing one.
         # find the pid send termination signal and leave
         if kwargs.get('stop', False):
             return 1 if not self._kill_daemon() else 0
 
+        queues_info = [
+            q.to_dict()
+            for q in self._session.send_api(
+                queues_api.GetAllRequest(id=queues)
+            ).queues
+        ]
+
+        if kwargs.get('status', False):
+            runtime_properties = self.get_runtime_properties()
+            if self._downtime_config:
+                print_uptime_properties(self._downtime_config, queues_info, runtime_properties, is_uptime=False)
+            else:
+                print_uptime_properties(self._uptime_config, queues_info, runtime_properties)
+            return 1
+
         # make sure we only have a single instance,
         # also make sure we set worker_id properly and cache folders
         self._singleton()
@@ -725,12 +840,6 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
         self.log.debug("starting resource monitor thread")
         print("Worker \"{}\" - ".format(self.worker_id), end='')
 
-        queues_info = [
-            self._session.send_api(
-                queues_api.GetByIdRequest(queue)
-            ).queue.to_dict()
-            for queue in queues
-        ]
         columns = ("id", "name", "tags")
         print("Listening to queues:")
         print_table(queues_info, columns=columns, titles=columns)
@@ -2076,7 +2185,7 @@ class Worker(ServiceCommandSection):
             shutil.copytree(Path('~/.ssh').expanduser().as_posix(), host_ssh_cache)
         except Exception:
             host_ssh_cache = None
-            log.warning('Failed creating temporary copy of ~/.ssh for git credential')
+            self.log.warning('Failed creating temporary copy of ~/.ssh for git credential')
             pass
 
         # check if the .git credentials exist:
diff --git a/trains_agent/helper/runtime_verification.py b/trains_agent/helper/runtime_verification.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59a9d8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/trains_agent/helper/runtime_verification.py
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+import re
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+
+from typing import List, Tuple, Optional
+
+from trains_agent.backend_config.defs import UptimeConf
+
+DAYS = ["SUN", "MON", "TUE", "WED", "THU", "FRI", "SAT"]
+PATTERN = re.compile(r"^(?P<hours>[^\s]+)\s(?P<days>[^\s]+)")
+
+
+def check_runtime(ranges_list, is_uptime=True):
+    # type: (List[str], bool) -> bool
+    for entry in ranges_list:
+
+        days_list = get_days_list(entry)
+        if not check_day(days_list):
+            continue
+
+        hours_list = get_hours_list(entry)
+        if check_hour(hours_list):
+            return is_uptime
+    return not is_uptime
+
+
+def check_hour(hours):
+    # type: (List[str]) -> bool
+    return datetime.now().hour in hours
+
+
+def check_day(days):
+    # type: (List[str]) -> bool
+    return datetime.now().strftime("%a").upper() in days
+
+
+def get_days_list(entry):
+    # type: (str) -> List[str]
+    days_intervals = PATTERN.match(entry)["days"].split(",")
+    days_total = []
+    for days in days_intervals:
+        start, end = days.split("-") if "-" in days else (days, days)
+        try:
+            days_total.extend(
+                [*range(DAYS.index(start.upper()), DAYS.index(end.upper()) + 1)]
+            )
+        except ValueError:
+            print(
+                "Warning: days interval '{}' is invalid, use intervals of the format <start>-<end>."
+                " make sure to use the abbreviated format SUN-SAT".format(days)
+            )
+            continue
+    return [DAYS[day] for day in days_total]
+
+
+def get_hours_list(entry):
+    # type: (str) -> List[str]
+    hours_intervals = PATTERN.match(entry)["hours"].split(",")
+    hours_total = []
+    for hours in hours_intervals:
+        start, end = get_start_end_hours(hours)
+        if not (start and end):
+            continue
+        hours_total.extend([*range(start, end)])
+    return hours_total
+
+
+def get_start_end_hours(hours):
+    # type: (str) -> Tuple[int, int]
+    try:
+        start, end = (
+            tuple(map(int, hours.split("-"))) if "-" in hours else (int(hours), 24)
+        )
+    except Exception as ex:
+        print(
+            "Warning: hours interval '{}' is invalid, use intervals of the format <start>-<end>".format(
+                hours, ex
+            )
+        )
+        start, end = (None, None)
+    if end == 0:
+        end = 24
+    return start, end
+
+
+def print_uptime_properties(
+    ranges_list, queues_info, runtime_properties, is_uptime=True
+):
+    # type: (List[str], List[dict], List[dict], bool) -> None
+    if ranges_list:
+        uptime_string = ["Working hours {} configurations".format("uptime" if is_uptime else "downtime")]
+        uptime_string.extend(get_uptime_string(entry) for entry in ranges_list)
+    else:
+        uptime_string = ["No uptime/downtime configurations found"]
+
+    is_server_forced, server_string = get_runtime_properties_string(runtime_properties)
+    is_queue_forced, queues_string = get_queues_tags_string(queues_info)
+
+    res = list(
+        filter(
+            len,
+            [
+                "\n".join(uptime_string),
+                "\nCurrently forced {}".format(is_queue_forced or is_server_forced)
+                if is_queue_forced or is_server_forced
+                else " ",
+                server_string,
+                queues_string,
+            ],
+        )
+    )
+    print("\n".join(res))
+
+
+def get_uptime_string(entry):
+    # type: (str) -> str
+    res = []
+    days_list = get_days_list(entry)
+    hours_intervals = PATTERN.match(entry)["hours"].split(",")
+    for hours in hours_intervals:
+        start, end = get_start_end_hours(hours)
+        if not (start and end):
+            continue
+        res.append(
+            "  - {}:00-{}:59 on {}".format(start, end - 1, ' and '.join(days_list))
+            if not (start == end)
+            else ""
+        )
+    return "\n".join(res)
+
+
+def get_runtime_properties_string(runtime_properties):
+    # type: (List[dict]) -> Tuple[Optional[str], str]
+    server_string = []
+    force_flag = next(
+        (prop for prop in runtime_properties if prop["key"] == UptimeConf.worker_key),
+        None,
+    )
+    is_server_forced = None
+    if force_flag:
+        is_server_forced = force_flag["value"].upper()
+        expiry_hour = (
+            (datetime.now() + timedelta(seconds=force_flag["expiry"])).strftime("%H:%M")
+            if force_flag["expiry"]
+            else None
+        )
+        expires = " expires at {}".format(expiry_hour) if expiry_hour else ""
+        server_string.append(
+            "  - Server runtime property '{}: {}'{}".format(force_flag['key'], force_flag['value'], expires)
+        )
+    return is_server_forced, "\n".join(server_string)
+
+
+def get_queues_tags_string(queues_info):
+    # type: (List[dict]) -> Tuple[Optional[str], str]
+    queues_string = []
+    is_queue_forced = None
+    for queue in queues_info:
+        if "force_workers:off" in queue.get("tags", []):
+            tag = "force_workers:off"
+            is_queue_forced = is_queue_forced or "OFF"
+        elif "force_workers:on" in queue.get("tags", []):
+            tag = "force_workers:on"
+            is_queue_forced = "ON"
+        else:
+            tag = None
+        tagged = " (tagged '{}')'".format(tag) if tag else ""
+        queues_string.append(
+            "  - Listening to queue '{}'{}".format(queue.get('name', ''), tagged)
+        )
+    return is_queue_forced, "\n".join(queues_string)
diff --git a/trains_agent/interface/worker.py b/trains_agent/interface/worker.py
index 7a3cd53..e3b3430 100644
--- a/trains_agent/interface/worker.py
+++ b/trains_agent/interface/worker.py
@@ -93,7 +93,24 @@ DAEMON_ARGS = dict({
         'help': 'Stop the running agent (based on the same set of arguments)',
         'action': 'store_true',
     },
-
+    '--uptime': {
+        'help': 'Specify uptime for trains-agent in "<hours> <days>" format. for example, use "17-20 TUE" to set '
+                'Tuesday\'s uptime to 17-20'
+                'Note: Make sure to have only one of uptime/downtime configuration and not both.',
+        'nargs': '*',
+        'default': None,
+    },
+    '--downtime': {
+        'help': 'Specify uptime for trains-agent in "<hours> <days>" format. for example, use "09-13 TUE" to set '
+                'Tuesday\'s downtime to 09-13'
+                'Note: Make sure to have only on of uptime/downtime configuration and not both.',
+        'nargs': '*',
+        'default': None,
+    },
+    '--status': {
+        'help': 'Print the worker\'s schedule (uptime properties, server\'s runtime properties and listening queues)',
+        'action': 'store_true',
+    },
 }, **WORKER_ARGS)
 
 COMMANDS = {