Approve or decline time off
Answer a time-off request on the web or the iPhone, with what it takes from the person’s holiday and who else is off beside it.
On this page
A request waits until someone who approves time off at its location answers it. Whoever answers first settles it for everyone.
On the web
Go to Rota & team, then Time off
- Pick the location. The requests waiting are under Pending requests, longest waiting first. With all locations picked, the list is every location you approve at, with a Location column.
- Read the row. Takes is the days and the hours the request costs. Holiday left is the person’s holiday now and what it would be if you approve, for example “192h → 184h”; the second figure is red when it goes under nought. Also off names the people already approved off on any of those days, and says how many more are asking.
- To approve, press the tick at the end of the row. It says Time off approved.
- If a day is already at the location’s limit on people off, a box asks Go over the limit? and lists each full day with how many are off and how many over it would be. Press Approve anyway to go over, or Leave waiting.
- To decline, press the cross. A box headed Decline request asks for a Reason (shared with the requester). Type it and press Decline. It says Time off declined.
To approve several at once, tick their rows and press Approve above the table. It says how many were approved. Any that would take a day over the limit are left waiting, counted as “left · day full”: approve those one at a time.
On the phone
- Open Team and press Time off. It opens on Requests. If Team is not on the bar, it is a row under Me.
- Each request is a card: who, the type and the dates, their reason if they gave one, what it takes, and for holiday the hours Left now and After. A chip beginning “Also off” names who is already off those days.
- Press Approve. It says Time off approved and the card folds away. If a day is already at the location’s limit on people off, a box asks Go over the limit? and names the full day: press Approve anyway or Leave waiting.
- Or press Decline, type the Reason and press Send. It says Time off declined.
Other ways in
- Home. On the web and on the phone, the home screen has Time off to approve with a count and the first few requests. Pressing one opens the requests at its location.
- Inbox. Each request is an entry called Time off to approve, with who, what and when. Once anyone has answered it, the entry is marked read for every approver and shows how it went.
What you are shown, and what you are not
- Holiday pay. If you can see pay at that location, Takes also shows what a holiday will be paid, for example “3 days · 21h · £287”. Without that permission the figure is not sent to you.
- A balance with nothing in it yet. In place of a nought the app says why: Builds from approved hours for someone whose holiday builds from the hours they work, or Set contract hours where no contract is on file to say otherwise.
- Sick, personal and unpaid. These are not taken from holiday, so the holiday figure shows no “after”.
What happens next
The person is told either way, in their inbox and on their phone if notifications are on. A decline carries your reason.
Once approved, the person cannot be put on a shift on those days at any location. A shift they already have on those days is not removed: the rota marks it so you can move it. See Time off on the rota. Approved holiday also moves their balance at once: it counts as booked until the days have passed, then as taken.
If it doesn’t work
- “Reason required”
- A decline needs a reason. Type one and press Decline again. On the phone, Send stays off until there is a reason.
- “Couldn’t approve the time off” or “Couldn’t decline the time off”
- If the line under it includes “Request already decided”, someone else answered it while you had it open. “This request was cancelled.” means the person took it back. Nothing more is needed for either.
- On the phone: “Couldn’t approve the time off”, with a line such as “14 Nov is full: 2 of 2 off. Approving takes it 1 over.”
- That day is at the location’s limit on people off, and this version of the app cannot go over it. Update the app, or approve it on the web, where you are asked first.
- On the phone: “Not yours to approve”
- You do not hold the “Approve time off” permission at the location the app is on. Switch to a location where you do, or ask an Admin to give it to you.
- There is no Time off page in the sidebar
- The page is for people with the “Approve time off” permission, at a location with Rota & Team switched on.
- A request you expected is not in the list
- The list is one location’s. A request is filed at the location the person works at, so look under that location, or pick all locations on the web.
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