The Absence management module brings together everything to do with leave and absences: the employee’s request, approval by the manager, leave balances, the team calendar, public holidays and your organisation’s own rules. This article introduces the module, its vocabulary and the life of an absence; it is intended for all users.
Before you start #
- The Absence management module must be enabled for your workspace.
- To view and submit your absences, one of your roles must hold the “Absence request” permission in the role matrix: the Access level lets you view, the Execute level lets you submit a request. By default, the All employees, Manager, HR Manager and Administrator roles have the Execute level.
- An absence type is only offered to an employee if a policy of that type is assigned to them. Without a policy, the request form shows “No absence type has been assigned to you yet. Contact your HR administrator.”
Module vocabulary #
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Absence type | The nature of the absence: paid leave, sickness, accident, maternity, family-event leave, remote work… The type sets the icon, the colour, how days are counted and the submission rules. |
| Policy | The entitlement rules of a type: number of days granted, accrual pattern, proration, carryover, negative balance, seniority. One type can have several policies (by country, by population); each employee receives one per type. |
| Balance (counter) | For one type and one employee: the entitlement granted, the days used, planned, pending and what is left. |
| Period | The period over which the entitlement is accrued and used. A new period opens automatically; any unused balance then follows the carryover rule. |
| Day count | How the days of an absence are counted: calendar days, working days (Mon–Sat), business days (Mon–Fri) or the employee’s scheduled days. |
| Approval circuit | Who must approve a request. It is set up in Workflows; without a circuit, the request goes to the line manager. |
| Public holidays | The holiday calendar that applies to each employee (the company’s, their office’s or a custom calendar). A public holiday is not deducted, except for a type counted in calendar days. |
Where to find what #
| Screen | Path | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| My absences | Your avatar menu › My Profile, Absences tab | Every employee |
| An employee’s absences | The employee’s profile, Absences tab | Manager, HR |
| Team calendar | Calendar › Absence calendar | Everyone, depending on the role’s visibility |
| Requests to approve | Workflows › Absences | Approvers |
| Entry for a whole population | HR access › Collective entry | HR |
| Absence types and policies | Settings › Time Management › Absence Types | Administrator |
| Leave rules, public holidays | Settings › Time Management › Company Rules and Public Holidays | Administrator |
| Approval circuits | Settings › Manage Employees › Workflows | Administrator |
Who does what #
| Profile | What they do in the module |
|---|---|
| Employee | Submits requests, follows their status, checks balances, withdraws a pending request or asks to cancel an approved absence. |
| Manager | Approves, rejects or delegates the team’s requests, views the team calendar, can enter an absence for an employee. |
| HR team | Adjusts balances, changes an employee’s policy, enters absences, including for a whole population, and approves directly when allowed. |
| Administrator | Configures absence types, policies, company rules, public holidays, approval circuits and permissions. |
The life of an absence #
- Request. The employee chooses a type, a period and, if needed, attaches a supporting document. Before submission, Illizeo checks blackout periods, overlaps, team quotas and existing clock entries.
- Balance reservation. A pending request reserves its days: they appear in the “Pending” column of the balance.
- Approval. The request follows the approval circuit of its type. If a replacement is named, they must accept first. The approver accepts, rejects (with a reason) or delegates.
- Decision. The employee is notified. An approved absence moves into “planned” days, then “used” once the date has passed. A rejected absence frees its days.
- Afterwards. The employee can edit the absence (it then goes back to awaiting approval) or cancel it. If the type requires it, cancelling an approved absence is itself subject to approval.
Absence statuses #
| Status shown | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | The request is awaiting a decision (including when a first approver has already approved it and a second one still has to decide). |
| Approved | The absence is approved and deducted from the balance. |
| Rejected | The absence was rejected by an approver or automatically by a rule; the reason is shown. |
| Cancellation requested | The absence is approved but its cancellation is awaiting the approver’s agreement. |
Good to know #
- Some rules reject a request automatically, without review by a person: blackout period, team quota reached, notice not respected if the type requires it. The employee is told the reason and can ask for a human review from their personal settings.
- What each person sees of other people’s absences depends on their role: the mere presence (“Absent”) on one side, the reason (absence type) on the other. See The absence calendar.
- Illizeo counts days and hours, never amounts: valuing absences remains a payroll matter.
