---
title: Requesting, editing and cancelling an absence
description: Submit an absence request, follow its decision, edit, withdraw or cancel it.
url: "https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/absences-request-and-track/"
updated: "2026-11-01"
category: Absence Management
---

# Requesting, editing and cancelling an absence

This article explains how to submit an absence request, follow its decision, edit it or cancel it. It is intended for every employee, and for the manager or HR person who enters an absence for someone else from their profile.

## Before you start

- To submit a request you need two permissions at the **Execute** level: "Absence request" and "Create an absence request". By default, All employees, Manager, HR Manager and Administrator have them.
- Editing an absence requires "Edit an absence request"; withdrawing or cancelling it requires "Delete an absence request", at the Execute level.
- The page tabs are shown according to the "View own counters (balance, accrued, taken, planned)", "View own personal calendar" and "View own annual view" permissions (Access level).
- Only absence types for which a policy is assigned to you are offered.

## Opening the absences page

Open your avatar menu › **My Profile**, then the **Absences** tab. For an employee, open their profile and the **Absences** tab. The page has three tabs:

- **Balances & history**: your balances and the list of your absences (see [Leave balances and counters](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/absences-balances-and-counters/));
- **Monthly schedule**: a monthly calendar with your absences, public holidays and blackout periods;
- **Yearly schedule**: the whole year at a glance.

![The Monthly schedule tab: balances by type, the current month and an announced blackout period](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/absences-request-and-track-02.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
The monthly schedule: clicking or dragging across days opens the request.

## Submitting a request

1. Click **New request**. In the monthly or yearly schedule you can also click or drag across days: the form opens with the period already filled in.
2. Choose the mode: **By day** or **By hours** (only types that allow hourly requests are then offered).
3. Choose the **Absence type**. For leave linked to an event (marriage, birth, death, moving house…), enter the **Event reason** and the **Event date**: the form reminds you of the number of days per event and the time window for taking them.
4. Fill in the **Period**: **Start** and **End** and, if the type allows it, the **Half day** (Full day, Morning or Afternoon). In hours mode: **Date**, **Start time** and **End time**.
5. For a repeating absence, choose a **Recurrence** (Weekly or Biweekly) and the **Repeat until** date, which is mandatory.
6. Name a **Replacement** if needed. When a replacement is named, they must accept before the request goes to the approver.
7. Attach the **Supporting document** when the form asks for it (PDF, JPG or PNG, 10 MB at most).
8. Add a comment in the **Reason** field if needed, then click **Submit request**.

![The New absence request form: By day or By hours mode, absence type, period, recurrence and replacement](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/absences-request-and-track-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
The New absence request form.

The **Available balance** gauge shows live what is left, what is already taken or pending, and what this request costs. The summary shows the days in the period and the days actually deducted.

### Checks before submission

As soon as the period is chosen, Illizeo checks four points and shows a banner when needed:

| Banner | What it means | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blackout period | The organisation does not accept requests on these dates. | Submission is blocked. |
| Conflict detected | The period overlaps an existing absence. | Submission is blocked. |
| Team quota reached | Too many colleagues from the same team would be absent at the same time. | The request can be sent, but the server rejects it automatically if the quota is exceeded. |
| Existing clock entries | Clock entries already exist on the period. | Depending on the company rule: a warning only, entries replaced on approval, or submission blocked. |

If you book sick leave or an accident over holidays that have already been approved, a banner says so: the holiday days covered will be given back to the balance once the sick leave is approved, provided a certificate is attached.

### Work stoppages

For a work stoppage type, the form adds a **Work stoppage** block: the nature of the stoppage (sickness, therapeutic part-time, occupational accident, occupational disease, commuting accident, maternity), the **Last day worked**, the **Return date**, and a box for extending a previous stoppage. This information can be completed later with the **Complete** button on the absence card, without restarting the approval.

### Entering an absence for an employee

From an employee's profile the form is the same. With the "Approve an absence directly (bypass approval)" permission at the Execute level, the **Skip approval** switch appears and the button becomes **Approve directly**. It never appears for your own absences.

## After submission

The **Request submitted!** screen confirms the submission. The request takes the "Pending" status and reserves its days in the balance. It can also be:

- **approved automatically**, if the type auto-approves a compliant request or the request falls under the automatic approval of short leave;
- **rejected automatically**, if it breaks a rule (team quota, notice period, maximum length, limits on consecutive days or days per week). An error message gives the reason; the request appears in the history with the "Rejected" status. You can change the dates and submit again, or ask for a human review from your personal settings.

## Following your requests

In **Balances & history**, the **Absence history** section lists your absences for the period. Filter by type (**All types**) or by status (**All**, **Approved**, **Pending**, **Rejected**). The reason for a rejection is shown under the row. Each row offers:

- **View detail**;
- **Approval workflow**: where the request stands and who still has to decide;
- **Download**: an absence certificate as a PDF;
- **Withdraw request** (pending request) or **Cancel absence** (approved absence).

On the dashboard, the **Your upcoming leave** widget shows the paid leave balance and the next requests; its **Book** button opens the same form.

## Editing an absence

1. In **Monthly schedule**, click the absence to open its card, then **Edit**.
2. In **Edit absence**, change the dates, the half day, the comment or the attachments.
3. Click **Save changes**.

The balance, overlap, blackout and quota checks are run again. An approved absence that you edit **goes back to awaiting approval**.

## Withdrawing or cancelling an absence

- **Pending request**: **Withdraw request** then **Yes, withdraw**. The reserved days are given back.
- **Approved absence**: **Cancel absence**. If the type requires deletion approval, the button becomes **Request cancellation**: the absence stays in place, marked "Cancellation requested", until the approver agrees; the balance is credited back at that point. Otherwise, the absence is deleted and the days are credited back immediately.

## Good to know

- A request is rejected if it starts before the contract starts or ends after it ends, if it contains no deducted day (weekend, public holiday, non-working day of a part-timer), or if it falls in a payroll period that has already been approved.
- The type can require a notice period, forbid retroactive or same-day requests, limit how far ahead you can plan or how long a request can be. These rules apply on submission, not on editing.
- If the type requires a replacement, a request without one is rejected, even though the field is labelled "Replacement (optional)".
- A type can require the certificate on submission, before approval, or only warn, from a set number of days.
- The edit window changes neither the absence type nor the replacement, and only works in whole days: for that, withdraw the request and submit a new one.
- If you have several contracts, the request is split automatically according to each contract's working days.
- Sickness during holidays: days are given back only for whole-day, non-recurring absences. If the payroll month has already been approved, the holidays stay in place and the balance is credited.

### *Similaire*