---
title: Approving, rejecting or delegating a request
description: Find the requests to decide in Workflows › Approvals, review them, accept, reject or delegate them, and follow your own requests.
url: "https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/workflows-approving-requests/"
updated: "2026-11-05"
category: "Platform / Flows & approvals"
---

# Approving, rejecting or delegating a request

This article is for the people who approve requests: managers, HR, payroll managers, accounting. It describes the approvals inbox shared by every module, how to review a request, accept it, reject it or delegate it, and what each person receives.

## Before you start

Permissions are found in the WORKFLOWS section of the role matrix (see [Permissions & roles](https://illizeo.com/en/docs-category/platform-en/platform-roles-permissions/)).

| Permission (role matrix) | What it allows | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Approvals — List (all statuses) | Access: open the Approvals tab and the details of a request, write a comment | Administrator, Payroll Manager, Manager, HR Manager, Accounting, Auditor |
| Approve a request | Execute: accept when you are designated; Admin: decide at any step | Execute: Payroll Manager, Manager, HR Manager, Accounting; Admin: Administrator |
| Reject a request | Execute: reject when you are designated; Admin: at any step | Same |
| Delegate an approval | Execute: hand your decision over to someone else; Admin: at any step | Same |
| Filter by category / status | Access: the inbox filters | The six roles of the first row |
| Approval KPIs | Access: the counters at the top of the inbox | Administrator, Payroll Manager, Manager, HR Manager, Auditor |
| Approvals — Absences, Approvals — Expenses… | Access: see and handle the requests of this category, and open its menu entry | Administrator, Payroll Manager, Manager, HR Manager, Auditor (Accounting as well for Salary/Payroll and Expenses) |

Absences, attendance and expense reports are also decided according to the permissions of their module (for example "Approve / reject / delegate a request" for absences): see the articles of these modules.

## Finding the requests to decide

Open **Workflows**, **Approvals** tab. The number in brackets counts the requests waiting for your decision, delegations included; your own requests are not counted. The tab brings all categories together:

- the **Pending**, **Approved** and **Rejected** counters;
- the **Approvals** list, in three sections: **Pending** (what you must decide), **Processed** (what no longer awaits a decision) and **My requests** (your own requests, read-only);
- on the right, the details of the chosen request.

The menu entries (**Workflows › Absences**, **Expense reports**, **Attendance**…) open the tab specific to a category, which shows the module's information. The link in a notification or an email opens the request directly.

![The Approvals tab of the Workflows screen: Pending, Approved and Rejected counters, list of requests, Pending section, and on the right the details of a request with the Approval workflow timeline, the history and the Reject, Delegate and Accept buttons](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/workflows-approving-requests-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
Workflows › Approvals: requests from every category and the details of the chosen request.

### Filtering the list

- **All categories** and **All statuses** narrow down the list; **Clear** removes every filter.
- **More filters** adds **Department**, **Site**, **Team**, **Employee** and a period (**From**, **To**) that applies to the **Date of the request** or to the **Dates of the absence**. Department, site and team are read on the employee's record or on one of their current contracts.

![The filter bar of the Approvals tab, with the All categories and All statuses lists, and the More filters panel open: Department, Site, Team, Employee, Period applies to, From and To](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/workflows-approving-requests-02.en_.png?resize=800%2C206&quality=80&ssl=1)
Filtering approvals by category, status, population, employee and period.

## Reviewing a request

Click a row. The details show:

- the **Approval workflow** timeline, with the steps passed, the current step and those to come;
- **Trigger**, **Current step**, **Approver**, **Source** (the workflow name), **Start date** and **Time left**, shown in red when less than 24 hours remain or the deadline has passed;
- the **History**: each decision with its author, date and comment, and the line of the pending step;
- the **Comments** thread, if the workflow allows them.

## Deciding

1. **Accept**: the request moves to the next step, or is approved if it was the last one.
2. **Reject**: enter the **Rejection reason**, which is mandatory, then **Confirm rejection**. The request is rejected and the reason is passed on to the requester.
3. **Delegate**: choose the person in **Delegate to**, then **Confirm**. They become the only one to decide this step. They must themselves be able to decide on the request, otherwise Illizeo refuses the delegation.

The buttons only appear if your role holds the matching permission at the Execute level and you are designated at the current step.

![The details of a pending request with the rejection panel open: mandatory Rejection reason field and Cancel and Confirm rejection buttons](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/workflows-approving-requests-03.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
Rejecting a request: the reason is mandatory and passed on to the requester.

### Deciding several absence requests at once

In the Approvals tab, the absence requests you can decide carry a checkbox. Tick them, then **Approve selection** or **Reject selection**; a grouped rejection needs a shared reason. A report lists the requests decided and those still pending, with the reason.

## Commenting on a request

When the workflow allows comments, the details show the **Comments** thread. Type your text in **Write a comment…** then **Send**. The thread is visible to the people who can open the request. A comment does not record any decision and sends no notification.

## Following your own requests

The **My requests** section lists your requests in progress and recently processed, with no decision buttons. Their status is shown on the badge: **Pending**, **Approved**, **Rejected**, **Delegated**, **Escalated** (passed to the approver's manager for lack of an answer) or **Cancelled** (withdrawn by its author).

## What each person receives

| When | Who | How |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A step awaits a decision | All the approvers of the step | Notification and "Demande de validation (workflow)" email |
| Delegation | The delegate, the person who was in charge and the requester | Notification and email |
| Escalation for lack of an answer | The approver's manager | Notification and email |
| Final decision, human or automatic | The requester | Notification and "Workflow — décision rendue" email; an automatic decision mentions the rule applied |

Absences, attendance and expense reports send their own emails, described in the articles of these modules. Templates (names shown in French in every language) can be customised in **Settings › Manage Illizeo › Email** (see [Emails](https://illizeo.com/en/docs-category/platform-en/platform-emails/)).

## Good to know

- On a step with several approvers, all are notified. Depending on the **Step with several approvers** setting, the first decision is enough or all must approve (see [Global settings, deadlines and automatic actions](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/workflows-global-settings/)).
- An approver at the Admin level can decide at any step, even without being designated: this is how a request left without an approver is unblocked. This override is recorded.
- The grouped decision only applies to absence requests.

## FAQ

### I can see the request but not the Accept and Reject buttons.

You are not the approver of the current step, or your role does not hold "Approve a request" and "Reject a request" at the Execute level.

### A request stays pending without an approver.

No valid approver was found for the step (role without an active member, named person who has left, approver without the right to decide). An administrator can decide in their place, then fix the step in **Settings › Manage Employees › Workflows**.

### *Similaire*