Leave and absence in the employee schedule

Leave and absence affect both the employee and staffing coverage. A holiday request or sickness report should not remain as a message beside the schedule. Its status must be clear, and affected shifts need an owner.

Separate a request from approved absence

A request records the employee's preferred dates. Only after the responsible person approves it should the period be treated as known absence in the schedule. The status should be clear to employee and manager.

Review staffing before approval

The manager should review the current schedule, other absence and expected demand before responding. Check coverage first, then decide under the rights and agreements that apply.

At Café Nord, Sara requests a Friday off when two colleagues already have leave. The manager can see both the staffing need and existing absence before responding. If approved, the dates become part of the information used for the next schedule.

Use meaningful absence types

Holiday, sickness and time off in lieu serve different purposes and should not follow exactly the same workflow:

• Holiday normally starts as a request that needs approval.
• Sickness is recorded when it happens and requires prompt handling of today's shifts.
• Time off in lieu follows the agreement and balance defined by the business.

See contracted hours, overtime and time off in lieu for the underlying terms.

Apply the approved absence to planning

Once leave is approved or absence is recorded, the employee should be unavailable for the relevant period. Existing shifts require a separate action: remove, move or make the shift open. A message about absence does not by itself update the published schedule.

Practical rule: Do not approve only the date. Review the shifts and staffing demand affected by that date.

Follow the workflow for open shifts and approved schedule changes when absence affects a published schedule.

Follow up on the schedule and balance

After approval, three things should agree: the absence status, affected shifts and the employee's balance. At period close, the absence also needs to be recorded in the way expected by the payroll process.

Check that:

1. the request is approved or rejected;
2. any affected shifts have been handled;
3. the employee and relevant managers have been informed;
4. the balance and period record are up to date.

Explore leave and absence in Monoplan, or use the complete employee scheduling guide when the absence needs to inform the next schedule.