absentify blog: Vacation and absence planning

Automate Leave Requests – How the Digital Approval Process Works in Microsoft 365

Automating the leave request process is not the same as emailing a form. True automation means: submitting the request, checking for conflicts, obtaining approval, updating the calendar — all without manual intervention. This guide shows what that looks like in practice in Microsoft 365, how to keep it GDPR-compliant, and where Power Automate hits its limits.

How to Integrate Teams in Outlook – Setting Up the Connection Correctly

Integrating Teams in Outlook sounds like a small step — until the add-in is missing from the ribbon, refuses to activate or quietly disappears after an update. That is exactly where many Microsoft 365 environments stall. In practice, all it takes is the right steps, the right licensing and a clear view of the most common causes of failure.

Quick Parts in Outlook: How to Use Building Blocks and AutoText Effectively

You want to create Quick Parts in Outlook but can't find where the setting sits, you're unsure what the difference between a Quick Part and AutoText actually is, and you don't understand why your colleagues can't see the building blocks you saved. This guide answers exactly those questions, including notes on the new Outlook and the limits of synchronisation in Microsoft 365.

Vacation Cover: Employment Law, Obligations and Legally Sound Planning

The UK Working Time Regulations 1998 and the EU Working Time Directive set out the right to paid annual leave, but say nothing about who covers the work while an employee is away. In practice, that means unclear responsibilities, overstretched colleagues and missing documentation. The duty to organise vacation cover sits with the employer. What many companies still struggle with is how to map that out in a structured, legally sound way.

Bereavement Leave: How Many Days You Get and What the Law Says in 2026

The death of a close relative can give rise to a paid leave entitlement. How many days you are entitled to depends on the relationship to the deceased, any applicable collective agreement and your employment contract. In the UK, the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations 2020 set a statutory minimum for parents who lose a child, while wider bereavement entitlements depend on contracts and the EU Work-Life Balance Directive at a member-state level.

Marriage Leave: Entitlement, Days and How to Apply in 2026

There is no specific UK-wide statutory entitlement to paid marriage leave. Paid time off on the wedding day is still possible — the basis for it comes from a collective agreement, the employment contract, or wider statutory provisions on time off for personal events. Which of these layers applies needs to be clarified before the application is submitted, not after.

Special Leave for Childbirth: What Are Fathers' Entitlements and What Applies in 2026?

When it comes to special leave for the birth of a child, there is a significant gap between what many fathers expect and what the law actually provides. In the UK, there is no standalone statutory entitlement to special leave around the birth — instead, rights are split across paternity leave, contractual policies, and collective agreements. How many days are available, and on what terms, depends on the interplay between the Employment Rights Act 1996, statutory paternity leave regulations, and your employment contract.

Special Leave 2026: When Is There a Statutory Entitlement – and When Not?

Section 616 of the German Civil Code (BGB), which governs the temporary inability of an employee to work, sounds like a clear-cut rule — but it isn't. The law names neither concrete occasions nor a minimum number of days, and employers are allowed to opt out of it entirely by contract. Whether your particular occasion really creates a statutory right to special leave depends on the interplay of several legal layers that many employees are not aware of.

Working Time Law and Breaks: Rules, Duties and Special Rights at a Glance

Working time legislation on rest breaks applies to in-scope employees across the EU and the UK on a binding basis. It governs when a rest break becomes due, how long it must be and what employers must be able to demonstrate during a labour-inspection check. The legal picture is more complex than a simple table suggests — that becomes obvious as soon as shift work, collective agreements and remote-working models enter the equation. Missing or insufficient documentation can have legal consequences when inspectors come knocking.

Working Hours Law 2026: Rules, Obligations and Electronic Time Tracking at a Glance

The German Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG) sets out how long employees in Germany may work each day, which breaks must be taken and how employers have to document working time. The maximum working time per working day is 8 hours. Where a verifiable need to compensate exists, it can be extended to up to 10 hours.

Working Hours: Regulations, Limits, and Employer Obligations Explained

Statutory working time rules protect employees' health and safety through binding limits and mandatory rest periods. When employers breach these regulations, they risk significant fines and serious legal consequences. This guide provides precise facts about maximum working hours, break entitlements, and record-keeping obligations — everything you need to manage your organisation's working time in full compliance with the law.

Special Leave for Relocation: What Employees Are Entitled To

There is no statutory right to paid time off for moving house under UK employment law. Unlike some other types of leave, moving day is not covered by the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the Working Time Regulations. Any entitlement depends on what is written in your employment contract, a collective agreement, or your employer's HR policy.

Sync Google Calendar with Teams: How to integrate both calendars

Google Calendar can be synced with Microsoft Teams so that all entries, time-off periods, and appointments appear identically in both calendars. Typically, integration is achieved either directly through the Google Calendar app within Teams or by syncing your Google account with the Outlook backend.

Vacation Certificate: Employer Obligations & Employee Rights

A vacation certificate is a document that confirms how much paid leave an employee has already taken or been compensated for in the current calendar year. When an employee changes jobs mid-year, this certificate helps the new employer determine the remaining leave entitlement — preventing duplicate claims and ensuring compliance with employment law.

The 7 Best Vacation Planning Software

A vacation planning software replaces error-prone Excel spreadsheets with clear, automated processes for leave requests, approvals, and calendar synchronization.

Vacation Blackout Periods: Definition, Requirements & Legal Limits

A vacation blackout period is a timeframe set by the employer during which employees are not permitted to take time off. It serves to ensure uninterrupted business operations during critical situations and directly impacts employees' leave planning. Because of this, strict legal and organizational requirements govern when, how, and for how long blackout periods may be imposed.

Absence rate management: Definition, key metrics & measures

Absence rate management ensures clear processes for sickness, vacation, and unplanned absences. It helps companies analyze absence patterns, reduce costs, and promote employee health. Through digital recording and targeted measures, planning improves, productivity increases, and a sustainable balance between performance and well-being is achieved.

Staff planning in Excel 2026: Templates, tips, and better alternatives

Excel remains one of the most widely used tools for staff planning, especially in small and medium-sized businesses. While it offers flexibility and familiarity, it also has significant limitations when teams grow. In this guide, we'll show you how to make the most of Excel for staff planning and when it's time to consider alternatives.

Company-wide shutdowns: Definition, legal framework & implementation

A company-wide shutdown is an employer-designated period during which the business closes entirely or partially and employees are required to take leave. It serves to consolidate time off for operational reasons and directly affects individual vacation planning. As a result, clear policies around eligibility, scope, employee consultation, and advance notice are essential.

Human Capital Management: Definition, Goals, and Implementation

Human Capital Management (HCM) places people at the center of strategic business management. It focuses on systematically developing knowledge and potential to drive lasting improvements in productivity and growth. Organizations that recognize their workforce as their most valuable asset gain a sustained competitive edge through stronger innovation and adaptability.

Out-of-Office in Outlook: How to Set Up Your Absence on Every Device

A properly configured out-of-office reply in Outlook ensures that no message goes unanswered. It automatically informs contacts when you're on vacation or away from the office.

How to set up substitute arrangements in your company

A clear substitute arrangement prevents standstill when employees are absent. It defines who takes over tasks, how handovers work, and which information needs to be accessible. This keeps projects moving forward, even during sickness or vacation. However, substitute arrangements must be binding, transparent, and legally compliant to work effectively.

Workforce Capacity Planning – Deploy Staff Effectively and Avoid Bottlenecks

Effective workforce capacity planning ensures that projects stay on track, employees are neither overloaded nor underutilized, and resources are used efficiently. Organizations that have a clear picture of their available capacity can manage teams proactively and prevent bottlenecks before they arise.

Vacation entitlement during sick leave: How to protect your time off

Vacation entitlement does not automatically disappear when you fall ill. In many jurisdictions, the law protects employees who can prove they were unfit for work during their scheduled leave. What matters is when the illness occurs and how you report it. By following the right steps, you protect your vacation days and avoid disputes with your employer.

Remaining Leave on Termination – Entitlement, Payout and Legal Rules

When employees resign or are dismissed, one question comes up time and again: What happens to unused holiday? Remaining leave on termination is protected by law and does not automatically expire. The key factors are the leaving date, the accrued holiday entitlement, and what has been agreed with the employer. By planning ahead, you can either take your outstanding days or receive payment in lieu — and avoid losing out financially.

Staff planning in Excel 2026

Staff planning with Excel is for many teams in Germany the fastest and most cost-effective way to plan employees, vacations, and capacities. Excel offers useful features to structure the most important HR tasks, from shift planning to the analysis of working hours. However, often there is a lack of clean structure. Many files are expanded over the years, lose clarity and cause errors. A clear Excel template for staff planning helps to combine absences and capacity overview into a structured system.

Template for a vacation request

Those who wish to apply for vacation usually want to complete the application quickly and correctly, without wasting time on formatting or phrasing. A good template ensures that all important details, from the period and type of vacation to the signature, are correct right away. This way, your application arrives at the HR department fully completed and can typically be processed without any further questions.

The 6 best Microsoft Teams integrations

Microsoft Teams has evolved from a chat tool into a comprehensive work platform. With the right integrations, it becomes the central hub for projects, approvals, and collaboration. There are now many integrations available, but which ones do you really need?

The 7 Best Vacation Planner Software Tools

Vacation planner software replaces error-prone Excel spreadsheets with clear, automated processes for leave requests, approvals, and calendar synchronization.

The 7 Best Absence Management Softwares

Absence management software replaces confusing Excel spreadsheets and email chaos with clear, automated processes for vacation, sickness, and substitutions.

Vacation Plan: Rights, Setup & Practical Template

A vacation plan helps teams work more smoothly, ensures leave entitlements are handled correctly, and prevents scheduling conflicts or forfeited days off. With proper organization of employee leave, you save time, reduce risk, and create clarity across your organization.

Free Timesheet Template: Download as PDF, Excel & Word

Timesheets are a legal requirement for many types of employment, particularly for hourly and non-exempt workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Many teams also use timesheets voluntarily to transparently document working hours, overtime, and absences.

Compensatory Time Off: Entitlement, Rules & Practical Implementation

Overtime is work performed that employees are entitled to either as money or time off. Time off in lieu is often the more attractive option, as it secures additional days off. It is important to know what time off in lieu entails, when one is entitled to it, and how to proceed correctly when applying for time off in lieu.

Setting up a group calendar in MS Teams: Managing appointments, absences & meetings

A group calendar in Teams creates clarity in the daily work routine: appointments are clearly visible, double bookings are avoided, and absences are transparently displayed. All practical ways to set it up, their respective advantages and disadvantages, as well as clear recommendations for your needs can be found here in a compact summary.

View Teams Calendar of Others: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

The easiest way to coordinate appointments within the company is if you can directly view other people's Teams calendar. With the right settings, you save yourself annoying follow-up questions, avoid scheduling conflicts, and keep track of the availability of all participants.

MS Teams Time Tracking: How Time Recording Works

Microsoft Teams introduces its own time tracking with the integrated Shifts app. This allows employees to clock in and out, record breaks, and adjust hours retroactively. For many businesses, this is sufficient, but as shift models become more complex or detailed evaluations are needed, the app quickly reaches its limits.

The 5 Best timeout App Alternatives 2026

Many teams rely on the Timeout app to plan breaks and structure working hours. However, as business needs evolve, it can be worth exploring other tools. If you're looking for a timeout app alternative, here's an overview of five comparable tools with a similar range of features.

Absence plan: Organize team unavailability clearly and efficiently

Unplanned outages and poorly coordinated vacation schedules cost teams valuable time. A clearly structured absence plan provides an overview, prevents double bookings, and ensures that tasks continue even in someone's absence.

How to Set Working Hours in Outlook Calendar (2026)

Incorrectly recorded working hours in Outlook can quickly slow down scheduling and coordination. However, in Outlook, the working hours can be set with just a few clicks, so that your calendar accurately reflects the actual availability for you and your colleagues.

Tracking sick leave: How to keep an eye on illness-related absences

Many record sick leave via email, phone, or with Excel. This works until it becomes cluttered. When information is missing or gets lost, not only does planning suffer. Legally, it can also become problematic. Anyone who wants to track sick leave needs a system that documents reliably and provides information immediately. Ideally automated, compliant with data protection and transparent for all parties involved.

Outlook Automatic Forwarding: Set Up in Minutes (2026)

You are on vacation, working from home, or simply hard to reach, and yet you don't want to miss any important messages. Instead of checking each mailbox manually, you can set up Outlook emails to be automatically forwarded. With just a few clicks, emails are forwarded to colleagues or your private address. However, what many do not know: The setup works differently depending on whether you use Outlook in the browser, on the desktop, or with Microsoft 365. Here you will get a clear step-by-step guide, tailored to your version, on how to automatically forward Outlook emails.

Schedule an Email in Outlook: How to Send Emails Later

You've written the perfect email, but it's Friday evening — not exactly the ideal time to hit send. Monday morning, though? Perfect. Controlling when your emails arrive shows respect for working hours, avoids unnecessary pressure, and ensures important messages get the attention they deserve. Whether it's the weekend, after hours, or you want perfect timing for the start of the week: scheduling emails in Outlook saves time and keeps your communication clean. The right approach depends on whether you're using Outlook on desktop, in the browser, or on mobile.

Calculate sickness rate: Guide for HR and managers

In your company, the number of sick days is increasing and you are looking for a reliable method to accurately determine the proportion? This article will show you the procedure for calculating the sickness rate, which values serve as a guide, and how you can automatically obtain figures with the right tools and instruments.

absence-Alternative: 7 Tools Compared

Are you looking for an absence alternative because you want to compare integrations, pricing structures, and features of absence.io, or have you already gathered your own experiences with absence? In this overview, you will learn about 7 relevant tools, find out the most important decision criteria for absence alternatives, and see how functions and prices compare. In this article, you will learn: - What really matters when choosing alternative absence management tools - How common absence management tools differ in an absence.io comparison - What features are essential for a complete holiday and absence management system - How to find the right alternative based on long-term demands Directly to the absence alternatives

Create an Outlook template: Designing absence management convincingly

Do you manually create your Outlook templates and recreate them for every absence? Then you risk typos or missing information, which can appear unprofessional and lead to confusion among customers and employees. Outlook email templates can greatly simplify this process, yet many do not know how to set them up and use them effectively. This article will show you: - What Outlook templates are and the advantages they offer. - How to quickly create and use a template in Outlook Desktop and Web. - How to quickly access email templates using QuickSteps and Quick Parts.

Set up automatic replies in Outlook – Instructions for Windows, Mac & Smartphone

In your everyday work life, you are always reachable until you go on vacation, get stuck in important meetings, or switch to working from home. Then emails go unanswered and your team and external contacts don't know when they will hear from you again. Yet, you still want to maintain a professional impression and not leave any message unanswered. In this article, you will learn how to set up an automatic email response in Outlook, also known as “Outlook Automatic Reply“, to reliably send out-of-office messages. We will guide you through the steps for Windows, Mac, Web, and mobile – including scheduling, templates, and practical tips.

Boosting Microsoft Teams Productivity: 15 Quick Tips

You open Microsoft Teams and are immediately overwhelmed by unread chats and cluttered channels. Important information gets lost, while appointments are often double-booked or forgotten. This chaos costs you valuable time every day and robs you of focus. In this article, you will learn how to set up and use Teams to organize your communication clearly and automate recurring processes to automate. This way, you gain up to an extra hour of time back in your day. This article provides you with 15 practical tips on how to: - Channels and Chats organized in such a way that information is not lost - By settings and status options you reduce distractions and enable focus blocks - Routine tasks and absence information automated with workflows and absentify Calendar and meetings so coordinated that you save time every day

Digital Leave Request: Apply for leave digitally and say goodbye to paper chaos

A digital vacation request puts an end to email chaos, forgotten Excel sheets, and lost vacation slips. Instead of a tedious back and forth, the entire process is clear and straightforward: apply for vacation online, approve, manage – all with just a few clicks. For employees, HR, or team leaders, this means less effort and more transparency. In this article, you will learn how a digital vacation request works, what you should pay attention to, and how you can easily implement it in your company – without complicated systems or lengthy transitions.

Using Microsoft Teams effectively: How to bring organization, structure, and efficiency to your workday

Using Microsoft Teams effectively is something many only achieve partially. You work with the tool every day, but your workday remains cluttered? Often, this is not due to the tool itself, but rather how you use it. Unstructured communication, scattered files, missed tasks, and constant notifications are often the result. In this article, we will show you how to restructure your Teams setup – with clear methods, meaningful best practices, and features of Microsoft Teams. This article will show you: - How you structure teams effectively. - Which features are really important. - Which Best Practices Teams professionals apply. - How you make your communication efficient. Which extensions can significantly ease your work.

Teams Tips and Tricks: How to Use MS Teams More Productively and Smartly

Microsoft Teams is an essential tool for daily collaboration, yet many only use a fraction of its features. If you use Teams correctly, you not only save time – you work more focused, transparent, and productive. And by the way, you make your entire team more efficient. To use tips and tricks for Teams that truly simplify your workday, this article will help you. From the optimal setup to hidden features all the way to practical automations – you will learn how to efficiently use Teams for your workday.

Public Holiday Calendar 2026: Download for Excel, PDF & Teams

Missed a holiday? Overlooked a long weekend? Vacation planning in chaos? A public holiday calendar helps you plan ahead – whether for your vacation, your next project, or just for some well-earned long weekends. What matters most: You need clear information on when a US holiday occurs, whether it’s federal or state-specific, and how to strategically combine free days. This article provides you with a complete overview of US holidays and potential long weekends in 2026 at a glance. You can also download our 2026 holiday calendar as a PDF or Excel file – organized, up-to-date, and relevant for your planning.

Outlook Tips and Tricks: How to Get the Most Out of Your Inbox

Every day it's the same routine: New emails bombard you, appointments overlap, and somewhere between "Urgent" and "Maybe later" you lose track. You click through folders, drag attachments back and forth, and wonder: "There has to be a smarter way to do this." Outlook can do much more than most users know. You don't need new tools to tidy up your workday – you need the right Outlook tips and tricks. In this article, you will learn: - How you organize Outlook instead of just processing emails. - Which hidden features can save you minutes every day. How you become faster with shortcuts and automations at last.

Create a shift schedule in Microsoft Teams: Step-by-step guide

Microsoft Teams offers a tool with the Shifts app to create shifts, assign employees, and manage short-term changes. In this article, you will learn how to set up the Shifts app in Microsoft Teams, add teams and staff members, customize shifts, and handle changes.

Structuring Microsoft Teams correctly – Your options for better organization

Countless teams, duplicate files, endless messages – and when you're looking for something, you can't find it? If you're new to Teams or have been using it haphazardly, now is the right time to bring much more order to the interface. Here you'll learn about the options for structuring Teams, what they offer you, and how to implement them.

How to Change Work Hours in Microsoft Teams (2026)

Those who frequently deal with Microsoft Teams during their workday are familiar with the problem: meetings are suggested outside of actual working hours, notifications interrupt the evening, or the team is not exactly sure when one is available. This is precisely where setting your working hours correctly can help. Here you will learn step by step how to proceed and which pitfalls you should avoid.

The functions of Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams has become established in many companies as the communication tool of choice. And for good reason: It combines many features that are needed for daily collaboration. Here you will learn what those features are, how you can use them, and where the limitations of Teams lie.

Vacation management in the cloud: Fair scheduling for the team

Vacation requests via email, manually syncing calendars, and Excel spreadsheets that no one keeps up to date? This is time-consuming and causes frustration in the team! With a cloud-based vacation management system, you keep track, automate approvals, and ensure that your team can plan fairly. Here you will learn about the benefits of managing vacation time in the cloud, how to implement a vacation management system via the cloud, and what to look for in software.

How to Add Public Holidays to Outlook Calendar (2026)

In Microsoft Outlook, you can add nationwide and regional holidays so that you don't miss these days for your planning. We'll show you how to do it here.

Employee vacation management

The annual dispute over bridge days, parents who are tied to school holiday schedules, and an Excel list that circulates in three different versions: Here we show you how the vacation management of employees can be much more relaxed.

Company vacation planning: legally prepared and organised without chaos

Company vacation planning is the process by which employees and managers coordinate leave requests, avoid staffing shortages and comply with legal requirements. Clear rules and a shared calendar make the difference between chaos and clarity.

Holiday Calendar 2026: Download the Free Template (Excel and Google Sheets)

Here we show you how to choose the right vacation calendar for your company, offer you a free template for download, and explain how you can simplify vacation planning within your team.

Vacation Planner Excel 2026: Free Template Download

Here you will find a free template for your holiday planning in Excel for 2026. Additionally, we will show you how to choose a suitable holiday calendar for your company and simplify the holiday planning in your team significantly.

Vacation management without conflicts + Tips & Software

If vacation planning always involves a mess of papers or different versions of the Excel vacation list on multiple computers, it's time for a better vacation management system. In this guide, we will show you what has proven effective in vacation planning, how to reduce the effort, and which tools can help you from now on.

How to enter vacation in Outlook: Here's how to relax into your days off!

In Microsoft Outlook, you can enter your vacation time in such a way that colleagues can see your absence. We'll show you how to do that here.

Templates for absence notes to copy

You can copy our out-of-office message templates for free here:

Out-of-office reply in Outlook: set it up correctly in a few minutes

An out-of-office reply in Outlook automatically informs colleagues and external contacts about your absence. You set it up on the desktop, in the browser, on Mac or in the app, and separate internal from external recipients.

Absence calendar: definition, template and implementation in Microsoft 365

An absence calendar shows vacation and other absences across the team at a glance. As soon as several departments or locations are involved, Excel lists and email coordination quickly reach their limits.

Absence management: definition, absence types and software

Absence management means planning, recording and administering all time away from work in a company — from vacation and sickness to parental leave. HR teams without clear processes waste time on manual coordination and risk errors in approvals and cover arrangements. What is needed is a workflow that reflects legal requirements and makes absences transparent.

Microsoft Teams: How to set your status to away explained simply

Are you planning your vacation or have an important appointment and want to make sure your team is informed on time? Correctly setting up absences in Teams often raises questions: - Why is the status not displayed correctly? - Do your colleagues receive automatic notifications? - Are other employees absent during the same period? In this article, you will receive clear instructions on how to set an absence in Microsoft Teams and what you should pay attention to. Additionally, read our tips for the proper management of absences in Teams.

Microsoft Teams: Vacation planning made easy

Microsoft Teams has become indispensable in the daily work of many companies. The platform consolidates communication, organization, and collaboration in one central location. However, when it comes to planning vacations, Teams quickly reaches its limits. While Teams offers basic features, they are often not sufficient to coordinate absences efficiently and clearly. In this article, we will show you exactly how you can use Microsoft Teams for vacation planning, where the limitations are, and how absentify as a free software for vacation planning in Microsoft Teams solves these problems.