How to create an absence request
1
Start a new absence request
To create a new absence request, go to the Overview page and select Create request. Alternatively, you can select the date(s) in your calendar for the desired absence period.
2
Select the type of absence
In the request form, open the Leave type dropdown menu. Select the type of absence you need to request, such as vacation, sick leave, or home office. Some types may display (Deductible) next to the name, indicating they will impact your leave allowance.
Note: Absence types marked as (Deductible) in the dropdown will typically reduce your leave allowance by the calculated number of days, while non-deductible absences will not. The number of days deducted may account for your working schedule and public holidays, but these settings are customized by your company. If a leave type you expect is missing, your admin may have turned off Visible for the linked allowance.
3
Set the duration and details
- Starting and Ending: Set the start and end dates. For hourly leave, also set the start and end times. For day-based leave, choose Morning or Afternoon at the start, and Lunch break or End of day at the end. Dates before your employment start date or after your last working day cannot be selected; both boundary dates remain available. If you type a date outside this period, the field shows an inline error instead of changing the date.
Note: You can only create absence requests for the current year or the upcoming year (according to your company’s fiscal year settings). If you need to plan further in advance, please consult your HR administrator.
-
Public holidays in your selection: If the dates you choose include one or more public holidays, an info box appears telling you how many public holidays fall within the selected period. Once you have picked a leave type, the box also indicates whether those days are Deductible, show Half day: the working half still counts., or carry No deduction from allowance. For half-day public holidays, the banner can also show Half day: the working half still counts. when only one half of the day is deducted. Select View details to see each holiday’s date, name, and Take from allowance status.
The same public holiday detection also applies when a manager creates a group (department) request. In that case the banner shows how many members are affected (for example, 3 of 8 members) instead of a single holiday count.
- Available for these dates: When the bookable amount depends on which dates you pick, a line reading Available for these dates appears below the deducted duration and updates as you change the dates. It shows how much of your allowance you can actually book for the selected period. This happens whenever your dates fall into a narrower window than the full year, for example with a monthly allowance you have to use up inside its month, a carry-over deadline, or a new rule that starts later in the year. The figure covers your whole selection, so it is the smallest amount available on any day in it. When the amount belongs to that window only, the line also names the last day you can still use it, for example Available for these dates: 2 days, until 31.03.2026. The figure can differ from the balance on your allowance card, because the card shows the balance available today, see My calendar. If your selection needs more than is available, absentify replaces the generic error with the amount you do have. When more allowance is still coming, it names that amount and the date it arrives, for example You only have 1 day available for the selected dates. 10 days will be added on 01.09.2026. When an earlier date range in the same year had more, it names that range, for example You only have 5 days available for the selected dates. Dates from 01.02.2026 to 31.03.2026 have 20 days. Otherwise, it states the available amount on its own: You only have 1 day available for the selected dates.
- Reason (optional): Depending on the absence type and your company’s settings, you may need to provide a reason for your absence. The field supports multiple lines of text. If your entry exceeds the character limit, absentify prompts you to shorten it. Fill this in if prompted.
-
Attachment (optional): If document uploads are enabled for the selected leave type, you will see an Attachment field. Select Upload or drag and drop files to attach supporting documents to your request. Depending on your company’s plan:
- In the Essentials plan, you can upload one document per request (max. 2 MB).
- In the Plus plan, you can upload multiple documents per request (max. 15 MB per document).
4
Representative (if required)
If a representative is required for the selected leave type, the Representative section will appear in the request form.
- Depending on your company’s settings, one or more representatives may be required.
- The representative(s) may be automatically prefilled from your profile or, if allowed, you may have the option to select them manually.
- If selection is allowed:
- If multiple representatives are selected, you can rearrange the order in which they are contacted for approval.
- You can add or remove representatives depending on who you want to cover for you during your absence.
- If the representatives are assigned automatically, no changes can be made—simply proceed with submitting your request.
5
Submit the request
Once all information is complete, select Send request to submit your absence request. If selected dates fall outside your employment period, the button remains unavailable and explains why. If the absence type requires approval, your manager or approver will be notified. If approval is not required, the request will be logged immediately.
6
View your request status (optional)
After submitting, you can see your absence request logged on the Overview page. Here, you can track its status to see if it’s pending, approved, or declined.
Create a request for a past date
Without additional manager or administrator permissions, you can create your own absence request with a start date up to 30 days in the past, as long as the date is in the current fiscal year. Dates more than 30 days in the past cannot be selected. Ask an administrator to record an older absence for you. A department manager can do this for employees in a managed department only when Retroactive absence management by department manager is enabled; their range then extends into the previous fiscal year. If an existing request has the wrong leave type, for example a home office day that should have been sick leave, it cannot be edited directly. The incorrect request must be canceled and a new request created with the correct leave type. For a request that has already started, an administrator must cancel it. A department manager can do this instead for employees in a managed department only when the setting above is enabled. See Cancel an absence request.Create a recurring absence request
absentify allows you to create recurring absence requests with flexible scheduling options. Please note that recurring absence requests cannot start in a previous fiscal year, and the selected recurrence period must not exceed one year from the chosen start date.Recurring absences are only available on the Essentials or Plus plan. See the plan feature matrix.
1
Open the absence form
Select Create request and select the desired Leave type from the dropdown.
2
Enable recurrence
Activate the Make Recurring option to convert the absence into a recurring request.
3
Set start date and repetition interval
Select the start date for the recurring absence.
Select the repetition interval:
Select the repetition interval:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
4
Configure recurrence details
- For weekly recurrence, select the days of the week.
Non-working days for the selected user will be shown, but they can still be selected. - For monthly recurrence, select either:
- A specific day of the month (e.g. the 15th), or
- A weekday pattern (e.g. every third Monday)
Then, define the interval (e.g. every 2 months).
5
Set end condition
Select one of the following options to determine when the recurrence stops:
- Until a specific end date
- Until a defined number of occurrences
6
Define time frame
- For hourly leave, enter Start time and End time for each occurrence. The times start from your working hours on the start date. You can change them.
- For daily leave, each occurrence covers a full day.
- For half-day leave types, choose Full day, Morning, or Afternoon per occurrence.
7
Review and resolve conflicts
Any potential conflicts appear before submission. Conflicts may include:
- Assigned representative is unavailable on one or more dates
- Maximum absence limit for the department has been reached
- Overlapping requests for the same user
- You are currently acting as a representative for a colleague during the requested period (depending on the leave type configuration, this may block submission, show a confirmation dialog, or appear as an informational warning for pending representative assignments)
8
Submit the request
Once you’ve reviewed the summary and resolved any conflicts, select Apply to create the recurring absence.
Viewing absence details
Clicking on a specific day for an absence opens a detailed dialog box with the following information:- Leave type and duration: Displays the type of leave (e.g., “Vacation”) along with the start and end dates. For day-based absences (including multiple days or half-day absences), the time settings will reflect your company’s configuration, such as Morning, Afternoon, Lunch break, or End of day. For absences tracked by the hour, specific times are displayed according to your profile settings.
- Reason: If a reason for the absence was provided during the request creation, it will be displayed here.
- Status: Shows the current status of the leave request:
- Pending: The request is awaiting approval from your manager or approver.
- Approved: The request has been approved and is officially recorded. The date and time of the approval decision is displayed next to the status.
- Declined: The request was declined. You may need to adjust details and resubmit if necessary. The date and time of the decline is displayed next to the status.
- Canceled: The request was withdrawn by the employee or by another user with the appropriate permissions. The cancellation date is displayed next to the status.
For declined and canceled requests, the approve and decline actions are not available in the detail view.
- Process status: Details the approval process, indicating who needs to approve the request and their decision status.
Approval Processes
Approval Processes
If your absence request requires approval, it will go through one of the following processes, as set by your company:
- Linear - All must agree: Approvers are contacted one after the other. The request is approved only if all approvers agree. If even one approver denies the request, it will not be approved.
- Linear - One must agree: Approvers are contacted one after the other. If at least one approver approves the request, it will be approved.
- Parallel - All must agree: All approvers are contacted at the same time. The request is approved only if all approvers agree. If even one approver denies the request, it will not be approved.
- Parallel - One must agree: All approvers are contacted at the same time. If at least one approver approves the request, it will be approved.
- Take from allowance: Shows the number of days or hours deducted from the allowance, or No when nothing is deducted. When nothing is deducted, the value is No rather than a zero-day count.
- Request created: Indicates the date and time when the leave request was originally submitted.
- Request created by: Shows the name and profile picture of the person who created the request.
- Files: If documents were uploaded during the absence request creation, they will be displayed here under Files. You can download these attachments by clicking on the file name.
Admins, approvers, and requesters can upload additional files later.
If you are viewing another team member’s leave, you will only see the details you’re authorized to view. For your own leave requests, all relevant details are accessible.
Reminder emails
If your request requires approval and you haven’t received a response within 24 hours, you can send a reminder email to the approver. This option becomes available 24 hours and again 48 hours after the request is created. Sending a reminder helps ensure approvers are promptly notified of pending requests, avoiding delays in the approval process.Outlook calendar integration
What happens after submission depends on your company’s settings for the leave type:- With direct Outlook synchronization, absentify writes the entry to your Outlook calendar.
- With Calendar invitations enabled in your preferences, an eligible new request or approval can send an iCal invitation by email for you to accept. A later meaningful date, time, or status change can also send the first invitation for a current or future absence.
- Your company can delay the entry until approval or disable calendar entries for the leave type.