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In absentify, you can configure individual user schedules to accommodate varying work patterns, ensuring accurate absence deductions and seamless integration with out-of-office notifications. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to managing work schedules.

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Configuring a work schedule

We recommend using the workspace-wide default working hours to define a user’s schedule, provided these hours also apply to the individual user. When a new user is added, these values are applied automatically. If the user’s schedule differs from the default setup, you can define or update work schedules to reflect actual working hours by following the steps outlined below.
  1. Add or modify schedules:
    • Select New work schedule to create a new schedule, or select an existing one to modify.
    • Set the start date for the schedule. For ongoing schedules, select Start of employment.
    • On each date, absentify uses this user’s latest schedule that has already started. If there is none, it uses the workspace default.
    • Specify working days and hours:
      • Use checkboxes to enable or disable workdays.
      • Split daily working hours into shifts if necessary (e.g., 8:00 AM–12:00 PM, 1:00 PM–5:00 PM).
    • Save changes to finalize the schedule.
    If a user’s hours change, create a new schedule starting from the date of the change instead of modifying past schedules. Previous schedules will automatically be marked as Completed. Changes to a schedule recalculate existing absences. The deducted duration on those requests can change, and the allowance balance can change with it. The recalculation may take some time.
  2. Handle schedule changes for temporary adjustments:
    • If a user transitions from full-time to part-time (e.g., for a specific period), create a new schedule with a defined Start date for the part-time period.
    • Once the part-time period ends, create another schedule to reflect their return to full-time hours, ensuring continuity and accurate absence tracking.
    Using specific start dates for schedule changes avoids overlaps and ensures proper recalculation of absence balances during transitions.
  3. Half-day configurations:
    • Enable the morning, the afternoon, or both.
    • When only one half is enabled, you can select Deduct full day. A day-based request on that day then deducts a full day, even though the person works only one half.
    • An hourly request still deducts only working time. If the request falls entirely outside working hours, it deducts nothing.
    • If the non-working half is a public holiday, absentify does not force a full-day deduction for that day.

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How do I set rest days or non-working days?

What some organizations call rest days are non-working days in an absentify work schedule. Edit the user’s schedule and disable the checkbox for each day they do not work. If their rest days change from a specific date, create a new schedule with that start date instead of changing the historical schedule. This keeps previous absence deductions accurate.

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Impact of schedules on absence calculations and out-of-office settings

Schedules affect more than just absence tracking. Below are the additional areas where schedules play a crucial role:

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1. Hourly absence tracking

  • When you book absences on an hourly basis, absentify counts only the periods within the defined working hours.
  • For example, if a user has a schedule of 8:00 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00 PM–5:00 PM, an absence request from 10:00 AM–3:00 PM will account for 4 hours of absence:
    • Morning: 2 hours from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
    • Afternoon: 2 hours from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
    • The 1-hour lunch break from 12:00 PM–1:00 PM is excluded.
  • If morning and afternoon times overlap, absentify counts the overlapping time only once.
  • If a half starts and ends at the same time, the editor shows This half has no working time. If you use hour-based leave types, requests in it will count as zero hours. Day-based requests still count that enabled half as half a day.
Ensure schedules are accurate to reflect hourly absences correctly, especially for users working variable shifts.

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2. Out-of-office notifications

  • absentify uses schedules to calculate the start and return times for out-of-office messages.
  • When the out-of-office message template contains placeholders like {{dateOfReturn}} and {{timeOfReturn}}, absentify uses the user’s schedule to determine the expected return date and time.
Example: for a schedule of Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM, if an absence ends on Friday at 5:00 PM, the placeholders {{dateOfReturn}} and {{timeOfReturn}} resolve to Monday, 8:00 AM.
Accurately configured schedules ensure out-of-office notifications provide the correct information to colleagues and external contacts.

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Best practices for schedules

  • Align with policies: Ensure work schedules match the user’s contractual working hours.
  • Use start dates for transitions: Define clear start dates for new schedules when a user’s working hours change temporarily or permanently.
  • Avoid overwriting schedules: Create new schedules for changes instead of modifying past schedules to maintain historical accuracy and proper recalculations.
Incorrect schedules may lead to inaccurate absence deductions, incorrect out-of-office return times, or errors in hourly absence tracking. Double-check all settings before saving.