Requesting and Approving Holidays & Absences

This guide outlines the step-by-step process for sales representatives to request annual leave or absences via the mobile app, and for authorised users to manage and approve these requests via the Web UI.

 

1. How to Request Leave (Mobile App)

Representatives can submit holiday and absence requests directly through the mobile application.

 

Submitting a Request

1. Open the app and navigate to the Tasks tab.

2. Tap the floating + (plus) symbol in the bottom right corner to create a new task.

3. In the Task Type dropdown list, select either Holiday or Absence.

4. Enter the required Date Range.

   • Note: If you are requesting a single day, you can tick the Half Day option. This opens a secondary section to specify the time range (e.g., morning or afternoon).

5. Enter a clear Title (e.g., "Annual Leave").

6. Provide any necessary context in the Details section. This is particularly useful for absence requests that require further explanation.

7. Tap Save to submit your request.

 

Tracking Your Request Status

Once saved, the request will appear in your mobile task list with a colour-coded marker on the left-hand side to indicate its status:

 

• 🟦 Blue Marker: Indicates a Holiday request that is pending approval.

• 🟥 Red Marker: Indicates an Absence request that is pending approval.

 

2. Managing & Approving Requests (Web UI)

Once a representative submits a request, it is synchronised with the Web UI. However, holidays and absences behave differently in the main diary while pending.

 

Visibility of Pending Requests

Before a request is approved, its visibility on the Web UI depends entirely on the leave type:

 

• Holidays (Pending)

  • Main Diary Grid: Visible to everyone and marked with a red Unapproved banner.

  • Right-Hand (RH) Menu: Included in the total pending count.

• Absences (Pending)

  • Main Diary Grid: Hidden. To prevent scheduling conflicts, pending absences do not appear on the diary grid at all until they are formally approved.

  • Right-Hand (RH) Menu: Included in the total pending count.

 

⚠️ Why are pending Absences hidden?

To prevent scheduling gaps. If unapproved absences were visible, standard users might assume the representative is unavailable and avoid booking work for them. If the absence is ultimately rejected, this would result in a lost day of productivity.

🔍 Important Note for Approvers: Because pending absences are completely hidden from the main diary grid, the summary count in the right-hand menu is the only way to view and access them before they are approved.

 

Approving a Request

For users with approval privileges, follow these steps to locate and authorise a request:

 

1. Locate the Request:

   • For Holidays: You can open the task directly from the main diary grid, or click the total count in the RH Diary Menu.

   • For Absences: Click directly on the total count in the RH Diary Menu to open the pending list, as they will not appear on the diary grid yet.

2. Click inside the field labelled Approved By. The system will automatically populate this box with your user details and the current date.

3. Click Save.

 

Once saved, the red Unapproved banner will disappear from holidays, and approved absences will instantly become visible to everyone on the main diary grid.

 

3. Post-Approval Status (Mobile App)

As soon as a request is approved via the Web UI, the representative's mobile app will update automatically:

 

• The left-hand status marker on the task list will turn 🟩 Green.

• Opening the specific task will display a Green Approval Banner at the top of the screen, confirming the leave has been formally authorised.

 

4. Business Value: Managing Subcontractor Availability

While this workflow is standard for internal employees, this system is equally powerful for companies utilising subcontractors. Even though they are not permanent staff, managing their availability is critical to smooth operations.

 

Encouraging your external subcontractors to use the mobile app to log their planned "holidays" or unavailable days offers massive benefits to the business:

 

• Eliminates Scheduling Friction: Subcontractors can proactively log their unavailability in seconds. This removes the need for manual tracking via disjointed emails, texts, or phone calls.

• Prevents Accidental Allocations: Once a subcontractor's availability is authorised and appears on the main diary grid, scheduling teams will instantly know not to allocate onsite work to them for those dates.

• Protects Customer Relations: By preventing double-bookings or assigning jobs to unavailable subcontractors, you avoid the logistical nightmare of having to cancel or reschedule client appointments at the last minute.

• Real-Time Capacity Visibility: Managers gain a highly accurate, bird's-eye view of true workforce capacity on any given day, making it much easier to spot resource gaps early and draft in alternative cover if required.

 

💡 Tip for Onboarding Subcontractors: Frame the app to them as a tool that guarantees their personal time won't be interrupted by accidental work bookings. If it's in the app, their time off is protected.