Absences & Holiday Requests
Set holiday entitlements, manage absence requests, record sick leave, and keep your shift calendar accurate.
Before You Start
What you need to manage absences effectively.
Before you start
- Workers added to your TempClock system
- Access to the manage portal with a Manager or Admin role
- An idea of each worker's annual holiday entitlement (in days)
In the UK, most full-time workers are entitled to at least 28 days of paid annual leave (including bank holidays). TempClock lets you set the exact number per worker, so you can handle different contracts and entitlements.
Open the manage portal
Log in to your TempClock account and go to the manage portal.
Click "Operations" in the sidebar
In the left-hand sidebar, expand the Operations menu. This reveals several sub-pages including Shifts, Absences, and more.
Click "Absences"
Click Absences to open the absence management page. This is where you can see all absence requests, set entitlements, and record sick leave.
Setting Holiday Entitlements
Define how many days off each worker gets per year.
Before workers can request holidays, you need to set their annual entitlement. This tells TempClock how many days of holiday each worker is allowed per year.
Go to the Entitlements tab
On the Absences page, click the Entitlements tab. This shows a list of all workers and their annual holiday allowance.
Set days for each worker
Click on a worker to open their entitlement settings. Enter the number of days per year they are entitled to. You can also set the holiday year (e.g. January to December, or April to March).
Save the entitlement
Click Save. The entitlement is now active and TempClock will track how many days the worker has used and how many remain.
Part-time workers may have a different entitlement to full-time staff. You can set any number of days per worker, so it is easy to handle different contracts.
Requesting & Approving Time Off
How absence requests work from start to finish.
The absence request workflow has three simple stages: the worker makes a request, a manager reviews it, and the manager approves or rejects it.
How a worker requests time off
Worker opens their profile
The worker logs into TempClock (or uses the kiosk self-service if enabled) and navigates to the Time Off section.
Worker selects dates and type
They choose the date range for their absence and select the type:
- Holiday — annual leave
- Sick — sick leave (usually recorded by a manager instead)
- Other — any other type of absence (e.g. compassionate leave, training)
Worker submits the request
They click Submit Request. The request goes to the manager for review. The worker can see the status of their request as "Pending".
How a manager approves or rejects
Manager sees pending requests
On the Absences page, the Requests tab shows all pending absence requests. New requests appear with a yellow "Pending" badge.
Review the request
Click on the request to see the details: who is requesting, what dates, how many days, and the type of absence. You can also see how many holiday days the worker has remaining.
Approve or reject
Click Approve to grant the time off, or Reject to decline it. If you reject, you can add a note explaining why (for example, "Too many people already off that week").
When you approve a holiday request, TempClock automatically deducts the days from the worker's remaining entitlement. You do not need to do this manually.
Recording Sick Leave
Log when a worker is off sick.
Sick leave is usually recorded by a manager rather than requested by the worker. When a worker calls in sick, you can quickly log it in TempClock.
Go to the Absences page
Navigate to Operations > Absences in the sidebar.
Click "Record Absence"
Click the + Record Absence button to open the absence form.
Fill in the details
Select the worker, choose Sick as the type, and enter the date or date range. Add any notes if needed (for example, "Called in at 7am, stomach bug").
Save
Click Save. The sick day is recorded and the worker's absence history is updated. Sick days do not count against the worker's holiday entitlement.
Sick leave is tracked separately from holiday entitlement. You can see a worker's full absence history (holidays, sick days, and other absences) on their profile page.
How Absences Appear on the Calendar
See approved absences alongside your shifts.
Approved absences are shown directly on the shift calendar so you can see at a glance who is off and plan around it.
Absences appear on the calendar with these visual cues:
Red background with "Holiday" label — easy to spot across the week
Orange background with "Sick" label
Grey background with the absence type shown
If a shift exists on a day when a worker is absent, it is flagged with a warning icon
If you try to create a shift for a worker who has an approved absence on that date, TempClock will warn you. You can still create the shift, but the warning helps you avoid scheduling mistakes.
Tracking Holiday Balances
Keep an eye on remaining entitlements throughout the year.
TempClock automatically tracks how many holiday days each worker has used and how many they have left. You can check balances at any time from the Absences page.
Check your team's holiday balances regularly, especially towards the end of the holiday year. Workers with lots of days remaining may need a reminder to book time off before they lose it.
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