Absence planning
This page lets you agree your time off with everyone else before you file an official request. You see at a glance who is planned, requested or already approved to be away - across the whole company, not just your own team. You add your own entry here without any commitment and turn it into a real request later with a single click.
/hr/absence-planningWhat can I do here?
- See who is away in the selected range - all colleagues, across all teams
- Tell which state an absence is in: planned, requested or approved
- Add your own non-binding planning entry: no approval run, no deduction from your allowance
- Change, delete, or submit your own planning entry as an official request with one click
- Narrow the view down to a team, a department or certain states
What others see of you: For colleagues you only ever see the period and the state - never which absence type it is. On top of that, only types released for planning appear on this page at all (as delivered: holiday). A sick note does not show up for others in the first place. Your own entries, by contrast, always stay fully visible to you, with type and colour.
Step by step
- Pick the range: Use the arrows at the top left to move back and forth; "Today" jumps back to the current month. Next to them you choose whether to see a month or a whole quarter.
- Read the board: Every row is a person, every column a day. A filled cell shows the state through its shape: solid = approved, outlined = requested, hatched = planned. For your own entries the colour additionally stands for the absence type; for other people's entries a neutral colour is used and the text reads "Absent". Weekends and full-day public holidays for a person are never shown as a filled cell, even when they fall inside a period: a holiday instead shows a green background and is labelled "Holiday" on hover. Hover a cell to read person, date and state as plain text.
- Add your own entry: Click "Add planning entry" at the top right. Choose the absence type and the period, optionally add a note, and confirm with "Add entry". The entry appears hatched in your row straight away - visible to everyone, but entirely non-binding.
- Agree with your team: Check whether others are already planned or requested for the same period and talk it through. If it does not fit, open your own entry and delete it again.
- Submit the request: Click your own entry and then "Submit as request now". From that moment the same data continues as an ordinary absence request: your manager or HR receives it for review, and only the approval deducts days from your allowance.
flowchart LR
A[Planned<br/>non-binding] -->|Submit as request now| B[Requested]
A -->|delete| Z[gone]
B --> C{Review by<br/>manager/HR}
C -->|approved| D[Approved<br/>counts against allowance]
C -->|rejected| E[Rejected<br/>no effect on allowance]
Fields explained
| Field | Meaning | Notes/effect |
|---|---|---|
| Range | The visible slice of the calendar | Set via the arrows and "Month"/"Quarter"; stored in the address, so a copied link shows the same slice |
| Search | Free-text search over the name | A convenience only - it does not limit who you are allowed to see |
| Team | Narrows the view to one team | Convenience. Without a selection you still see everyone |
| Department | Narrows the view to one department | Convenience, same as team |
| States | Choice of Planned / Requested / Approved | Without a selection all three are shown |
| Absence type (when planning) | What you intend to do (e.g. holiday) | Only types released for planning are offered. The list comes from your master data - if HR releases another type it appears here automatically |
| From / To | First and last day of the entry | Weekends and public holidays are automatically excluded from the day count - exactly as for a real request |
| Note | Free text | Optional; it is kept when you submit |
Values & states
State of an absence
| Label | Rendering | Meaning | Effect on the allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planned | hatched | Non-binding entry, not a request yet | None. Planning entries are never deducted |
| Requested | outlined | The request is awaiting review | None yet. Only approval books it |
| Approved | solid | The request was confirmed | The days are firmly deducted |
Absence type
For your own entries the type is shown through colour and label. It comes entirely from the absence-type master data - there is no fixed list: if HR creates another type (e.g. "Sabbatical"), it appears with its name and colour without any further work.
For other people's entries the type is never shown. There you only see the period and the state. This is deliberate: the reason for an absence is nobody's business except the person concerned and HR.
Which types take part in planning at all is controlled by HR per type through the setting "Take part in absence planning" (Absences → Types). As delivered this is set for the holiday types only. Only such types can be pencilled in, and only such entries appear on other people's rows at all - everything else, sick leave in particular, stays entirely private. If another type should take part later (e.g. special leave), the tick is enough; no change to the software is needed.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I see colleagues from other teams?
That is intentional. The board is company-wide so that time off can be agreed across team boundaries too. The team filter helps you sort, it does not limit what you are allowed to see.
Does a planning entry reduce my holiday allowance?
No. A planning entry is non-binding and does not touch your allowance at all. Only approved absences are deducted.
Can I change someone else's planning entry?
No. You see everyone's entries, but you can only change, delete and submit your own.
I have added an entry - do I still need to file a request?
Yes. The entry is the agreement within the team, the request is the official approval. Open your entry and click "Submit as request now" - you do not have to re-enter anything.
Why can my entry not be submitted?
Submitting applies the binding rules that planning deliberately skips: remaining allowance, blocked periods and the absence policies. The message names the concrete reason.
Why does an absence only say "Absent"?
Because the absence type is never shown for other people's entries. You see the period and the state, but not the reason. On your own entries the type is spelled out in full.
Can everyone see when I am off sick now?
No. Only types released for planning appear on this page - as delivered, holiday only. A sick note does not show up for others at all, neither with nor without a label. You do see your own sick notes in your own row.
Why can I not pick every absence type when planning?
Only the types your HR department released for planning are offered. Everything else - a sick note, for example - you report as a request directly under "My absences", exactly as before.
Why isn't Saturday/Sunday hatched in an entry that spans a weekend?
That's intentional: weekends and full-day public holidays never count as an absence day, so the board never shows them as filled either - regardless of whether the entry is planned, requested, or approved. A holiday inside the period stays recognizable as such (green) instead of showing up as a vacation day.
Can I share a link to a particular view?
Yes. Range, view mode, filters and page live in the address. Whoever opens the link sees the same slice.