Approving leave

Decide staff leave requests, see which shifts a request clashes with, and arrange cover where it would leave a gap.

When a staff member books time off, it arrives as a pending request for an admin to decide. Leave approvals are handled on the Leave & availability page.

Open Leave & availability. Admins see an Awaiting your approval section at the top listing every pending request, with the staff member's name, leave type, the dates (and AM/PM for a half-day), and any reason they gave.

The shifts a request would affect

If approving the leave would clash with shifts the person is already rostered on, the request shows a rose badge: Clashes with N of their shift(s) — arrange cover. This is your early warning that approving will open a gap you'll need to fill.

Approving or declining

  • Press Approve to grant the leave. If it clashes with rostered shifts, you'll see a confirmation like *Approved — N shifts now need cover* so you know to arrange cover for those shifts.

  • Press Decline to turn the request down.

  • Either way you can add an Optional reply to the requester — a short note that goes back to the staff member with your decision.

Approved leave that counts towards the allowance is deducted from the person's entitlement for that leave year. The staff member is notified of your decision automatically.

Who can approve leave

Leave decisions are an organisation-admin job — unlike timesheets and swap/drop/cover requests, leave approval is not part of the per-area manager permissions. Granting a manager rota capabilities does not let them approve time off.

Step-by-step
  1. 1Open **Leave & availability**
  2. 2Find the request under **Awaiting your approval**
  3. 3Check the dates, leave type and any rose **Clashes with…** badge
  4. 4Optionally type a note in **Optional reply to the requester…**
  5. 5Press **Approve** to grant it, or **Decline** to turn it down
  6. 6If shifts now need cover, arrange replacements on the rota
Tips
  • A rose **Clashes with N of their shift(s)** badge means approving will leave a gap — line up cover straight away.
  • Use the optional reply to explain a decline or add context to an approval.
  • Only paid/allowance-counting leave types are deducted from the person's allowance.
Last updated 1 June 2026 · by Carerealm · Suggest a feature or change to this article
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