# Holidays and absences

> See your holiday entitlement, request time off, and approve requests from the people you manage.

Source: https://help.clockworkcrm.com/general/holidays
Last updated: 2026-09-28

Holidays and other absences are requested and approved from your profile. Open it from your initials
at the bottom of the sidebar, then select **Holiday** or **Approvals**.

## Your holiday

The **Holiday** tab shows your balance, your working week, who approves your requests, and your
absences.

![The Holiday tab: entitlement, working week, line managers and the time off request](https://clockworkcrm.blob.core.windows.net/public-internal/docs/general/profile-holiday.png?v=82c8fc8a)

The figures at the top cover the current holiday year:

| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| **Entitlement Days** | Your holiday allowance for the year. When days have come across from last year, the number **carried over** is shown underneath |
| **Days Taken This Year** | Approved holiday in this holiday year, including approved days later in the year |
| **Days Remaining** | Entitlement plus carried over days, minus days taken. It is highlighted when it goes below zero |
| **Sick Days This Year** | Approved sick days in this holiday year. They are never taken from your entitlement |

**Your Working Week** shows each day from Monday to Sunday with the hours you work, or **Off** for a
non-working day. Your working week is set by an administrator.

**Your Line Managers** are the people who review your requests. When you have none, the page shows
**No line managers set** and your requests go to the administrators.

### How your balance is worked out

- Only **Holiday** absences are taken from your entitlement. Every other type is recorded but uses
  none of it.
- Only approved absences count. A request waiting for approval does not change your balance.
- Only your working days count. Non-working days and public holidays inside an absence are free.
- A whole working day costs one day. A partial day costs the hours you asked for, as a share of your
  contracted hours per day.
- If you join or leave part way through the holiday year, your entitlement is pro rata, rounded up to
  the nearest half day.
- Unused days carry into the next holiday year, up to the carry-over cap your administrator sets.

The holiday year, carry-over cap and public holidays are set in
[Instance settings](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/instance-settings#holiday-policy). Your entitlement, contracted hours,
employment dates and working hours are set in [Users](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/users#employment).

## Requesting time off

**Request Time Off** is on the **Holiday** tab.

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Partial day (a time window on one day)** | Switches the request to part of a single day |
| **First day** | The first day you are off. Called **Day** for a partial day |
| **Last day** | Your final day off. You are back the day after. Not shown for a partial day |
| **From** and **Until** | The start and end time of a partial day. Only shown for a partial day |
| **Type** | The kind of absence |
| **Notes (optional)** | Anything your reviewer needs to know, up to 500 characters |

The types are **Holiday**, **Sick**, **Unpaid**, **Bereavement**, **Parental**, **Jury service**,
**Study** and **Other**.

To request time off:

1. Choose the **First day** and **Last day**. For part of a day, turn on
   **Partial day (a time window on one day)**, then choose the **Day**, **From** and **Until**.
2. Choose the **Type**.
3. Add any **Notes (optional)**.
4. Select **Request**.

**Request** is unavailable until the dates are filled in, the last day is on or after the first day,
and a partial day ends after it starts.

If none of the days you chose are working days, a warning says the request will not use any of your
entitlement. You can still send it.

A request is refused when:

- it overlaps an absence you already have, other than a rejected one. Two partial days on the same day
  only overlap if their times overlap
- it starts sooner than the minimum notice your administrator sets
- it falls inside a blackout period

The minimum notice and blackout periods do not apply to **Sick**, **Bereavement** or **Jury service**.

A request does not need you to have enough days left. Your reviewer sees your remaining days when
deciding.

### Who is told

When you send a request, each of your line managers gets a notification and an email. If you have no
line managers, every administrator is told instead. You are never sent your own request to review.

When the request is approved or rejected, you get a notification and an email with the outcome. See
[Notifications](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/general/notifications).

## Your absences

**My Absences** lists your requests and absences from the last 12 months. **Show older absences**
adds the rest.

Each row shows the dates, the times for a partial day, the type and the status:

| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Awaiting approval** | Sent and waiting for a decision |
| **Approved** | Approved. Holiday absences count towards **Days Taken This Year** |
| **Rejected** | Turned down. You can request the same dates again |
| **Cancellation requested** | Approved, and you have asked for it to be cancelled |

**Details** opens the absence's notes, any return-to-work notes and its attachments. **Hide details**
closes them.

| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Paperclip | Attaches documents, such as a fit note. Not shown for rejected absences or while a cancellation is requested |
| **Withdraw** | Deletes a request that is still awaiting approval, after you confirm. Your reviewer no longer sees it |
| **Request cancellation** | Asks your reviewer to cancel an approved absence, after you confirm |

### Attaching documents

Attachments can be PDF, PNG, JPG, HEIC, DOC or DOCX files. You can attach up to five files at a
time, each up to 10MB.

Select an attachment's name to open it. The cross beside it removes it. Only the person who uploaded
a file, or an administrator, can remove it.

### Cancelling approved time off

An approved absence cannot be withdrawn. Select **Request cancellation** instead. Your line managers,
or the administrators if you have none, are told in the same way as a new request.

The absence stays approved, and its days stay taken, until the reviewer decides. If they agree, the
absence is deleted and the days return to your balance. If they turn it down, the absence stays as
approved.

## Approving requests

The **Approvals** tab lists the requests waiting for your decision. It is only shown to administrators
and to line managers.

![The Approvals tab: requests waiting for a decision, with Approve and Reject](https://clockworkcrm.blob.core.windows.net/public-internal/docs/general/profile-approvals.png?v=36decf2a)

- Line managers see the requests of the people in the teams they manage.
- Administrators see every request.
- Nobody sees their own requests.

Line managers are set on teams. See [Teams and permissions](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/teams).

Each request shows:

| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Type icon | The kind of absence. Hover over it to see the type name |
| **Who** | The person asking |
| **Absence** | The dates, the times for a partial day, the notes and any attachments. A **Cancellation** badge marks a request to cancel approved time off |
| **Days Left** | The person's remaining holiday days |

Warnings appear under the absence when:

- **Also off then:** lists teammates with approved time off on the same dates
- approving would put more of a team off than the limit set in the holiday policy, for example
  "Approving puts 3 of 4 (75%) of Sales off during this period."

To decide on a request:

1. Select **Approve** or **Reject**.
2. Check the confirmation, which names the person and the dates, then confirm.

| Decision | On a new request | On a cancellation |
|---|---|---|
| **Approve** | The time off is approved and the days come off the person's entitlement | The absence is cancelled and the days return to the person's entitlement |
| **Reject** | The request is turned down. The person can request again | The absence stays as approved |

The person is sent a notification and an email with your decision.

## Related

- [Users](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/users), where entitlement, working hours and employment dates are set
- [Instance settings](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/instance-settings#holiday-policy), the holiday policy
- [Teams and permissions](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/teams), where line managers are set