Approval Workflows - Absence & Timesheet Approvals

Implement structured approval workflows for absences, vacation requests, sick leave, and timesheets. Ensure compliance, improve planning visibility, and streamline approval processes with role-based permissions and automatic notifications.

Tip

Want to streamline absence management? Learn how time cockpit's employee time tracking features help you manage absences, overtime, and working time regulations efficiently.

Overview

Time cockpit supports approval workflows for two main areas:

1. Absence Approvals

Vacation/Special Vacation requests
Compensatory Time Off
Sick Leave (retroactive approval)

2. Timesheet Approvals (Custom Implementation)

Weekly/monthly timesheet approval
Project time approval
Billable hours verification

Approval workflows provide:

✅ Compliance & Audit Trail: Document who approved what and when
✅ Workforce Planning: Visibility into upcoming absences before approval
✅ Accountability: Clear approval responsibility by role
✅ Automated Notifications: Automatic alerts for pending approvals and decisions
✅ Team Visibility: Absence calendar shows approved time off to whole team

Absence Approval Workflow

How Absence Approvals Work

Core Concept: When absence approval is enabled, employees create absence requests (vacation, sick leave, compensatory time off) that appear in a pending approvals list until a department lead or HR administrator approves or rejects them. Upon approval, the absence appears in the team's absence calendar.

Workflow Lifecycle:

1. Employee creates absence request
     ↓
2. Department Lead receives notification
     ↓
3. Department Lead reviews in Absence Calendar (sees team conflicts)
     ↓
4. Department Lead approves or rejects
     ↓
5. Employee receives notification of decision
     ↓
6. Approved absence visible in team calendar

Enabling Absence Approvals

Global Settings Configuration:

Navigate to Global Settings
Enable approvals per absence type:
- ☑ Enable Vacation Approval
- ☑ Enable Compensatory Time Off Approval
- ☑ Enable Sick Leave Approval (retroactive approval)
Click Save

Per-User Configuration:

Not all employees may require approval (executives, managers):

Navigate to User → User Details
Open employee record
Check or uncheck ☑ Absence Approval Required
Save

Result:

Users with approval required: Absences must be approved
Users without approval required: Absences automatically approved

Absence Types Covered

Vacation/Special Vacation

Annual leave, special vacation (wedding, moving, etc.)
Most common approval scenario
Requires advance planning

Compensatory Time Off

Time off in lieu of overtime worked
Approval ensures balance is correct
Similar to vacation approval process

Sick Leave

Retroactive approval (employee already out)
Approval documents absence reason for payroll/HR
May not require advance approval depending on policy

Who Can Approve Absences

Department Leads

Approve absences for employees in their department(s)
Can be department lead for multiple departments
Receive automatic notifications for pending approvals
View team absences for conflict detection

HR Administrators

Can approve absences on behalf of department leads
Access all departments (via "Show all users" filter)
Handle approvals when department leads unavailable
Manage approval workflow exceptions

Regular Users/Employees

Cannot approve others' absences
Can only view their own approval status
See team absences in calendar (without absence type details for privacy)

Viewing Pending Approvals

As Department Lead:

Navigate to Absence Calendar
Pending Approvals List appears above calendar
Shows absences requiring your approval:
- Employee name
- Absence type (Vacation, Sick Leave, Comp Time)
- Start and end dates
- Total days requested
Select a row to preview absence in calendar below
Calendar automatically jumps to the absence date for context

Alternative: List View

Navigate to User → Vacation (or Sick Leave, Comp Time)
Filter:
- Department: Your department (may be automatic)
- Is Approved: False
Review list of pending approvals

As HR Administrator:

Navigate to Absence Calendar
Enable ☑ Show All Users checkbox
Optionally filter by:
- Department: Specific department
- User: Specific employee
View all pending approvals across organization

Approving or Rejecting Absences

Individual Approval (Absence Calendar):

In the Pending Approvals List, locate the request
Review context:
- Check calendar below for team conflicts
- Verify employee has sufficient vacation balance
- Consider project deadlines and coverage
To approve:
- Click Approve action button (rightmost column)
- Absence immediately appears in calendar
- Employee receives approval notification
To reject:
- Click Reject action button
- Provide rejection reason in dialog (required)
- Absence is deleted
- Employee receives rejection notification with reason

Batch Approval (Multiple Requests):

Navigate to User → Vacation
Filter to pending approvals (Is Approved = False)
Multi-select requests (Ctrl+Click)
Run Approve Absence action from toolbar
All selected requests approved simultaneously

Editing Before Approval:

If dates need adjustment:

Open the absence request
Discuss with employee (via notification comment or external communication)
Employee cancels original request and creates new one
Or: Edit dates directly (if permitted), then approve

Absence Calendar Visibility by Role

Role	Can See	Can Approve	Pending Approvals Shown
Time Tracking User	Own department absences (no absence type for privacy)	❌ No	Own only
Department Lead	Own dept + departments where they're lead	✅ Yes (own depts)	Own + department members
HR Administrator	All users (with "Show all users" filter)	✅ Yes (on behalf of leads)	All (with filter enabled)

Privacy Protection: Regular users see that colleagues are absent, but NOT whether it's vacation, sick leave, or compensatory time. This prevents stigma around sick leave.

Automatic Notifications

When Absence is Created:

Department Leads of the requesting user's department receive notification
Notification appears in bell icon (top-right menu)
Contains: Employee name, absence dates, absence type

Disabling Notifications (Per Department Lead):

Navigate to Department master data
Open department record
Find department lead's settings
Uncheck ☑ Receive Notification for that department lead
Save

When Absence is Approved/Rejected:

Requesting Employee receives notification
Notification includes:
- Decision (approved or rejected)
- Approver name
- Timestamp
- Rejection reason (if rejected)
Approved-absence notifications serve as written confirmation
Rejected absences are deleted automatically

Notification Cleanup:

Department lead notifications deleted automatically upon approval/rejection
Employee approval notifications can be kept for records

Handling Common Approval Scenarios

Scenario 1: Multiple Team Members Request Same Dates

Steps:

Review all pending requests for date conflict
Check team capacity:
- >70% present: Often manageable
- 50-70% present: Challenging
- <50% present: High risk, consider limiting
Consider:
- First-come, first-served policy
- Project deadlines and commitments
- Required skill coverage
- Seniority or special circumstances
Approve what team can accommodate
Communicate with employees needing to reschedule

Scenario 2: Last-Minute Vacation Request

Policy considerations:

Define "advance notice" requirement (e.g., 2 weeks minimum)
Evaluate impact on team and projects
Distinguish emergencies from poor planning

Approval decision:

✓ Approve if: Coverage available, non-critical period
✗ Reject if: Critical deadline, insufficient coverage, policy violation
💬 Discuss if: Borderline case, may need date adjustment

Scenario 3: Retroactive Sick Leave Approval

Workflow:

Employee returns from sick leave
Creates sick leave entry for past dates
Department lead approves retroactively (documents absence)
Entry appears in past dates on calendar

Purpose:

Compliance documentation
Payroll accuracy
Not blocking (employee already took time off)

Scenario 4: Rejected Request Communication

Best practices:

Provide clear, specific rejection reason
Suggest alternative dates if possible
Follow up with personal conversation (if sensitive)
Document decision rationale (for potential disputes)
Explain business context (project deadlines, coverage gaps)

Existing Absences After Enabling Workflow

Important: When you first enable the approval workflow, existing absences (including past absences created before activation) will appear as unapproved in the absence calendar.

Required action:

Navigate to pending approvals list
Filter to past absences (dates in past)
Retroactively approve all legitimate historical absences
This clears the pending list

Why: System cannot distinguish between absences created before vs. after workflow activation.

Timesheet Approval Workflow (Custom Implementation)

Time cockpit does not have built-in timesheet approval like absence approval, but you can implement custom workflows.

Timesheet Approval Approaches

Approach 1: Manual Review Process

Workflow:

Employees mark timesheets as "Ready for Review" (custom flag)
Project managers/department leads review entries weekly
Flag as "Approved" when verified (custom flag)
Billing admin only invoices entries marked "Approved"

Implementation:

Add custom boolean field to Timesheet entity: "Approved"
Add custom boolean field: "Ready for Review"
Train users on workflow

Approach 2: List-Based Review

Configuration:

Create saved list view: "Timesheets Pending Approval"
Filter:
- Project: Manager's projects
- Approved: False
- Date Range: This week
Manager reviews list weekly
Bulk-approve via custom action or manual flag setting

Approach 3: Action-Based Approval

(Advanced - Requires Scripting)

Create custom action: "Submit Timesheet for Approval"

Locks timesheet entries (prevent editing)
Notifies project manager
Sets status to "Pending Approval"

Create custom action: "Approve Timesheet"

Available to managers only
Sets "Approved" flag
Notifies employee
Entries now eligible for invoicing

See: Scripting - Actions, Data Model Customization

Timesheet Approval Use Cases

1. Billable Hours Verification

Project manager verifies hours are legitimate and billable
Reviews descriptions for client-appropriate content
Ensures correct projects/tasks selected
Prevents overbilling or mis-billing

2. Budget Compliance

Manager checks entries don't exceed task/project budgets
Flags budget overruns for investigation
Redirects time to correct budget codes

3. Payroll Accuracy

Supervisor verifies overtime is authorized
Confirms working time regulations followed
Approves before payroll export

4. Client Approval

Some contracts require client approval of hours
Manager forwards approved timesheets to client
Client provides sign-off before invoicing

Approval Workflow Best Practices

1. Define Clear Policies

Document policies for:

✓ Advance notice requirements (vacation: 2 weeks, sick leave: same day)
✓ Approval turnaround time (manager responds within 24-48 hours)
✓ Appeal process (rejected requests can be appealed to HR)
✓ Blackout periods (no vacation during fiscal year-end closing)
✓ Capacity limits (max 30% of team absent simultaneously)

Communicate policies:

Employee handbook
Onboarding training
Manager training
Periodic reminders

2. Set Approval SLAs

Response time expectations:

Routine vacation requests: 1-2 business days
Urgent requests: Same day
Sick leave (retroactive): Weekly batch approval
Timesheet approval: Weekly (before billing cycle)

Track metrics:

Average approval time
Overdue approvals (>3 days pending)
Escalations to HR
Employee satisfaction with approval process

3. Train Approvers

Department lead training should cover:

How to access pending approvals
How to review absence calendar for conflicts
Approval criteria and policy guidelines
Common rejection reasons
Using rejection comments effectively
Batch approval workflows
Notification management

Refresh training:

Annually
When policies change
For new department leads

4. Monitor Approval Backlog

Weekly dashboard:

Number of pending approvals by department
Oldest pending approval (days)
Approvers with >10 pending requests
Approval rate by department lead (% approved)

Escalation triggers:

Pending >5 days → Notify approver
Pending >10 days → Escalate to HR
Approver on vacation → Delegate to backup approver

5. Provide Visibility

Employee visibility:

Self-service status check (approved/pending/rejected)
Estimated approval timeframe
Reason for rejection (required field)
Appeal process instructions

Manager visibility:

Centralized pending approvals dashboard
Team absence calendar (approved absences)
Upcoming absence forecast (next 30/90 days)
Historical approval patterns (for planning)

6. Handle Exceptions Gracefully

Emergency absences:

Allow same-day sick leave entry
Retroactive approval within 24 hours
Flexible policy for emergencies (family, medical, etc.)

Approval delegation:

When department lead is on vacation, delegate to backup
HR admins can approve on behalf of department lead
Document delegation in system

Policy overrides:

Executives or HR can override rejections (with documentation)
Audit trail of all overrides
Review overrides quarterly for policy adjustments

Business Impact & ROI

Compliance & Risk Reduction

Legal requirements:

DACH labor laws require documented absence records
Approval trail satisfies audit requirements
Prevents compliance fines (€2,000-€10,000 per violation)

ROI Example: Avoiding one €5,000 fine pays for time cockpit for 5+ years for small team.

Workforce Planning

Benefits:

Department leads see upcoming absences before approving new requests
Prevents understaffing scenarios
Reduces emergency contractor hires

ROI Example: 20-person department preventing 3 emergency contractor hires/year (€500/day each) = €4,500 annual savings

Faster Approval Cycle

Time savings:

Email-based approvals: 3-7 days average
Time cockpit approvals: Same-day or next-day

ROI Example: 50 employees save 2-3 hours/year on leave request follow-ups = 100-150 hours recovered

Reduced Payroll Errors

Improvement:

Centralized absence data eliminates manual spreadsheets
Reduces payroll errors by 80-90%

ROI Example: 30-person team reducing 5 payroll disputes/year (4 hours HR/Finance time each) = 20 hours saved annually

Improved Employee Experience

Satisfaction factors:

Real-time status tracking
Automatic notifications with approval/rejection reasons
Written confirmation records
Transparent, consistent process

ROI Example: Improved leave management contributes to retention. Reducing turnover by 1 employee/year (replacement cost = 50-150% salary) = €25,000-€75,000 saved

Audit Readiness