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Leave Blackouts

A guide on how to block staff from taking leave in a certain time period.

Updated over 9 months ago

You have the ability to limit the number of staff on leave or the number of staff availability on specific days within the roster/rota. This will help to reduce labour shortages and ensure you're sufficiently staffed.

How it works

When you set a limit on staff leave requests or unavailability requests on a specific day, the number is considering approved leave requests/unavailability requests.

For example, your limit is 2 leave requests for an upcoming Saturday. You have already approved two leave requests for that Saturday. A 3rd staff member submits a leave request for that day; they will not be allowed to submit a leave request.


Set a limit on leave requests

To set a limit leave requests, you must create an event for the specific day/dates. To create an event, navigate to your rota and select Events & Comments:

Select + Add new event:

Enter the following details for the custom event:

  • Event name

  • Location/team (if desired)

  • Dates

To limit the number of leave requests, tick Prevent staff from taking leave box which will allow you to edit:

  • Maximum number of requests

  • Leave type (under 'Applies to')

Make sure to finish by hitting the Add new event button!

What do employees see?

When the limit has been reached, any employee who attempts to submit leave through the mobile app will see an error message and will not be able to process the request:


Set a limit on unavailability requests

To set a limit to unavailability requests, you must create an event for the specific day/dates. To create an event, navigate to your rota and select Events & Comments:

Select + Add new event:

Add event name, select locations, and set day/dates. To limit the number of unavailability requests, tick Prevent staff from taking unavailability box which will allow you to edit:

  • Maximum number of requests

Make sure to finish by hitting the Add new event button!

What do employees see?

When the limit has been reached, any employee who attempts to submit unavailability through the mobile app will see an error message and will not be able to process the request:

FAQs

Can I prevent unavailability requests and leave requests at the same time?

Yes, you can both prevent and/or discourage unavailability requests at the same time that you prevent and/discourage a leave request. You are able to set the following combinations:

Leave

Unavailability

Discourage

Discourage

Prevent

Discourage

Discourage

Prevent

Prevent

Prevent

See example:

What happens if to leave requests or unavailability requests that require approval or declining after I create a custom event with a leave and/or unavailability limit?

You will still need to approve or decline any pending leave or unavailability requests that existed prior to creating a custom event with a leave and/or unavailability limit.

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