Under certain circumstances it will not be possible for you to make a Request for a Planned absence and an error message will be displayed. These are often caused by absence restrictions which are defined by your system administrator. The causes of the different errors and warnings you may see are detailed below.

Absence overlap

Only one Absence code can be applied to any particular time period. This means that if you try to add a Planned absence for a period that already has an absence planned, the original absence will be removed and the new absence will take its place. This may not matter if both are of the same absence type. However if, for example, you have booked a 'Company Business' absence day for 9th September, and then you book a holiday from '8th to 10th September', the 'Company Business' absence will be erased when the second Request is approved.

When you try make the Request you will be taken to a warning page for Absence Overlap and will be asked whether you wish to continue. For example:

Clicking  Adjust this to fit  will confirm the new absence and remove the original absence period after your Request has been accepted. Clicking Cancel returns you to the Book absence window for you to change the details of the absence, if required.

Your system administrator can give you permission to override a general absence. When you try to book an absence when a general absence occurs, you will be taken to a warning page for Absence Overlap and will be asked whether you wish to continue or override the general absence. For example:

Clicking  Adjust this to fit  will confirm the new absence and remove the original absence period after your Request has been accepted. Clicking  Overwrite general absence  will send a Request to override the general absence and use your leave entitlement as a Planned absence instead. Clicking Cancel returns you to the Book absence window for you to change the details of the absence, if required.

Absence overlap - booking an absence in a previous period that is locked

If an Employee or Supervisor does not have permission to 'Edit locked work records', an error message will be displayed at the top of Book absence page when you try to make a Request in a previous period that has a locked Work record. For example:

You will need to select a different date or ask for permission to book an absence from your system administrator.

Absence overlap warning override

Normally, these overlaps are caught and it is impossible to book two absences on the same day. However, it is possible if an employee has an Absence booked, and then a General absence is applied over the top, then two Absences will exist on that day. As a result, the next time the employee goes to book an Absence, TMS 8 will warn the employee that this overlap exists, and offer to change it (even if the Absence they were trying to book has no overlap with the detected overlap):

An option has been added to TMS 8 to prevent these warning from occurring. It is now possible to eliminate warnings if they do not concern the Absence that is being booked. For example, if the Absence being booked in the above screenshot was on 08-02, then the warning would not have appeared.

 

To enable this option, open the System preferences screen, and open the Absence menu:

You can then tick the checkbox labelled Absence overlap check for new absences only to enable this option. After clicking Submit, the warnings for overlapping Absences will only appear if they overlap with the Absence being booked:

No available Leave slots

If your system has been set up to use Leave slots and there are none available for the day(s) covered by your Absence request, a warning will be displayed at the top of the Book absence window when you try to make the Request. For example:

You will need to select a different date. Alternatively, click cancel and refer to your Group absence profile for available dates. Note: Your Supervisor may be able to override Leave slot restrictions.

Entitlements exceeded

If you attempt to Book an absence which will result in you taking more leave than you are entitled to, you will see the following warning at the top of the page. For example:

You can either revise the dates of the absence, e.g. book fewer days or click cancel and return to the previous page. Some systems allow you to book more than you are entitled to, if you click  Submit  a warning will appear. For example:

Clicking  Continue  will create a Request for a Planned absence as normal but it may be rejected by your Supervisor. Click on cancel to return to the Book absence page.

Minimum notice period

If your system has been set up to require a minimum number of days notice before an absence booking can be accepted, and you attempt to Book an absence with fewer days than the notice period, a warning may be displayed on the Book absence window and you may not be able to submit the Absence Request. In the example below, the Employee has attempted to Book an absence with less than the required number of days notice (3 in the example) and a warning is displayed at the top of the window. For example:

Your Supervisor may be able to override this restriction.

Maximum duration of absence

Your organisation might require that a holiday is no longer than a certain number of days. If you attempt to book a holiday absence which exceeds this limit, you will see a warning at the top of the Book absence screen window. For example:

You will need to adjust the date range.

Minimum days between absences

If your system has been set up to require you to return to work for a minimum number of days between absences, you may also see a warning when you attempt to Book an absence which is too close to an existing absence.

Rostered jobs - cover warning

Your system may be set up to warn you if cover is available for your rostered shift. If you Book an absence for a rostered day, a warning may be displayed in a new page telling you cover is available for your shift. For example:

Clicking  Continue  will create a Request for a Planned absence as normal but the shift has not yet been covered as it still needs to be assigned to someone by your Supervisor. Click on cancel to return to the Book absence page.

Rostered jobs - uncovered warning

Your system may be set up to warn you if cover is unavailable for your rostered shift. If you Book an absence for a rostered day, a warning may be displayed in a new page telling you cover could not be found for your shift. For example:

Clicking  Continue  will create a Request for a Planned absence as normal but it may be rejected by your Supervisor if no cover is available for your shift. Click on cancel to return to the Book absence page.

Rostered jobs - uncovered reject

Your system may be set up to reject your Planned absence if cover is unavailable for your rostered shift. If you Book an absence for a rostered day, a warning may be displayed on the top of the Book absence page telling you cover could not be found. For example:

You will need to select a different date. Alternatively, click cancel and refer to your Group absence profile for available dates.