Request time off

You request an absence from Work Time › My Calendar. The request is sent to your manager for approval, and the days are only taken from your balance once it is approved.

Before you start

• You need access to the Work Time module.
• To use a balanced absence type (for example paid leave or RTT), you must be assigned to one of its policies. Unbalanced types (for example sick leave) are available to everyone.
• Check your balance on the Leave Balance card of My calendar.

Submit a request

1. Go to Work Time › My Calendar and click Request absence. You can also select the days directly on the calendar in Month view (press on the first half-day and drag to the last one).
2. The Absence Request window opens.
3. In the Duration list, choose Single day (default) or Multiple days.
4. Pick the dates in the calendar pickers (they open on today's date):
   • Single day: pick the Absence date, then Full day, Morning or Afternoon.
   • Multiple days: pick the Start date and choose Full day or Afternoon (you leave at midday on the first day). Then pick the End date and choose Full day or Morning (you come back at midday on the last day). Check this last choice: the end date may be preselected on Morning, which counts only half of the last day.
5. The Leave Balance block updates automatically. It lists the policies you can use for these dates, with the days remaining on each ("X worked days remaining", including the days that will be credited before your absence) and, if the policy expires, "To use before" and the date. OpenAleph pre-fills how many days are taken from each policy (see How the days are distributed). Adjust the numbers if needed, in steps of 0.5 day.
6. To use an unbalanced type (for example sick leave), click Add another type of absence and pick it in the list, then enter the number of days on it.
7. Check the Total days line: it shows "allocated / required". The two numbers must be equal. The allocated number turns red when they differ.
8. Under "Who is the reference contact in your absence?", choose your Reference contact, the person to contact while you are away. It is required and defaults to your manager; if you have no manager in OpenAleph, the field is empty and you pick someone yourself.
9. Optional: click Add description to write a message (up to 400 characters) for your manager.
10. Optional: click Add attachment to join a supporting document (JPG, JPEG, PNG or PDF), for example a medical certificate. Use the eye icon to preview it and the bin icon to remove it.
11. Click Next. The Request summary shows Requested By, the Reference contact, the start and end dates with their day part (for example "05 Oct, 2026 (All day)"), the number of days, the days taken from each policy, the Additional description and the attachment ("No attachment file." if there is none).
12. Click Submit to send the request, or Back to change something.

The message "Request has been submitted successfully." confirms the request. It appears on your calendar as hatched (Awaiting approval) and in History & Requests with the status Pending.

What happens next

• Your direct manager receives an email ("Absence Request Pending") and an in-app notification with a link to the request. If you have no manager in OpenAleph, nobody is notified automatically: tell your HR admin (managers are set on the profile, see Edit and deactivate users). Your reference contact is not notified of a new request.
• Your manager approves or rejects the request in Work Time › Requests, optionally with a message.
• You receive an email and a notification when the request is Approved, Rejected or Canceled. The manager's message, if any, is shown in the email and in the request summary under Message from the manager.
• When the request is approved, the days are deducted from the corresponding balances.

How the days are counted

The number of days required depends on the Day counting mode of the absence type:

With open days counting, the window shows a note naming the extra day, for example "(date) is also counted — in open-days counting, leave runs until the day before you return to work."

If the policies available for your dates use different counting modes, a Counting mode selector appears in the Leave Balance block. A single request can only use policies of the same counting mode.

How the days are distributed

When you pick your dates, OpenAleph proposes a split of the required days across your balanced policies:

• policies that expire soonest are used first, so you don't lose days;
• the days that will be credited before the end of your absence are taken into account;
• days are allocated in half-days only (a balance of 2.9 days offers 2.5 days);
• a policy that accepts a negative balance is only drawn below zero once all your other balances are used.

You can change the proposed numbers. A number turns red with "Days limit reached" if it exceeds what the policy allows.

Cancel a request

You can cancel your own request as long as it is Pending:

1. In My Calendar, click the absence on the calendar, or open the History & Requests tab and click the information icon of the request. The Absence Request summary opens.
2. Click Cancel request.
3. Confirm with Delete request in the Delete pending request? dialog ("Are you sure you want to delete this pending request? This action can’t be undone.").

"Request has been canceled successfully." confirms it. The request moves to the Canceled status and stays in your history. Your manager and your reference contact receive an email ("Cancelation - Absence Request") and a notification.

Once a request is Approved, you can no longer cancel it yourself: ask your manager or an admin, who can cancel it from Work Time › Requests. The days are then credited back to your balance.

Edit a request

The dates and days of a submitted request can't be changed. To change them, cancel the pending request and submit a new one. You can still add an attachment afterwards if the request has none: open the request summary and click Add attachment.

Common questions

"The number of selected days does not match the requested period."

The allocated days in the Leave Balance block don't add up to the required total. Adjust the numbers until Total days shows the same value on both sides, or add another absence type.

"You have no absence policy available for these dates."

You are not assigned to any balanced policy covering these dates, or your balances are empty. You can still add an unbalanced type with Add another type of absence if one exists. Otherwise, contact your HR admin.

"Insufficient balance for this leave request."

One of the policies doesn't have enough days for the quantity you entered. Reduce the days on that policy and put the rest on another one.

"This leave request overlaps with an existing request."

You already have a pending or approved absence on at least one of the selected half-days. Check your calendar; you can book the other half of a day if only a morning or afternoon is taken.

Can I request an absence in the past?

Yes, the dates are not restricted. The request follows the normal approval process.

My request shows 2.5 days instead of 3.

For Multiple days, check the day part of the End date: Morning (which may be preselected) means you come back at midday. Choose Full day to include the whole last day.

Can I request leave from my phone?

Yes, with the OpenAleph mobile app. See Notifications and mobile app.