How to book time off on behalf of a colleague – Oak Digital Workplace

Sometimes you need to record an absence for someone else, for example if a colleague calls in sick.

Oak lets you record planned and unplanned absences. If you have the right permissions, you can book time off on behalf of a colleague.

This guide will walk you through finding a colleague's absence planner and booking time off for them.

This guide covers:

You need the Managers absence permission so you can manage other people's holidays. This is given to you by an Absence Role Manager.
If you can't see Manage people's holidays under Actions button > Manage, you don't have the right permission yet.
The absence types and reason codes on your Oak site may have been set up by your organisation, so they may not match the ones shown in this guide.

Go to the Actions button > Manage > Manage people's holidays.
Select Name to search, then type the name of the person you're booking time off for. You can also filter the list: select Options, then choose Show only pending or Show only my people.
Select the person's name. Their absence planner will open, and the breadcrumb shows whose planner you're viewing.

Select the date the absence starts. A pop-up window will open.
Enter the start and end dates. These are mandatory.
If they're only off for part of the day, adjust the times. Otherwise tick All day.
Use the Description field to add any extra detail.
Select the absence type, then select a reason code. The reason code option only appears if an administrator has created reasons for that absence type.
If you're not the person's approver, the Send for approval box will appear. Make sure it's ticked.
Select OK.
The holiday calendar will update to show the absence. If you're a reviewer for this person, the date gets a green tab in the top-right corner to show it's approved. Otherwise it's sent to their approver.

Role Managers: with the Role Manager permission you can submit absence requests for anyone. If you would normally approve that person's requests, the request is approved automatically. Otherwise their approver gets a notification to review it.
Need to make a change? See How to cancel or change an absence request.