FAQs About Time Off Requests and Approvals in Zenefits

Administrators and managers can view and edit approved requests for time off directly from the Time Off Overview page.

• The Time Off Request page allows administrators to change the time off request.
• Managers can view and edit a historical list of their team's requests from the My Teams time off page.

For each request, the table lists:

• who the request was submitted by
• the date(s) of the request and the number of hours requested
• the status (requested, approved, denied, deleted)
• the type of leave requested

Workers will be notified by email of any edits to their approved requests.

In the event an individual does not request time off in Zenefits, an administrator or manager can do this on their behalf by following either of the sets of steps below: 

1. Click on the Time Off app
   
2. Select Team in the top navigation bar
   
3. Select the name of the worker
   
4. Click Create a new time off request at the bottom of the pop-up box
   

Individuals can also submit time off requests from their own Zenefits account. 

The amount of time off used will be recorded and time off balance will be adjusted accordingly.

Once a manager or administrator has decided to approve or deny a time off request, Zenefits will let the requestor know.

Example Approved email

Hi Bob,

We wanted to let you know that John Smith approved your request for Vacation from 12/25/ 2019  to 12/26/ 2019.

Thanks,

Example Denied email

Hi Bob,

Unfortunately, John Smith denied your request for Vacation from 12/25/2019  to 12/26/2019.

We've removed this request for time off from our system. You can always discuss this directly with your manager and request it again, if appropriate.

Scheduled requests are the total number of hours compiled from all of an individual's outstanding time-off requests. These outstanding requests include:

• Time off requests scheduled for future dates
• Time off requests scheduled for past dates that have not yet been approved for a past date

Scheduled requests example

• An individual has submitted a time off request for eight hours on a future date. This has been approved by their manager.
• They have also submitted a time off request for a past day off that occurred last month. This request has not yet been approved.
• The person has a total of 16 hours in scheduled requests.

Once someone makes a request for time off, Zenefits will email their approver (usually, a direct manager) with details of the request for their review.

Example Request Email

Hey Brandi,

Bob Cratchit submitted a time off request: 

Requested time off: Vacation, 12/25/2021  to 12/26/2021.

• Review

No else in your team will be taking time off.

5 other time off requests are awaiting your approval. View all requests.

Thanks,

Zenefits

The Review button will take you to your Zenefits administrator acount where you can approve or deny the request. If no action is taken an email reminder for the time off request will be resent every four days.

When a worker submits a time off request, Zenefits emails the request to the individual's direct manager for approval. If they don't have a manager in Zenefits, Zenefits will send the request to the company's main administrator. At the moment, Zenefits doesn't support request notifications for multiple approvers (e.g., a manager and other HR administrator or another manager).

An individual's time off requests can be approved (or denied) by their direct manager, their manager's manager, or any administrator with Time permissions.

• Only the individual's manager will receive a notification email for the request. The request can be approved using the links in the email or the manager's Dashboard.

• Though the primary administrator will not be notified of a time off request if the individual has a direct manager, the primary administrator can still approve or deny the request.

If the request is:

• approved, the requested hours will be added to the individual's  year-to-date balance and permanently deducted from the available balance. Once it's approved, administrators can still edit the request's dates, number of hours requested, and type of leave.
• denied, the hours are returned to the individual's available balance. Once denied, requests cannot be approved and must be resubmitted.

• If you're not an administrator, talk to your HR contact to have them assign you a policy
• If you're an administrator, see these instructions to assign someone to a PTO policy.

A time off balance can display as negative even if an employer does not allow negative balances.

This occurs when someone makes a time off request for an amount they will accrue by the start of their actual time off period, but is more than their current balance.

Zenefits calculates how much time the worker will accrue by that date and allows them to request the time off, but because they have not accrued this time yet, their balance appears negative.

If you've submitted a Time Off request and need to make an edit to the dates/hours:

• If the time off request is for a future date: 
  1. Cancel the request and submit a new request.
  2. To complete, go to your Time Off app and select the My Time Off tab. Next, click Cancel on the old request. Navigate back to the Overview tab to enter your new request.
  
  
• If the time off request has already passed:
  1. Please speak with your administrator or HR contact to have your dates/hours edited. As an employee or contingent worker, you will not have the ability to edit a past request.

Once linking is completed:

Setup

1. Log into Slack
2. Open a direct message to Zenefits
3. You should see a link that says Click here to link your Slack account to Zenefits.
4. You'll be prompted to log in, using your Zenefits credentials
5. You should now see Zenefits as an option under your Apps section of Slack

Request Time Off

If time off requests are being automatically declined without any action being taken to cause it, and you are a Microsoft user, please check to ensure you've marked `noreply@zenefits.com` as a safe email address. Microsoft has a new security feature that clicks on the links contained in incoming emails to make sure there is no suspicious or phishing activity, which has caused the decline PTO button in these emails to be pressed as a result.

Time off requests will be sent to your manager for approval, even if they’re part of a separate organization in Zenefits. 

When managers view their Time Off app, they’ll see all of their reports’ requests and upcoming time off, even if their reports are scattered across linked organizations in Zenefits.