Entering and Approving Self Service Absence Requests

This chapter provides an overview of the self service absence request transactions and explains how to manage absence requests.

Note. If you are using Absence Management in Switzerland, follow the instructions for Switzerland instead of the instructions in this chapter.

Understanding the Absence Request Transactions

Using self service transactions, employees and managers can submit absence requests, forecast absence entitlement balances, and carry out other common tasks using the Self Service pages in Absence Management.

Self service options differ for employees and managers.

Role	Absence Self Service Options
Employee	Forecast, add, edit, and cancel absence requests. View absence requests, with their approval status. View absence events entered by the Absence Administrator. View absence entitlement balances for the current period. View absence entitlement balances as of a future date. View the employee's monthly schedule for past and future months.
Manager	Perform all employee self service absence functions on behalf of direct reports. View a list of absence requests for direct reports. Forecast an absence request in order to approve it. Approve, deny, or push back absence requests submitted by direct reports. View a monthly calendar for direct reports.

Employee Self Service for Managing Absences

This section provides an overview of the procedures for accessing and using employee self service absence pages and discusses how to:

Request absences.
View the employee's schedule for past or future months.
View absence balances.
View absence request history.
View approval details for an absence request.
Forecast absence entitlement balances as of a future date.

Self Service Pages Used by Employees to Manage Absence Requests

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Request Absence	GP_ABS_SS_REQUEST	Self Service, Time Reporting, Report Time, Absence Request	Request absence based on the start date of the absence event.
Monthly Schedule	SCH_EE_MONTHLY	Click the View Monthly Schedule link on the Absence Request page.	Employees view their schedule for a one month period for any past or future month.
View Absence Balances	GP_ABS_SS_BALANCES	Self Service, Time Reporting, View Time, Absence Balances, View Absence Balances	This page includes links to pages to request absence, view absence requests, view monthly schedule, and forecast balances.
Absence Request History	GP_ABS_SS_REQHIST	Self Service, Time Reporting, View Time, Absence Request History, Absence Request History Click the View Absence Requests History link on the Absence Request page or the View Absence Balances page.	View processed or pending absence events based on the specified date range.
Request Details	GP_ABS_SS_REQSTAT	Click the link for the absence in the Absence Name column on the Absence Request History page.	View details for a specific absence request.
Forecast Balance	GP_ABS_SS_FCST_BAL	Click the Forecast Balance link on the View Absence Balances page.	Run the online forecasting process for future absence entitlement balances based on date, absence type and absence name.
Select Job Title	GP_SS_EE	Self Service, Time Reporting, Report Time, <any employee self service absence process>	Employees with multiple jobs use this page to select the job for which they want to enter or review a self service absence transaction.

Employee Absence Request Entry

Access the Request Absence page.

The Absence Request page consists of three group boxes: Absence Detail, Additional Information, and Comments. The available fields in the Additional Information group box depend on how your organization sets up self service for Absence Management.

Absence Detail

Start Date	Select the first day of the absence event. The field option defaults to the current date. If there's a break in the absence, enter each event separately. For example, if you're out sick for two days, return to work for three days, and are out sick again, enter two absence events. If the absence includes a weekend (say, Thursday to Monday), enter one absence event. Note. The system uses the Take definition that is in effect on the Start Date.
End Date	Select the last day of the absence event. If you leave this field empty and the Calculate End Date option on the Absences (setup) page is selected, the system automatically determines the end date based on the begin date, duration, and half day options or partial hours if the absence is measured in hours.
Filter by Type	Select the absence type. The selection you make in this field will limit or filter the selections available in the Absence Name field.
Absence Name	Select the absence name from the available options. The options available depend on the selection in the Filter by Type field. After you select entries in the above fields, the system refreshes the page with additional fields.
Reason	Select a reason from the available options. The reasons available depend on your selections in the previous fields.
Partial Days	Specify which days of the absence event are partial days. If the Calculate End Date or Duration option is enabled on the Absence (setup) page, and the Unit Type is Days, the system does not consider any partial hours or half-day entries that are entered in this group box when it calculates the end date or duration. Note. Data that you enter in the following fields is used in the absence calculation process only if the data is referenced by your absence formulas. The available options in the Partial Days field when the absence is calculated in days include: All Days End Day Only None Start Day Only Start and End Days Depending on the option that you select, up to two check boxes appear that allow you to specify which days of the absence event are half days. Select the check boxes that are appropriate for the absence event.
Duration	The system calculates the duration of the absence event when you click the Calculate End Date or Duration button.
Calculate End Date or Duration	Click this button to have the system automatically calculate the end date or duration of an absence event.
Forecast Balance	Click this button to run the online absence forecasting process for the type of absence Take selected for this absence request. This button will appear only for those absence names that require forecasting.
Save for Later	This option allows the employee to save the absence event information for later review and editing, and does not generate workflow for the approvals process.
Submit	This option saves the information and generates the workflow approval process that routes the request to one or more managers whose roles are defined in workflow to enable them to approve, deny, or push back the absence request to the previous approval level with comments. The push back is often used by approvers to suggest absence request revision or to obtain additional information.
Cancel	This option is available only for requests that have been saved for later or that were pushed back from the approver. Depending on the setup, when you click Cancel the application either physically deletes the request from request and workflow records, or sets the status of the request to cancelled.

Additional Information

The fields that appear in this group box depend on how Absence Management is configured during the implementation process.

Comments

The Requestor Comments field enables the employee to enter free form text related to the absence request that becomes part of the record and is visible throughout the approval process. Comments display on the Absence Details page.

Viewing the Monthly Schedule

Access the Monthly Schedule page.

Employees can view their schedule for one month in the future or past by using the available options in the month and year fields. Click the Previous Month and Next Month buttons to view previous or subsequent months, respectively.

For employees with multiple jobs, the Select Job Title field appears on this page.

See Selecting Job Title.

Viewing Absence Balances

Access the View Absence Balances page.

This page contains the following links:

Request Absence

This is a link back to the Absence Request page.
View Absence Request History

This is a link to the Absence Request History page.
View Monthly Schedule.

This is a link to the Monthly Schedule page.
Forecast Balance.

This is a link to the Forecast Balance page.
Job List

This is a link to the Select Job Title page for employees with multiple jobs.

See Selecting Job Title.

See Also

Employee Absence Request Entry

Viewing Absence Request History

Viewing Absence Balances

Viewing Absence Request History

Access the Absence Request History page.

This page display all absence requests for the employee. Absence requests entered by the employee contain a link in the Absence Name column. Absences that are entered by the Absence Administrator do no have a link in the Absence Name column. The employee can edit absences requests that are saved, but not yet submitted, by clicking the Edit button in the Edit column.

From and Through

The user can display absence request that fall within a specified date range by entering dates in the From: and Through: fields. If the employee enters a date in only the From field, the system displays absence requests that have a Start Date equal to or after the specified date. Alternatively, if the employee enters a date only in the Through: field, the system displays absence requests that have an End Date equal to or prior to the specified date. If no date is entered in either field, the system displays all absence requests for the employee.

Refresh

Click the Refresh button after entering, changing, or removing dates in the From: and Through: fields.

The Absence Request History group box contains Absence Name, Status, Start Date, End Date, Duration, and Requested by. You can sort the rows by any of these criteria by clicking the column heading.

Viewing Absence Request Details

Access the Request Details page.

The page displays information about the selected absence.

Forecasting Absence Entitlement Balances

Access the Forecast Balance page.

This page enables the employee to run the online absence entitlement balance Forecast process, and to view entitlement balances as of a future date, by absence type, and absence name.

As of Date	Enter a future date that the system will use to calculate the balance.
Filter by Type	Select the absence type. The selection you make in this field will limit or filter the selections available in the Absence Name field.
Absence Name	Select the absence name from the available options in the field. Note. The user must make an entry in this field in order for the system to display the Forecast Balance button.
Forecast Balance	Click this button to run the online absence balance forecasting process. When the process is completed, the forecasted absence entitlement balances appear in the Forecast Balance Details group box.

Selecting Job Title

Employees with multiple jobs must select the job for which they are entering or reviewing self service absence transactions. The following page is an example of an employee with multiple jobs that is entering an absence request. A similar page with a modified title appears whenever this employee initiates any absence self service transaction.

After the employee selects the job title, the processes are identical to those discussed in the previous sections.

Manager Self Service Pages

This section provides an overview of the procedures for accessing and using manager self service absence pages and discusses how to:

Request an absences on behalf of an employee who reports directly to the manager.
View employee absence requests.
View employee absence entitlement balances.
Forecast employee absence entitlement balances.
Approve, deny, or push back employee absence requests.
View absence request history for direct reports.

Self Service Pages Used by Managers to Manage Absence Requests

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Request Employee Absence	OPRROWS	Manager Self Service, Time Management, Report Time, Absence Request, Request Employee Absence	View a list of direct reports, select an employee, and enter an absence request on behalf of the employee.
View Employee Absence Requests	OPRROWS	Manager Self Service, Time Management, View Time, Absence Request History, View Employee Absence Requests	Managers use this page to view absence request information for direct and indirect reports.
View Employee Absence Balances	OPRROWS	Manager Self Service, Time Management, View Time, Absence Balances, View Employee Absence Balances	View absence balances for direct reports.
Forecast Balance	GP_ABS_SS_FCST_BAL	Manager Self Service, View Time, Absence Balances Select the employee Namelink, click the Forecast Balance link on the View Absence Balances page.	View the results of the Absence Forecasting process.
Absence Requests	GP_SS_ABS_APPR	Manager Self Service, Time Management, Approve Time and Exceptions, Absence Requests, Absence Requests	Select the absence request to approve or deny.
Request Details	GP_ABS_SS_APPROVE	Manager Self Service, Time Management, Approve Time and Exceptions, Absence Requests Click the employee Name link for the request.	Used by the manager to approve, deny, or push back an employee absence request to the previous approval level.
Absence Request History	GP_ABS_SS_REQHIST	Manager Self Service, Time Management, View Time, Absence Request History Click the employee Name link.	Review the absence request history for an employee for a specified time range of dates.

Requesting Absence on Behalf of an Employee

Access the Request Employee Absence page.

The system displays the Request Absence page for a manager's direct report when the manager clicks the link with that person's name. The system displays a page that is identical to the employee self service Request Absence page, with the exception that it contains a Direct Reports link to return to the View Employee Absence Requests page.

See Also

Employee Absence Request Entry

Viewing Employee Absence Requests

Access the View Employee Absence Requests page.

The direct reports for the manager are displayed on this page. Click the column titles for Name, EmplID, Job Title, and Department to sort the list by these criteria. The last column may contain an icon that indicates the employee has direct reports. Click the icon to display a list of individuals that report to that employee. These employees are referred to as the manager's indirect reports.

Click the Search for an employee button to search for direct reports by last name.

Transaction Effective Date

The system displays the direct reports for the manager as of this date.

See Also

Viewing Absence Request History

Viewing Absence Balances

Access the View Employee Absence Balances page.

This page functions in the same manner as the View Employee Absence Requests page. From this page, when the manager clicks the employee name link the system displays the View Absence Balances page for that employee. This page is identical to the employee self service View Absence Balances page, and includes the Forecast Balances link to enable the manage to forecast absence entitlement balances for a future date for direct reports. The one exception to the similarity of the employee self service page and the manager self service page is that the manager has a Direct Reports link to return to the View Employee Absence Balances—Select Employee page.

See Also

Viewing Absence Balances

Approving and Denying Absence Requests

Access the Absence Requests page.

Show Requests by Status

The following options are available in this field:

Approved

Denied

Pending (default)

After selecting the status, click the Refresh button to display all requests. Click the employee name link to work with the request. The Request Details page appears:

The manager uses this page to approve, deny, or push the request back to the previous step in the approval process (by clicking the Needs Rework button). The approver can include suggested changes or other comments by entering information in the Approver Comments field. After selecting one of these buttons, the approver must confirm the selection on a confirmation page:

After clicking the Yes button the system re-displays the Absence Requests page so that the manager can continue to work with other absence requests. Clicking the No button displays the Request Details page.

Reviewing Absence Request History

Access the Absence Request History page.

The system displays a page that is identical to the employee self service Absence Request History page, with the exception that it contains a Direct Reports link to return to the View Employee Absence Requests page.

Clicking the link in the Absence Name column displays the Approval Details page. Links appear only for absence requests that the manager has worked with using the self service pages. Absences that are entered through the absence entry pages (not self service) appear on this page but cannot be modified from this page.

From and Through

The user can display absence request history that falls within a specified date range by entering dates in the From and Through fields. If the manager enters a date in only the From field, the system displays absence requests that have a Start Date equal to or after the specified date. Alternatively, if the manager enters a date only in the Through field, the system displays absence requests that have an End Date equal to or prior to the specified date. If no date is entered in either field, the system displays all absence requests for the employee.

See Also

Entering Absences