What is a team cover rule?

A named group of employees and a limit on how many of them can be off at the same time. TimeOff checks it when someone in the group books leave. In the product it is a restriction group, set up under the Restrict leave overlap policy — the group carries the name your team will recognise, because that name is what an employee sees if a request is stopped.

Can I stop too many people being off at the same time?

Yes, and you can set the limit whichever way round your team thinks about it: at most so many people away, or at least so many present. The two are not interchangeable — a ceiling stays at the number you typed, while a floor holds the cover you need however the group grows or shrinks.

Can a cover rule warn instead of blocking the request?

Yes, and it is worth being clear about what that does. Blocking is the default: the request is refused. The alternative lets the booking through and records a note on the leave saying what it went past, which travels with the leave to whoever approves it. It does not hold the request up or require anyone to override it — if you need the limit enforced, block is the setting you want.

Can a cover rule apply only during a busy period?

Yes. A rule can be limited to a date range — a shutdown, a peak season, the weeks around a launch — and outside those dates nothing is restricted. Within a period you also decide how someone uses up a place: only while they are actually away, or for the whole period once they have any leave inside it. The second is the stricter reading, and it is the one that protects cover across a whole shutdown rather than day by day.

Do cover rules apply to managers?

Yes. A manager booking leave for their own team is checked against the rule exactly as the employee would be — there is no manager override. Admins are the exception, so when something genuinely has to happen an admin can put it in.

Can I restrict holiday but still allow sick leave?

Yes. A rule can count every leave type, or only the ones you choose. Restricting holiday while leaving sick leave out is the common setup: the rota is protected, and someone falling ill is still recorded properly rather than being turned away by a cover rule.

Do requests that are still waiting for approval count?

Yes, unconditionally. Leave still waiting for a decision occupies a place in the group just as approved leave does — which is the point, because otherwise two people could each book into the last place while the first request was still pending.

What happens to leave people have already booked when I change a rule?

Nothing. Turning a rule on, tightening it or changing who it covers applies to what happens next; leave already in the diary stays exactly as it is. That is usually the first thing an administrator wants to know before switching cover rules on for a team.

Team cover rules

Keep enough people available when leave is requested.

Set team cover rules so TimeOff checks how many people are already away before another request is submitted.

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Maximum away
Minimum staying
Block or warn

Cover rule options

Make cover rules automatic, not another manual check.

Team cover rules stop everyday requests leaving too few people at work. Name a group, set the limit, and TimeOff checks it when leave is booked.

Maximum away

Limit how many people can be away at the same time.

Minimum staying

Require enough people to stay present in the team.

Rule scope

Cover the whole company, a department, a location, a tag or named people — and leave individuals out where they should not count.

Block or warn

Stop the booking, or let it through with a note for the approver.

Allow exceptions

Admins can act when something genuinely has to happen.

Cover limits

Set the limit the way your team thinks about it.

One control, two readings: at most so many of the group away, or at least so many present. They are not the same rule. A ceiling stays at the number you typed; a floor holds the cover you need however the group's size changes.

At most so many away — the ceiling, and what most rotas want.
At least so many present — the floor, and the safer choice for a team that keeps growing or shrinking.
Checked when the request is made, not when a manager finally gets to it.
It tells you if the rule cannot work — ask for more people present than the group holds and TimeOff says so before you save.

Support rota

At most 2 of the group away at once.

Already away 2
New request Blocked

Warehouse cover

At least 4 of the group present.

Present today 5
New request Goes through

Limit reached

A group is either inside its limit or at it. There is no halfway state to interpret.

Scope and leave types

Apply cover rules only where they matter.

Cover limits should not always apply to the whole company, or to every kind of leave. Build the group from the people who genuinely share a cover requirement — a department, a location, a tag, or named individuals — and choose which leave types count towards the limit.

A department for teams such as Support, Warehouse or Sales.
A location for offices, stores or operational sites.
Named people or a tag for teams that cut across the org chart.
Chosen leave types so you can restrict holiday but still let sick leave be recorded.
A department or tag keeps itself up to date — somebody who joins later is in the group without anyone editing the rule.

Restricted overlap rule

Everyone in Customer Service shares one cover limit.

Group Customer Service
Leave types Holiday only
Currently covers 12 employees

Leave type filter

Restrict holiday while still letting sick leave be recorded.

When the rule applies

All year, or only when it matters.

A cover rule can run all the time, or only across a stretch of the calendar — a shutdown, a peak season, the weeks around a go-live. Outside those dates nothing is restricted.

All year, or only when it matters — a rule can be limited to a period such as a shutdown, a peak season or a go-live.
Count by the day, or by the period — decide whether someone occupies a place only while they are away, or for the whole period once they have any leave in it.
Nothing already booked is disturbed — turning a rule on, or tightening one, applies from that point on; leave people already have stays exactly as it is.

Christmas shutdown

The rule runs for three weeks and then stops.

Applies between 15 Dec and 5 Jan
Outside those dates Nothing restricted
Any leave inside it Uses a place throughout

Seasonal cover

Protect the weeks that matter without running the rule all year.

Request-time checks

Show the cover problem before approval.

The aim is to settle preventable clashes before they become a manager's problem. When the group is already at its limit, the employee is told so as they book — and told which rule stopped them.

Leave already approved for the same period counts towards the limit.
Pending requests count too, so two people cannot both take the last place while the first request is still waiting.
Or let it through with a warning — not every cover limit should be a wall. The booking goes through and a note explaining what it went past travels with the leave to whoever approves it.
Edits are checked too, so a rule cannot be walked around by booking first and moving the dates later.

Request check result

Requested dates 12–14 Aug
Already away 2 people
Rule allows 2 people
Result Choose another date

Before approval

Managers spend less time declining requests that cannot work.

Admin exceptions

The rule applies to everyone who books.

Cover rules apply to everyone who books — including managers booking for their team. Admins are the exception: when something genuinely has to happen, an admin can put it in.

Everyone books to the same rule, managers included — no quiet exemptions to keep track of.
Admins can still act when a real situation needs it.
The rule stays as it is — one booking going through does not change it for anybody else.

Controlled exception

An admin books leave for someone even though the group is at its limit.

Employee booking Blocked
Manager, on behalf Blocked — the rule applies to managers too
Admin, on behalf Allowed

Keep the rule

Handle the exception without opening the dates to everyone.

Cover summary

Team cover rules that work before a request is approved.

TimeOff checks maximum-away and minimum-present rules for the right department, location or group before leave creates a cover problem. Every one of them is included on every account, at one published price per person, per month.

Maximum away

Limit how many people can be off at the same time.

Minimum staying

Require enough people to stay present.

Rule scope

Apply rules to the whole company, a department, a location, a tag or named people — and to the leave types you choose.

Admin exceptions

Admins handle the genuine exceptions; the rule stays as it is.

Restrict leave overlap guide

Common questions

Team cover questions we are asked most.

What is a team cover rule?: A named group of employees and a limit on how many of them can be off at the same time. TimeOff checks it when someone in the group books leave. In the product it is a restriction group, set up under the Restrict leave overlap policy — the group carries the name your team will recognise, because that name is what an employee sees if a request is stopped.
Can I stop too many people being off at the same time?: Yes, and you can set the limit whichever way round your team thinks about it: at most so many people away, or at least so many present. The two are not interchangeable — a ceiling stays at the number you typed, while a floor holds the cover you need however the group grows or shrinks.
Can a cover rule warn instead of blocking the request?: Yes, and it is worth being clear about what that does. Blocking is the default: the request is refused. The alternative lets the booking through and records a note on the leave saying what it went past, which travels with the leave to whoever approves it. It does not hold the request up or require anyone to override it — if you need the limit enforced, block is the setting you want.
Can a cover rule apply only during a busy period?: Yes. A rule can be limited to a date range — a shutdown, a peak season, the weeks around a launch — and outside those dates nothing is restricted. Within a period you also decide how someone uses up a place: only while they are actually away, or for the whole period once they have any leave inside it. The second is the stricter reading, and it is the one that protects cover across a whole shutdown rather than day by day.
Do cover rules apply to managers?: Yes. A manager booking leave for their own team is checked against the rule exactly as the employee would be — there is no manager override. Admins are the exception, so when something genuinely has to happen an admin can put it in.
Can I restrict holiday but still allow sick leave?: Yes. A rule can count every leave type, or only the ones you choose. Restricting holiday while leaving sick leave out is the common setup: the rota is protected, and someone falling ill is still recorded properly rather than being turned away by a cover rule.
Do requests that are still waiting for approval count?: Yes, unconditionally. Leave still waiting for a decision occupies a place in the group just as approved leave does — which is the point, because otherwise two people could each book into the last place while the first request was still pending.
What happens to leave people have already booked when I change a rule?: Nothing. Turning a rule on, tightening it or changing who it covers applies to what happens next; leave already in the diary stays exactly as it is. That is usually the first thing an administrator wants to know before switching cover rules on for a team.

Keep cover protected before leave is approved.

Set maximum-away and minimum-present rules for the right teams and leave types, so requests are checked against the staffing levels your team needs.

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