Why did a leave request go to the wrong manager, or why can't the manager approve it?

Leave requests are routed according to the employee’s approval setup.

If a request goes to an unexpected manager, or a manager cannot approve it, first check the employee’s current approval relationships.

Quickly check who approves whom

As an administrator, go to:

Employees → Select employee → Relationships

The Relationships tab shows:

• who currently manages this employee’s leave;
• why that approval relationship exists;
• which employees this person manages and can approve leave for.

This is often the quickest way to understand why a request has gone to a particular person.

Who normally receives an employee’s leave request?

TimeOff.Management uses the following approval route:

• if the employee has one or more Direct Supervisors, any assigned Direct Supervisor can action the manager approval stage;
• if no Direct Supervisor is assigned, the request goes through the employee’s department approver setup;
• if the department has a Secondary Approver, either the main or Secondary Approver can action the request.

A Secondary Approver is an alternative approver at the same stage. It does not create a second approval stage.

Why did the request go to the wrong manager?

Check:

• the employee’s Relationships tab;
• whether the employee is assigned to the correct department;
• who is set as the department approver;
• whether a Secondary Approver is configured;
• whether one or more Direct Supervisors are assigned to the employee;
• whether the employee recently moved department or changed reporting line.

A Direct Supervisor takes the place of the normal department approval route for that employee.

To change Direct Supervisors, go to:

Employees → Select employee → Employee Details → General → Edit

Why can’t a manager approve the request?

The request may not currently belong to that manager.

Common reasons include:

• another Direct Supervisor or department approver has already actioned it;
• the request was auto-approved and therefore no longer needs a manager decision;
• a Two-tier approval policy applies and the request is currently waiting for the other approval stage;
• the manager is not assigned as an approver for that employee;
• the employee’s department or Direct Supervisor setup has changed.

With Two-tier approval, the manager may be either the first or second stage depending on the policy’s Approval mode.

What if two managers should both be able to approve?

Use a Secondary Approver if either of two department approvers should be able to make the decision.

You can also assign more than one Direct Supervisor to an employee. Any assigned Direct Supervisor can action the manager approval stage.

If the request must be approved by two people in sequence, use a Two-tier approval policy instead.

For a full explanation of approval routing, see How to assign and manage leave approvers.