How the approval flow works
Routing to approvers, what pending really reserves, auto-approved types, and the append-only timeline that records every decision.
Behind every "Approved ✓" there's a small, deliberate machine: who gets asked, what happens while a request waits, what's written down forever. This guide is the approver's map of that machine — beyond the first-decisions guide.
Routing: who gets asked
- The requester's department has an approver → the request goes to them.
- No approver on the department (or no department) → all admins receive it.
Every recipient can decide; the first decision wins and is recorded in that person's name. Notifications fan out wherever each approver lives — bell, email, Slack, Teams, push.
Types that skip the queue
Leave types with approval switched off (often remote work) are confirmed the instant they're booked — you're not asked, and that's by configuration, not a bug. You'll still see them on the wall chart; followers still get their heads-up. Which types auto-approve is set in Settings → Leave types.
While a request is pending
- It shows hatched on the wall chart — visible to everyone, so teammates don't book blind.
- It reserves its days in the requester's allowance and its slot in any department absence cap. That's why approving never over-books a day: the check happened at booking time.
- The requester can still cancel it — the reservation evaporates.
Decisions and the audit trail
Every request carries an append-only timeline: created, approved/declined (by whom, when, and the mandatory reason on declines), cancelled, and how the decision travelled (app, email, Slack…). Nothing is editable after the fact — the trail is the institution's memory, and it protects both sides.
After the decision
- The requester is notified on their channels, in their language.
- The wall chart updates in place; synced calendars gain (or lose) the event.
- Department followers get their FYI on approvals and cancellations — never pending noise.
Undo, sort of
Decisions aren't reversible, but life is: an approved booking can be cancelled — by the requester, or by you on their behalf with a note. The days return; the timeline remembers both the approval and the cancellation.