Time off in AB Talent is a running record of days granted and days used, and your balance is the sum of it. Everyone starts at zero. AB Talent doesn't guess how many days your company or your country gives, so nobody has any days until HR grants them.
If you are taking time off
- Open Time off. Your balance shows the days left for each kind of time off. You can also start from Request time off on Home.
- Fill it in. Select Request time off, then choose the Kind, the First day away and the Last day away. The form shows how many days this uses.
- Send it. Select Send request. It appears under Your requests.
- Weekends aren't counted. Public holidays aren't known to the request form, so if one falls inside your dates, adjust the dates around it.
- You can't book the same days twice. A request that overlaps one you have already made is refused.
- Changed your mind? Select Cancel on the request, even after it is approved. The days go back to your balance.
- Days that expire show on your balance with the date they lapse, for example carried-over annual leave. AB Talent spends the days that expire soonest first.
- A balance can go below zero. AB Talent doesn't stop the request, and the balance shows as days over. That isn't an error.
If you approve time off
You can answer a request if you are the person's direct manager and hold People manager access, or if you are an HR admin. Requests waiting for you appear on Home and under Waiting for you on Time off.
| Your answer | What it needs |
|---|---|
| Approve | Nothing else. The days are taken from the balance straight away. |
| Decline | A reason, which the person will see. Turning somebody's time off down always needs one. |
With the AB Talent app in Microsoft Teams, you also get a card in your chat: Approve is one tap, and Decline has its own reason box. A card can be tapped days later, so it checks again and tells you if the request has already been answered. If somebody has no usable manager, the card goes to every HR admin.
If you run HR: kinds of time off
Three kinds are ready to use, and you can change them or add your own under Kinds of time off with New kind and Edit.
| Kind | Keeps a balance | Needs approving |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | Yes | Yes |
| Sick leave | No | No, it is booked straight away |
| Unpaid leave | No | Yes |
Once time off has been granted or requested under a kind, Hours in a working day and Keep a balance are fixed, because changing them would change balances people already hold. A kind can't be archived while somebody holds days under it or a request is open.
If you run HR: granting days
- Select Grant days on Time off.
- Fill it in. Choose Who, the kind, the Days and Usable from. If the days lapse, set Last day it can be used. Leave it empty if they never do.
- Select Grant. The days are added to their balance.
Usual grant on a kind only fills in this form. Nothing is granted automatically, so you grant days each time they are due. Your payroll provider calculates pay from what AB Talent supplies, so every movement stays on the record rather than being overwritten.
The balance you see is always the sum of what happened, which is why it can be explained line by line if anyone asks.