0. Pre-Settings
Recommendation: For irregular Work Schedules, set the Time Off entitlement in Settings → Time Off → [Policy] to days and select Work Schedule for the deduction.
1. How the deduction amount is calculated
When an employee takes Time Off, the system needs to know how many hours to deduct. This depends on the Use contracted hours for hourly deduction toggle in Time Off > Settings > [Policy] > Policy Settings > Deduction
Toggle | How Time Off hours are deducted |
Off (default) | Hours scheduled on that specific day (from Work Schedule or Shiftplan) |
On | Contractual daily average (contracted weekly hours ÷ working days) — the same amount every day |
When to enable it: Enable for Time Off types like Annual leave / Vacation when employees have uneven or rotating schedules. This makes deductions consistent and predictable regardless of which day the employee takes off.
Example: Employee works Mon–Thu 8h and Fri 5h (37h/week → 7h 24min daily average).
Toggle off → Monday off equals 8h (paid) time off, Friday off equals 5h (paid) time off
Toggle on → every day off equals 7h 24min (paid) time off
Per policy tip: A company might want contracted hours for Annual leave / Vacation (fair balance consumption across an uneven week) but scheduled hours for compensatory leave.
2. Case 1: Requesting Time Off without a published Shiftplan
If no Shiftplan has been published yet, how employees should request Time Off depends on the Time Off policy.
Example: Connie has 21 weekly hours and works flexibly (3–5 days per week). She wants to request a full week off in advance — before a Shiftplan exists.
Scenario A: Deduction by Work Schedule (recommended)
Time Off is calculated based on scheduled working time.
If Connie only requests Thu–Sat, the request will be rejected — the system recognises these days without a Shiftplan as non-working days.
Instead, the system distributes the required hours to other days (e.g. Mon–Wed).
✅ Correct: Connie should request the entire week → 21 hours / 3 days of Time Off will be automatically deducted.
Scenario B: Deduction by calendar days
Connie requests Thu–Sat → 3 days deducted
Connie requests Mon–Sat → 6 days deducted
3. Case 2: Requesting Time Off with a published Shiftplan
If you record an absence for an employee with a published Shiftplan, only delete shifts after the Time Off request has been fully processed. Removing shifts too early means the system can no longer calculate the correct deduction.
Basic rule for deleting shifts
Request type | When to delete shifts |
Retroactive | Immediately after approval |
Future absence | Only after the first day of absence at 00:00 |
Example: Michael has 30 contracted weekly hours, works 3–6 days, and is scheduled Mon–Thu. He calls in sick for the entire week on Sunday evening.
Scenario A: Deduction by Work Schedule
Michael submits a request for the entire week (Mon–Sat) or only Mon–Thu.
Sunday: leave all shifts in the Shiftplan so the system can calculate correctly.
Monday morning: once the deduction is processed, delete Mon–Thu shifts.
Result: 4 sick days recorded (Mon–Thu) — only actually planned working days are counted.
Scenario B: Deduction by calendar days
Shifts can be deleted or converted to open shifts at any time.
Mon–Thu → 4 sick days
Mon–Sat → 6 sick days
Note: For sick leave in Germany, we recommend not using calendar days — only actually planned working days should count for payroll and correct reimbursement by health insurance providers.
4. In short
Deduction method | When to use | How to request |
Work Schedule (recommended) | Reflects actual working days | Request the entire absence period |
Calendar days | When legally required to count full absence | Request only the actual days of time off |