Time-off balances can feel confusing when the deducted amount doesn’t match what you expected.
This article helps you understand why a specific amount of time off was deducted when an absence is approved. It explains the logic behind common scenarios using simple examples, so you can quickly answer questions like:
- Why was a full day deducted instead of hours?
- Why was nothing deducted when there was no shift?
- Why does the deduction change depending on the allowance type?
When to use this article:
An employee questions a time-off deduction
A balance looks different than expected after an absence
You want to understand how shifts affect deductions
What this article does not cover
This article does not explain:
How to create or configure time-off policies
Important limitation
This feature currently applies only to full-day absences.
Partial-day requests (hours or half days) are shown for context, but the calculation logic explained here applies only when the absence is considered a full day.
Key concepts (read this first)
Before looking at calculations, it’s important to understand two core concepts.
What is a time-off allowance?
A time-off allowance defines how time off is measured and deducted from an employee’s balance.
An allowance can be based on days or hours, and this affects how deductions are calculated.
Day-based vs hour-based allowances
| Day-based allowance | Hour-based allowance |
|---|---|
| Balance is tracked in days | Balance is tracked in hours |
| A full working day usually deducts 1 day | A full working day deducts the number of planned working hours |
| Shifts help determine whether a day is working or not | Shifts determine how many hours are deducted |
Keep this difference in mind, most calculation questions come from mixing these two models.
How deductions work in common scenarios
Below you’ll find the most common real-life situations, explained from a user’s perspective.
Scenario 1: I requested a full day off
This is the most common case.
-
What is deducted
- Day-based allowance → 1 day
- Hour-based allowance → The number of working hours planned for that day
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Why this happens
-
When a full day absence is approved, the system checks the employee’s working schedule:
- If the day is a working day, time is deducted
- The type of allowance determines whether the deduction is in days or hours
-
When a full day absence is approved, the system checks the employee’s working schedule:
Example
- Employee works 8 hours per day
- Requests a full day off on a scheduled working day
Result:
- Day-based allowance → 1 day deducted
- Hour-based allowance → 8 hours deducted
Scenario 2: I requested a full day off, but there was no shift planned
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What is deducted
- Nothing is deducted (both allowance types)
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Why this happens
- If no shift is planned for that day, the system treats it as a non-working day.
- Since the employee was not expected to work, there is nothing to deduct, even if the absence is approved.
Example
- Employee requests a full day off on a Sunday
- No shift is scheduled
Result:
- 0 days / 0 hours deducted
Scenario 3: I requested a half day
This applies only to full-day absences. Half-day requests follow existing behavior and may not reflect the scenarios below.
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What is deducted
- Day-based allowance → Usually 0.5 days
-
Hour-based allowance → Planned working hours for that half day
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Why this can feel confusing
- Half-day requests depend heavily on how the working schedule is defined. Because this feature is optimized for full-day absences, results may vary and are not covered in depth here.
Scenario 4: I requested hours instead of a full day
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What is deducted
- Only the requested number of hours
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Why this happens
- When requesting hours, the system does not convert the request into a day. It simply deducts the exact number of hours requested, regardless of shifts.
Overlapping absences and shifts
Overlaps are easier to understand when separated by allowance type.
Day-based allowance with overlapping shifts
-
How it works
-
The system checks if any working time exists on that day
- If yes → 1 full day is deducted
- If no → nothing is deducted
-
The system checks if any working time exists on that day
Example:
- Employee has a short shift (2 hours) on a day
- Requests a full day off
Result:
- 1 full day deducted
Why:
- Day-based allowances do not scale by hours — the day counts as a working day.
Hour-based allowance with overlapping shifts
-
How it works
- The system deducts only the hours that overlap with planned working time
-
Example
- Employee has a 6-hour shift
- Requests a full day off
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Result:
- 6 hours deducted
-
Why:
- Hour-based allowances always match the actual working hours scheduled.
Known limitations and edge cases
These rules are important and apply across all scenarios.
Only full-day absences are supported by this feature
- Mixed requests (part day + part hours) follow existing behavior
- Days without shifts never generate deductions
- The allowance type (days vs hours) always determines how time is deducted
If a deduction looks unexpected, first check:
- Whether a shift was planned
- Whether the allowance is day-based or hour-based
- Whether the request was a full day
Quick checklist for support questions
When answering "Why was this deducted?", ask:
- Was it a full-day absence?
- Was there a shift planned?
- Is the allowance tracked in days or hours?
- In most cases, one of these explains the result.
General Absence Calculations
Here’s how the system calculates absence values in standard scenarios:
- Full-Day Absences: Deducts 1 day (or the equivalent hours based on the allowance type) per absence request.
- Half-day Absences: Half day absences deduct 0.5 days per absence request and the user can choose between the first and the second half of the day.
- Hourly Absences: Deducts hours based on the time requested and the user's working hours.
- Holidays and Rest Days: Absences on holidays or rest days are not deducted unless specifically configured in the settings.