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Managing representatives in absentify allows you to define who will take over the duties of an employee during an absence.

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Manage representatives

Administrators manage representatives in the Representative tab in the employee’s profile.
1

Open user profile

Go to Settings → Users → select the employee → open the Representative tab.
2

Add representatives

Add one or more representatives who will cover for the employee during absences where a representative is required. You can define the order of representatives here.
3

Select approval process

Choose how representatives are contacted for approval:
  • Linear: Representatives are contacted one after the other in the defined order.
  • Parallel: Representatives are contacted at the same time.
4

Set number of required representatives

Define how many representatives must approve the request before it is forwarded to the approver. One or multiple representatives can be assigned.
5

Allow change of order (optional)

Enable this option to allow the employee to change the order of representatives during the request process.
If disabled, the contact order remains as defined in the profile.
6

Allow employee to choose representative (optional)

Enable this option to allow the employee to add or remove representatives when submitting an absence request.
If fewer representatives are available during the requested absence period than the defined minimum, the absence request cannot be submitted – unless an administrator submits the request on behalf of the user and overrides this restriction.

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Representative selection

The selection and validation of representatives occurs during the creation of the absence request. The administrator can define per leave type whether a representative is required or optional. See Representative requirement in leave type settings for full details. When an employee selects a leave type that requires a representative:
  • The predefined representatives from the employee’s profile will appear in the request form.
  • If allowed, the employee can override the default selection.
  • Representatives will receive a request to approve their assignment.
  • Only after the required number of representatives approve the assignment will the request be forwarded to the approver.
  • If the assigned representative is unavailable, an administrator can accept the request on behalf of the employee.
If multiple representatives are assigned:
  • If all representatives must approve and any representative is already absent during the requested period, the request cannot be submitted.
  • If not all representatives must approve, any representative who is absent will be automatically declined.
An absence request is forwarded to the approvers only after a representative has approved their assignment.

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Representative conflict

The representative conflict logic depends on whether the leave type has “Count as leave” activated or deactivated. There are two main use cases:
  • Count as leave toggle activated → The absence blocks representative assignments and triggers restrictions. Recommended for Vacation or Sick Leave.
  • Count as leave toggle deactivated → The absence does not block representative assignments. Recommended for Home Office.
Example Use Case 1: If a representative has already accepted a representation, they cannot request leave during the same time frame if the leave type they are requesting has “Count as leave” activated. Example Use Case 2: If the assigned representative already has an absence during the user’s requested time frame and both leave types have “Count as leave” activated, the employee cannot submit their leave request for the same period. Admin Override: In all blocked scenarios, an administrator can override the restriction and submit the leave request on behalf of the representative, even if “Count as leave” is activated.

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Summary of Logic

SituationCount as Leave ActivatedCount as Leave Deactivated
Representative requests leave during active representation❌ Blocked (Admin required)✅ Allowed
Employee requests leave while representative is absent❌ Blocked (Admin required)✅ Allowed