> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://absentify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Manage representatives in user profile
> Configure representatives in absentify employee profiles to cover duties during absences, with approval workflow before each absence is finalized.
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
You manage representatives in the **Representative** tab in the employee's profile.
Go to **Settings** → **Users** → select the employee → open the **Representative** tab.
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.
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.
Define how many representatives must approve the request before it is forwarded to the approver. One or multiple representatives can be assigned.
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.
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 period than the defined minimum, the absence request cannot be submitted. Only an administrator can override this restriction by submitting the request on the user's behalf.
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## Representative selection
The selection and validation of representatives occurs during the creation of the absence request.
You can define per leave type whether a representative is **required** or **optional**. See [Representative requirement in leave type settings](/docs/en/roles/hr_admins/settings/leave_types/create-leave-types#behavior) 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 two leave-type settings: **"[Count as leave](/docs/en/roles/hr_admins/settings/leave_types/create-leave-types#behavior)"** and **"[Allow representative overlap](/docs/en/roles/hr_admins/settings/leave_types/create-leave-types#behavior)"**.
* **Count as leave** activated + **Allow representative overlap** disabled → The absence blocks representative assignments and triggers hard restrictions. Recommended for Vacation or Sick Leave.
* **Count as leave** deactivated → The absence does *not* block representative assignments. Recommended for Home Office.
* **Count as leave** activated + **Allow representative overlap** enabled → The representative sees a confirmation dialog and can proceed with their own absence request despite the active representation. Use this for leave types where overlap is acceptable but should be acknowledged.
Additionally, the system distinguishes between **approved** and **pending** representative assignments:
* If the representative assignment is already **approved**, the overlap is treated as a conflict (blocking or confirmation dialog, depending on the settings above).
* If the representative assignment is still **pending**, the system shows a warning that accepting the representation later may cause a conflict, but allows the request to proceed.
**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 and "Allow representative overlap" disabled.
**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.
**Example use case 3**:
If "Allow representative overlap" is enabled on the leave type, the representative sees a confirmation dialog explaining the overlap and can choose to proceed with their own absence request.
**Admin override**:
In all blocked scenarios, an administrator can [override the restriction](/docs/en/roles/hr_admins/settings/general/privacy#administrator) and submit the leave request on behalf of the representative, even if "Count as leave" is activated.
### Summary of logic
| Situation | Count as leave ON, Overlap OFF | Count as leave ON, Overlap ON | Count as leave OFF |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Representative requests leave during active representation | Blocked (admin required) | Confirmation dialog | Allowed |
| Employee requests leave while representative is absent | Blocked (admin required) | Blocked (admin required) | Allowed |