Absences and balances
Understand absence types and requests, vacation entitlement, pauses versus absences, and how balances and saldo appear with time logs and monthly PDF exports.
Absences record approved or requested time away from work—vacation, illness, or other institution-defined types—alongside daily time logs on the user’s Time Tracking tab. Together with vacation entitlement and the monthly saldo, they give managers a single place to see both hours worked and hours not worked for the same person.
This page covers how absences relate to tracked sessions, what balances mean in Fuxam, and how to keep absence data clean before payroll or audit export. It does not replace your institution’s leave policy or national rules on sick leave and vacation.
Why it matters
Working-time documentation is incomplete if it only shows clock-ins. Auditors, payroll clerks, and line managers also need to know why a day has little or no tracked time: Was the person on vacation? Ill? Unexcused? Absence types and approval workflows answer that question inside the same identity record as the hours themselves.
Balances—especially vacation entitlement and the monthly saldo—then connect day-to-day logs to longer-term workforce planning. In general HR practice, leave and time accounts sit next to each other so overtime, undertime, and vacation do not get double-counted or silently ignored.
How it fits
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Manage time entries | Absences appear in the log table; managers approve requests on the same tab. |
| Work-time models and expected hours | Models underpin expected hours and vacation context. |
| Export time data | PDF overview includes absence summary and vacation balance context; columns can include absences. |
| Auto-stop settings | The unexcused absence threshold in general settings is a separate notification control—not the same as approving an absence request. |
| User Management | Absences live on the user profile’s Time Tracking tab. |
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Absence type | Institution-defined category of time away (configured under Settings → Time Tracking). |
| Absence request | A submitted period of leave that managers can approve or reject when they hold review permission. |
| Vacation entitlement | Vacation balance context linked to the user’s models on the Time Tracking tab. |
| Pause | A break inside a work session—not an absence from the workplace for a full leave day. |
| Unexcused absence threshold | General setting that drives a separate notification job when someone appears absent without excuse—distinct from the absence-request workflow. |
| Saldo | Running balance of tracked versus expected hours in monthly PDF overview KPIs, shown alongside vacation and absence summaries. |
Pauses, absences, and unexcused notifications
| Mechanism | What it is for | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | Rest or lunch during a tracked workday | Full-day vacation or sick leave |
| Absence request | Formal leave of a defined type with approval | A substitute for clocking out of an open session |
| Unexcused absence threshold | Triggers notifications when absence may be unexplained | Automatic approval or creation of an absence record |
Absence types and configuration
Institution administrators define absence types in Settings → Time Tracking alongside work-time models and timestamp templates. Types should mirror your HR vocabulary so staff and managers pick the right category the first time.
Exact type names and fields are institution-specific. Frame new types as policy decisions; do not invent types that your settings screen does not provide.
How to review absences on a user
Open OrgHub → User Management and select the user.
Open the Time Tracking tab.
Review Absence requests for items awaiting approval or rejection (requires review permission).
In the log table, use Week or Month view and expand days to see absences shown alongside sessions, pauses, and timestamps.
Check Vacation entitlement for vacation balance context linked to the user’s models.
Managers with permission to view another person’s time tracking can open the tab; approving requests additionally requires review permission for absences.
How absences interact with tracked time
| Situation | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Full day of approved leave | Prefer an absence request for that type; do not rely only on zero tracked hours. |
| Partial day (morning work, afternoon leave) | Track the worked portion; record the leave portion via the absence workflow according to institutional policy. |
| Forgot to clock out on a leave day | Close or correct the stray session in manage time entries; do not leave an Auto-stopped overnight session on a vacation day. |
| Expected hours still show undertime on leave | Confirm the absence is approved and visible for that date; confirm the work-time model assignment is correct. |
Balances: vacation and saldo
| Balance | Where you see it | Role in review |
|---|---|---|
| Vacation entitlement | Time Tracking tab section | Leave planning and remaining vacation context. |
| Daily difference | Log table / export columns | Overtime or undertime for one day. |
| Monthly saldo | PDF overview KPIs when exporting | Period-level running balance next to absence and vacation summaries. |
Read saldo together with absences: a negative difference on a vacation day may be expected once leave is recorded; the same negative difference on a scheduled workday without absence is a signal to investigate.
Best practices
- Submit and approve absences promptly — Late approvals distort monthly PDFs already sent to payroll.
- Train staff on types — Wrong type (vacation vs special leave) is harder to fix after export archives are filed.
- Review absences in the same weekly pass as auto-stopped sessions — One manager rhythm covers both.
- Export after both logs and absences are signed off — See export time data.
- Keep unexcused-threshold settings separate in your mental model — They notify; they do not replace the absence-request workflow.
Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | Result |
|---|---|
| Editing sessions instead of recording leave | Balances and absence summaries disagree with HR. |
| Confusing pause with absence | Lunch breaks appear as leave—or leave appears as a short pause. |
| Confusing unexcused threshold with auto-stop | Expecting sessions to close when only notifications are configured (or the reverse). |
| Exporting before approvals finish | PDF absence summary incomplete for the month. |
FAQ
Who can approve absence requests?
Managers who can open the user’s Time Tracking tab and who hold review permission for absences. Exact role mapping is controlled in Roles and permissions.
Do absences appear in the PDF export?
Yes. You can include absences in the selected columns, and the monthly PDF overview includes an absence summary alongside saldo and vacation context.
Is vacation entitlement the same as saldo?
No. Vacation entitlement is leave balance context. Saldo is the running comparison of tracked versus expected working hours. Both appear in the monthly PDF overview but answer different questions.
What if someone is absent but never submitted a request?
Follow your institutional process: managers may need to create or request the absence through the supported workflow, and investigate whether the unexcused absence threshold notifications apply. Do not invent undocumented buttons—use the Absence requests section and your HR policy.