When an absence is logged, the system calculates the number of days and hours based on the employee’s assigned working schedules. For employees with multiple appointments, this can result in doubled absence values. This usually happens when each appointment has its own working pattern, or when more than one appointment includes working days.
If an employee has one appointment, it is likely that the working schedules have been set up with incorrect periods.
This article explains why this happens, how to prevent or correct it, and how to check the setup of working schedules to avoid future issues.
How absence hours are calculated
The system uses the working schedules assigned to each appointment’s working pattern to calculate days and hours.
For employees with a single appointment, the calculation is straightforward.
For employees with multiple appointments, the system calculates each appointment separately and adds the values together.
Example scenario
John Doe has two appointments:
Appointment 1: Uses Working Pattern A – Monday to Friday, 7.5 hours per day.
Appointment 2: Uses Working Pattern B – Monday to Friday, 0.00 hours per day (variable role).
If John requests a day off (e.g., Monday), the system calculates:
Working Pattern | Days | Hours |
A | 1 | 7.50 |
B | 1 | 0.00 |
Total | 2 | 7.50 |
Problem: John has only taken 1 day off, but the system counts it as 2 days.
Option 1 – Manually adjust the absence days
You can manually override the days and hours on the Absence Days tab:
Go to Absence, Absence History.
Open the employee’s record and select the absence.
Click the Absence Days tab.
Adjust the values as needed.
Option 2 – Configure working patterns to prevent double-counting
For ongoing prevention, configure one of the appointments to have non-working days:
Allocate only one appointment with a working pattern containing work days and hours (combined hours if needed).
For all other appointments, assign a working pattern with non-working days (0 days and 0 hours).
This ensures that only the intended appointment contributes to the absence calculation.
Check a working schedule
If an employee has only one working pattern, you will need to review the working pattern by following these steps.
Under Employees, click Lookups.
Click Pattern, then click Working Schedules.
Select the relevant schedule.
Click Periods.
Ensure the total value per day adds to 1. For example, if there are two periods, each should be set to 0.5.
If you're unsure about any of the steps or need help choosing the right configuration, please raise a new case online and reference the title of this article.