Request and Manage Leave and Absence

This article provides a guide on how to request and manage leave on BigChange. Understanding these processes is crucial for efficient leave management and ensuring smooth operations within your business.

Understanding Absence Types

Absence types can be managed by an Administrator of the system. For more information about creating Absence Types, see article Setting up Absence Types in BigChange – BigChange

Requesting Leave on the BigChange website

To request leave as an individual via the BigChange website:

• Navigate to [Top menu] Fleet and Resources → {side menu] Resources
• Select a resource
• Navigate to the Absence tab

Here, you can view your leave details and request new leave by selecting the "Add" icon and filling in the necessary fields.

• Select "Add"

1. From - Date and time of first day of the absence
2. To - Date and time of last day of the absence
3. Type - Type of absence (these are your Absence types, which are bespoke and unique to each site setup of BigChange. These can be added/amended by your site Administrators.
4. Days requested - Number of days of leave.
5. Reason - This is a manual text field, which is not mandatory but please note, what you out in here will be visible on the schedule when an absence is hovered over. (see below)
6. Paid leave - Tick box to denote whether this is paid leave or not.

Reason field	Visable on schedule on hover of mouse

Absence list view

1. From - The start date from which the holiday was calculated.
2. To - The end date from which the holiday was calculated.
3. Type - The leave already booked by this Resource.
4. Number of days remaining - The number of days leave already booked out.
5. Number of days left - The number of days leave still available to book for this resource.
6. Add icon to add a holiday request

Requesting Leave using the BigChange App

If you have been granted the necessary permissions, you can request leave directly from your device using the BigChange app. For learn how to do this see article Requesting Leave using the BigChange app – BigChange

Adding an Absence for a Group

There may be instances where you need to create an absence for entire groups or the whole company, such as Bank Holidays.

• Navigate to [Top menu] Fleet & Resources → Absences
• Select the "+" add icon

• Complete the fields, making sure the Resource * field is showing "- All -" from the drop-down list.
• Select "Save"

The absence will now show in the list view and can be viewed in more detail by clicking on it.

Please note: If you try to remove an absence from a resource that has been added to all using this feature, it will remove the absence from all resources. Absences that are added to 'All' resources cannot then be removed for a singular resource unless you want it being removed from all.

Managing and approving leave

Click on it to open up the absence and you will see who added it, and its approval stage.

Web users who are logged in as an Administrator or have the correct permissions, will have absences automatically approved. All other absences will sit in ‘Requested’ until approved.

Absences can also be filtered and exported as CSV files:

 When the Schedule is viewed, the colour chosen when it was created in Absence types will appear.  If you hover over it, the reason for the absence will display.

Conclusion

Understanding how to request leave on BigChange is crucial for efficient operations. Whether you're an individual employee, a manager, or an administrator, this guide provides the necessary steps to ensure smooth leave management. Remember to check your permissions before attempting to request leave via a device, and utilise the Absence types feature for easy visualisation of different types of absences.