Using Personal Leave During Shifts

Learn how to properly record unpaid time away from work during your shift using the Personal Leave feature for appointments, errands, or other personal needs.

Overview

There may be times when you need to leave work temporarily during a shift for personal reasons, such as:

• Medical or dental appointments
• Personal errands or obligations
• Family matters
• Academic commitments
• Other personal needs

The Personal Leave feature allows you to properly record this time away while remaining clocked in for your shift. This time is tracked separately and is unpaid.

Personal Leave vs. Regular Breaks

It’s important to understand the difference between regular breaks and Personal Leave:

Regular Breaks Personal Leave Short duration (typically 10-30 minutes) Longer duration (30+ minutes) Often paid (except meal breaks) Always unpaid Taken within the workplace or nearby Often involves leaving the workplace Typically scheduled at specific times May be pre-arranged or unexpected

How to Record Personal Leave

Starting Personal Leave

1. From your dashboard, click the Manage Breaks button
2. In the Breaks screen, scroll to the Unpaid Personal Leave section
3. Click the Start Personal Leave button
4. The system will record the start time of your absence
5. You may be prompted to enter a reason for your absence (optional)

You are now on Personal Leave status. The time tracking system will continue to track your shift, but this period will be marked as unpaid.

Returning from Personal Leave

When you return from your personal absence:

1. Go back to the Breaks screen
2. Find your active Personal Leave status
3. Click the End Personal Leave button
4. The system will calculate the total time you were away
5. This time will be deducted from your paid hours for the day

Impact on Your Pay

When you use Personal Leave:

• The time spent on Personal Leave is not paid
• Your payable hours for the shift will be your total shift time minus your unpaid Personal Leave time
• You will see the deducted time on your timesheet
• Your total shift hours will still reflect the full time from clock-in to clock-out

Best Practices

For optimal use of Personal Leave:

1. Communicate with your manager before taking Personal Leave when possible
2. Be accurate with your timing - start Personal Leave as you leave and end it immediately upon return
3. Use for appropriate durations - shorter absences (under 15 minutes) may be better recorded as regular breaks
4. Add notes if needed - you can add a note explaining your absence when you start Personal Leave
5. Verify your timesheet after using Personal Leave to ensure the time was recorded correctly

Manager Approval

In some cases, Personal Leave may require manager approval:

• Managers can review your Personal Leave records
• Managers may adjust the recorded times if needed
• Some organizations may require pre-approval for Personal Leave

Viewing Your Personal Leave Records

To view your Personal Leave history:

1. Go to Time & Attendance > My Records
2. Your Personal Leave periods will be indicated in your timesheet
3. You can see the duration of each Personal Leave and total unpaid time

Related Resources

• Clock In and Out
• Break Management
• Attendance Records