When a caregiver calls off, takes a vacation, or needs time away, record an absence on their profile. Careswitch then:
Shows the absence on the schedule.
Marks the caregiver as unavailable for that time when you assign shifts.
Removes the caregiver from affected shifts after you approve the absence and confirm which shifts to unassign.
For a call-off that affects only one shift: You can use Unassign on that shift and choose Call Out as the reason. See Filling open shifts and handling caregiver callouts.
Record an absence
Record absences on the caregiver's profile. You cannot create them on the Shifts Calendar.
Go to Workforce and open the caregiver's profile. Open Schedule.
The Upcoming Absences panel shows absences already recorded. To see the full list of absences, click View Availability & Absences.
Click Record Absence.
Enter the absence details:
Field | What to enter |
Start Date and End Date | Enter the first and last day of the absence. Both dates are included. For a one-day absence, use the same date in both fields. |
All day | This is on by default. For part of a day, turn it off and enter From and To times. For example, use this for a morning appointment. |
Reason | Choose Vacation, Sick Day, Call-off, Training, School, Personal, Other Job, Work Injury, FMLA, Disability, Jury Duty, or Other. Call-off is selected by default. |
Status | Choose Requested, Approved, or Denied. See the descriptions below. |
Note (optional) | Add any helpful details, such as who called and when. |
5. Click the button at the bottom. The button matches the status you selected:
Status | What it means | Button |
Requested | The caregiver has asked for time off, but you have not approved or denied it. This is the default status. | Record Request |
Approved | The time off is confirmed. Only this status removes the caregiver from affected shifts, after you confirm. | Record Absence |
Denied | The time-off request was turned down. This keeps a record of the request. | Record Denial |
Who can record absences: Your role must have Manage access to Availability under Employees permissions. See Roles and permissions.
Caregivers cannot record their own absences in the app or portal. They must tell the office so an office user can record the absence. In some cases, caregivers can report a call-out for specific shifts. See Filling open shifts and handling caregiver callouts.
Approve a requested absence
On the caregiver's Schedule tab, find the absence.
Click its status, then choose Change Status → Approved.
Careswitch asks you to confirm the affected shifts, just as it does when you first record an absence as Approved.
What happens to the caregiver's shifts
Only an Approved absence changes shift assignments. This applies whether you approve the absence when you create it or approve a request later.
Before making changes, Careswitch shows Unassign These Shifts? and lists the overlapping shifts. Each shift shows the client, status, date, and time.
Click Unassign to continue. To return and change the absence, click Go Back.
Which shifts are affected
Shift status | What happens |
Scheduled, Offer Pending, or Tentative | The caregiver is removed from overlapping shifts after you confirm. |
In Progress, Late, Completed, or Incomplete | The shift stays as it is. Make any needed changes from the shift page. |
What happens after you confirm
The affected shifts stay on the schedule as Unassigned so you can find coverage. See Filling open shifts and handling caregiver callouts.
Each shift's history records "Unassigned due to an approved absence" along with the dates and reason. The table below explains how reasons appear.
For recurring schedules, the caregiver remains the schedule's caregiver for shifts after the absence.
Absence reason | How it appears in the shift's history |
Call-off | Call Out |
Vacation, Sick Day, Training, School, Personal, Other Job, Jury Duty, or Other | The reason appears as entered. |
Work Injury, FMLA, or Disability | Only "Approved absence" appears, to protect privacy. The specific reason stays on the absence record. |
When Careswitch cannot approve the absence
More than 40 overlapping shifts: One approval can unassign up to 40 shifts. If the absence overlaps more than 40, Careswitch does not save it. Split it into shorter absences, or unassign some overlapping shifts first.
Payroll already approved or processing: If any overlapping shift has pay that is approved or processing, Careswitch does not save the absence. Reset those payroll line items, then approve the absence. See Running Payroll in Careswitch.
Requested, denied, and changed absences
Recording an absence as Requested or Denied does not change any shift assignments.
Changing an Approved absence to another status does not restore the caregiver to shifts that were already unassigned. You must reassign those shifts yourself.
How absences show on the schedule
Requested and Approved absences appear on the caregiver's Schedule tab.
They also appear in the Shifts Calendar and Timeline when you group by Employees. Requested absences appear in amber on Timeline.
To show or hide absences in Calendar or Timeline, use Display → Absences. This setting is on by default and appears only when you group by Employees. See Scheduling Basics.
When assigning a shift, you will see an unavailable label for caregivers with a requested or approved absence during that time. This is a warning; you can still assign the caregiver. If you post an open shift with Only available selected, those caregivers are left out.
Denied and Archived absences do not affect availability.
Only users with permission to view employee Availability can see absences.
Fix a mistake or review history
Absences cannot be edited or deleted. To correct an absence:
Change its status to Archived.
Record a new absence with the correct details.
Past and archived absences are hidden by default. Click Show Past and Archived in the absence list to see them.
The caregiver's Activity tab records every absence and status change, including how many overlapping shifts were unassigned. It shows the dates and status but does not show the reason.
FAQ
Can I record an absence from the Shifts Calendar?
No. Open the caregiver's Schedule tab and use Record Absence. The Calendar shows requested and approved absences, but you cannot create them there.
The caregiver called off a shift that's already started. Why wasn't it unassigned?
Approving an absence only unassigns shifts that have not started and are Scheduled, Offer Pending, or Tentative. For a shift that is In Progress, Late, Completed, or Incomplete, make any needed changes from the shift page.
Does approving an absence repost the shifts or notify anyone?
No. It removes the caregiver from the overlapping shifts you confirm. It does not repost those shifts or notify your team. Your team must choose how to fill them.
Can a caregiver see their absences in the app?
No. The office manages absences, and they do not appear in the caregiver app. When a caregiver is removed from a shift, that shift disappears from their schedule.
I approved a long absence but got an error about 40 shifts. What do I do?
Split the absence into shorter periods, such as one per week, and approve each one separately. You can also unassign some overlapping shifts first, then approve the absence.