Know who's off before you book the job.
Holiday allowances, requests, sickness and company closures, kept in the same system as your jobs. HivePlanner, HiveCrew and HiveHire check it every time you book someone, so nobody turns up to a job that has no one to do it. Included on every plan.
Booking warnings
Add someone who is off to a job and HiveSuite tells you who and when - or stops the booking.
Requests & approvals
Your team asks from HiveCrew or their dashboard. Approvers see what it costs before saying yes.
Allowances
Part-time, new starters, bank holidays and carry over worked out for you.
Needs cover
Every job in the next 8 weeks with someone booked who is off, in one list.
Why it lives with your jobs
A holiday spreadsheet can't stop a double-booking
When holiday sits in a wall chart, a shared calendar or a separate HR app, the person booking jobs has to remember to check it. Usually they find out when the customer rings to ask where everyone is.
In HiveSuite, time off is checked everywhere people are booked. Choose whether that is a warning with Book anyway, or a hard stop.
- Adding crew to a job, or changing the crew from the job panel
- Dragging a job to a new time in HivePlanner
- Crew grabbing a job, or logging one in HiveCrew on a day they're off
- Choosing a HiveHire delivery or collection driver
- Requests waiting for approval show as "Asked", so you know before it's confirmed
- Half days and hours count - a 9:00 job is fine if they're off from midday
Booking a job
You add Dan to a boiler install on Thursday. Dan is on holiday Wednesday to Friday.
Dan is off 14 - 16 Oct: Book anyway or Don't book
Approving a request
Sam asks for 3 days. The request shows what it takes, what's left after it, and the jobs Sam is already on.
3 days - 9.5 left - 2 jobs need cover
Someone rings in sick
They press Report sick on their phone. Approvers are told at once, with the jobs that need covering.
Office knows before 8am
Everything in one place
A proper holiday tracker, not a calendar block
Time Off handles the parts small businesses usually do by hand - allowances, approvals, sickness and shutdowns - and connects them to the schedule.
Ask for time off
Pick the days and type, see what it takes and what's left, then send. Approvers are told in HiveSuite and on their phone.
Approve or decline
One Requests tab with the days, balance after, warnings and affected jobs. Give a reason when declining.
Report sick
Recorded straight away, never taken from the allowance, and only those who manage time off see it.
Half days and hours
All day, morning, afternoon or a set number of hours for appointments.
Your own types
Holiday, Sickness, Unpaid leave, Training, Appointment and Other to start. Rename, recolour or add your own.
UK bank holidays
England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, loaded from gov.uk. Included, on top, or worked.
Part-time & new starters
Allowances in proportion to working days, and a share of the year for people who join part way through.
Carry over
Carry unused days into next year up to a limit you set, plus adjustments with a note.
Company closures
Add a Christmas shutdown once and everyone gets the time off, taken from allowances if you choose.
Busy periods
Mark your peak season. Requests in it show a warning to the person and the approver.
Too many off at once
Warn when a request would leave too many people off, or comes in with too little notice.
Team calendar
A month view with a row per person, part days, requests waiting and bank holidays.
Add to my calendar
Everyone gets a link for Google Calendar, Outlook or their phone that stays up to date.
Closures on job requests
Customers picking a preferred date in the Customer Portal can see when you're closed.
Full history
Every change to time off or an allowance is kept: who, when and what it was before.
Records on request
Download everything held about one person's time off when they ask for a copy.
Allowances
No more working out holiday on a calculator
Set the yearly allowance and when your holiday year starts - the first of a month, or each person's start date. HiveSuite works out each person's figure from their working days, start date, bank holidays and anything carried over.
Everyone sees what's left on their own My Time Off page, so the "how many days have I got?" questions stop.
- Only working days come out of the allowance
- Hours in a working day for time off taken in hours
- Each person can have their own allowance and working days
- Warn, or don't allow, requests for more than is left
- Approved time off keeps the days it took, even if settings change later
Example
28 days including bank holidays
A full-timer with 8 bank holidays falling on weekdays, 10 days already taken and 5 booked.
Allowance
28 days, less 8 bank holidays = 20 days to book
Taken and booked
10 days before today, 5 days from today on
Remaining
5 days left, shown to them on My Time Off and in HiveCrew
Holiday from the same app they run jobs in
The HiveCrew dashboard shows days left and their next time off, with Ask for time off and Report sick one tap away. No separate login, no separate app.
- See days left and upcoming time off
- Ask for time off or cancel a request
- Report sick in a few taps
- See "Off" for colleagues in the Crew View - never the reason
- Switch crew requests on or off, team-wide or per person
Private by default
Only managers and the person see the type and note. Everyone else just sees "Off".
Staff approvers
Let an office manager approve holiday without giving them billing or settings.
Fewer no-shows
Clashes are caught at booking, and Needs cover finds the ones that slipped through.
One system
Holiday, jobs, crew and customers in HiveSuite - no wall chart to keep in step.
Works with
Time Off is checked across HiveSuite
Time Off questions
Is Time Off included in my HiveSuite plan?
Yes. Time Off is included on every plan at no extra cost, from Solo at £34.99/month inc. VAT. An Administrator switches it on from the Modules page or the Time Off card on the Customisation Hub.
What stops someone being booked on a job while they are on holiday?
HivePlanner, HiveCrew and HiveHire all check time off. When you add someone to a job, move a job or pick a hire driver on a day they are off, HiveSuite shows who is off and when. You choose whether that is a warning with Book anyway, or not allowed at all.
Can crew ask for time off from their phone?
Yes. Crew press Time off in HiveCrew to see what is left of their allowance, ask for time off or report sick. You can switch crew requests off for the whole team, or for one person in their HiveCrew Permissions.
How are holiday allowances worked out?
Set a yearly allowance (28 days to begin with) and when your holiday year starts. Part-time staff can get a share based on their working days, new starters a share of the year left, and unused days can be carried over up to a limit. You can also give someone their own allowance or add an adjustment with a note.
How does it handle UK bank holidays?
Choose England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and the dates load from gov.uk. Bank holidays can be included in the allowance (for example 28 days including bank holidays), added on top (20 days plus bank holidays), or treated as normal working days.
What happens to jobs someone is already booked on?
When you record or approve time off, HiveSuite lists any jobs that person is already on in that time, with links to open them. The Needs cover tab lists every job in the next 8 weeks with someone booked who is off. Time off never takes anyone off a job by itself, so you stay in control of who covers it.
Who can see why someone is off?
Only the person themselves and those who can see the team Time Off page see the type and note. Everyone else, including booking warnings, only sees that someone is off and when. Crew never see why a colleague is off.
Can Staff users approve holiday?
Yes, if you allow it. Administrators can always approve. Staff can be given Team Time Off, Approve requests, Record anyone's time off and Manage settings separately, so an office manager can approve holiday without seeing billing or other settings.
Stop booking people who are off
Switch on Time Off in your free trial and set your allowances in minutes. Included on every plan from £34.99/month inc. VAT.
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