Assigning a time‑off approver lets them approve requests for specific employees and receive notifications.
Someone gets the ability to approve time off requests in the following scenarios:
They’re an admin, and you’ve selected Administrators as the employee’s time off approver
They’re the employee’s direct manager, and you’ve selected Direct manager as the time off approver
They’re the employee’s team manager, and you’ve selected Team manager as the time off approver
You’ve selected them as an individual approver for the employee
You’ve selected them as a time‑off approver for a specific time off policy
You’ve assigned them a role with the Approve & decline time off requests permission
📎NOTE: A time off approver also won't get email notifications if:
If the user has never logged in before
Use the checks below to determine whether you've set someone as a time-off approver.
Who is approving the employee’s time off?
Go to the Time off tab on the employee's profile. Under Time off approved by, you can see the names of the other Sage HR users who can approve time off for this employee.
User isn't on this list as an approver but should be
If the person you want to approve the employee's time off isn't in this list, you need to add them as the employee's time off approver.
User is on this list as an approver, but shouldn't be
If someone is in this list who shouldn't be, move on to the next check to establish in your settings why they are a time off approver for this employee.
Why can this user approve the employee’s time off?
1 - Check the permissions of the Team Manager and Direct Manager roles
A common issue is customers adding the Approve & decline time off requests permission to default roles like Direct Manager or Team Manager. You must not add this permission to these roles or any other default roles, as it creates a conflict with your time off approver settings.
You need to make sure the Approve & decline time off requests permissions isn't shown as one of the Leave Management permissions for Direct Manager or Team Manager
Click your name in the top-right-hand corner, then select Settings.
In the settings menu, click Permissions, then Roles.
In the dropdown, select Team Manager or Direct Manager.
Click the Leave Management tab.
If you see the Approve & decline time off requests in this list click the trash can icon to remove it.
Follow these steps for both the Team Manager and Direct Manager roles.
After you delete the permissions from the roles, check whether the employee's time off approver list in their profile shows the correct approvers.
2 - Check your time off approver settings
Go to your time off approvers settings to see who you've set as time off approvers for the employee in question.
As an admin user, click your name in the top right, then click Settings.
On the settings menu, click Time off, then click Time off approvers.
This shows a list of your employees and who approves their time off.
Do any of the roles say Yes? Does the user show as an individual approver for the employee?
Admins = Yes
Admins = Yes
If you see Yes under Admins this means you’ve set Administrators as the employee’s time off approver. If the user is an admin, that’s why they receive time off notifications.
If you don't want Admins approving time off for this employee, click the pencil icon under Actions, deselect Administrators, then save your changes.
Direct manager = Yes
Direct manager = Yes
If you see Yes under Direct manager, then you’ve set direct managers as the employee’s time off approver. If the user is the employee's direct manager, that’s why they receive time off notifications.
If you don't want an employee's direct manager to approve time off for this employee, click the pencil icon under Actions, deselect Direct manager, then save your changes.
Team manager = Yes
Team manager = Yes
If you see Yes under Team manager, then you’ve set team managers as the employee’s time off approver. If the user is the employee's team’s manager, that’s why they can approve time off and receive notifications.
If you don't want the employee's team manager to approve time off for this employee, click the pencil icon under Actions, deselect Team manager, then save your changes.
User shows as an individual approver
User shows as an individual approver
If you see the user in this list, this is why they receive time off notifications for the employee.
If you don't want this person as an individual approver for this employee, click the pencil icon under Actions, deselect them as an individual approver, then save your changes.
If you've checked your time off approver settings, and the user doesn't match who you've selected to be the employee's time off approver, move on to the next check.
3 - Check time off policy settings
The user could be an approver for the time off policy linked to the request.
View the relevant time off policy settings to check. If the user appears as an approver in the workflow section, that’s why they receive time off notifications for this employee and policy.
If you've checked your time off policy settings and the user isn't assigned as a time off approver for that policy, move on to the next check.
4 - Is the user assigned to a role with permission to approve time off?
Even if a user isn't a time off approver, they can approve requests through their role, which has the Approve & decline time off requests permission. By this stage of troubleshooting you should have already removed this permission from the Direct Manager and Team Manager roles. However, you have this permission on other roles that you've assigned the incorrect approvers to.
Check what roles you've assigned to the incorrect approvers
Go to the employee's profile of the incorrect approver.
On the Employee tab, scroll down to the bottom and click Permissions.
This will show the access and roles for the employee.
Go to your settings and view the permissions of each of these roles to see if they have the Approve & decline time off requests permission.
Click your name in the top-right-hand corner, then select Settings.
In the settings menu, click Permissions, then Roles.
In the dropdown, select the relevant role.
If you see Approve & decline time off requests under Leave Management, select the relevant option below next to it.
📎NOTE: Don’t assign the Approve & decline time off requests permission to default roles like Direct Manager or Team Manager. If the permission is assigned to the Direct Manager, Team Manager or any other default role, remove it. To allow admins, direct managers, or team managers to approve time off, use the Time off approver settings instead.
If a role needs the Approve & decline time off requests permission, create a custom role and assign users to that role.
Myself
Myself
You see Myself next to Approve & decline time off requests This means users you've assigned to this role can approve their own time off.
Employees reporting to me/My reports
Employees reporting to me/My reports
You see Employees reporting to me/My reports next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users you've assigned to this role can approve time off for employees they're a direct manager for.
Go to the employee's profile. Check to see if the user is their direct manager.
If they are, this is why the user receives time off notifications for that employee.
Specific employees
Specific employees
You see selected specific employees next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users in this role can approve time off for those employees.
Click the cogs to see included employees. When an employee appears, the system sends the user time off notifications for that employee.
Teams where I am a manager
Teams where I am a manager
You see Teams where I am a manager, next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users in this role can approve time off for employees in teams they manage.
View the employee’s team and check whether the user is the team manager. If they are, that’s why they receive time off notifications for this employee.
Teams where I am an employee
Teams where I am an employee
You see Teams where I am an employee next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users you've assigned to this role can approve time off for employees in the same team as them.
View the team the employee is in. Check to see if the user is on the same team.
If they are, this is why they receive time off notifications for the employee.
Specific teams
Specific teams
You see selected specific teams next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users in this role can approve time off for those teams.
Click the cogs to see included teams. When the employee’s team appears, the system sends the user time off notifications for that employee.
My location
My location
You see My location next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users you've assigned to this role can approve time off for employees in the same assigned location as them.
Check to see if you've assigned the employee and the user to the same location.
If they are, this is why the user receives time off notifications for that employee.
Specific locations
Specific locations
You see selected specific locations next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users in this role can approve time off for those locations.
Click the cogs to see included locations. If the employee’s location appears, the user receives time off notifications for that employee.
Anyone
Anyone
You see Anyone next to Approve & decline time off requests. This means users in this role can approve time off for all employees.
📎NOTE: If an employee has no time off approver set at all, their approval notifications will go to all users with Administrator-level access.