Paid Time Off FAQ

Find all the answers you need for PTO

Q.) What plans include ClockShark Time Off?

Answer:

ClockShark Time Off is available on the Pro Plan.

Q.) How do I set up a paid time off, sick leave, or unpaid time off policy? 

Answer:

Navigate to Time > Time Off > Policies > +Add Policy. For full details, visit the PTO help page.

Q.) How do I delete a Time Off Request

Answer:

Please watch this video to learn how to delete an approved time off request and a taken time off request.

Q.) When do accruals take place?

Answer:

  • If you select "In pay periods throughout the year" accruals appear at the start of the next pay period. For example, if your pay period is 7/3 to 7/9 the accrued PTO will appear in the employee's PTO bank on 7/10.
  • If you select "In one block on the first of the year" the total hours per year that you enter will appear in the employee's PTO bank on January 1st.
  • If you select "In one block on the employee anniversary" the total hours per year that you enter will appear in the employee's PTO bank on their work anniversary. Please note that you need to manually enter the anniversary date, which you will do in the "Employee Details" section.
  • If you select "Based on hours worked per pay period" the accruals will appear in the employee's PTO bank after a buffer week in case any timesheet edits need to take place. For example, if the pay period is from 6/26 to 7/2, the accrued PTO will appear in the employee's PTO bank on 7/10.

Q.) What is the Carryover Limit?

Answer:

The carryover limit is the maximum amount of PTO an employee can keep at the end of a calendar year. Any hours beyond that max limit that the employee does not use before the end of the year will no longer be available on January 1st. For example, if you have a carryover limit of 220 hours and an employee has 228 hours of accrued PTO, that employee will need to use 8 hours of PTO before the end of the year or they will no longer have those 8 hours and their PTO bank will go back to 220 hours on January 1st.

Q.) Can employees be assigned to multiple PTO/sick policies?

Answer:

Yes, each employee can belong to as many PTO, unpaid, and sick time policies as you require. 

Q.) Can I add departments to the PTO/unpaid/sick policies?

Answer:

No, you can add individual employees or add all employees not currently assigned to a separate policy.

Q.) Can an employee have negative hours for PTO?

Answer:

Yes, often companies will allow employees to have a negative balance. You’ll be alerted if an employee’s request puts them into a negative balance.

Q.) I accidentally declined a request, can I undo this and approve it?

Answer:

You can not approve an already declined request. In this case, the employee must send another request.

Q.) I accidentally approved a request, can I undo this and decline it?

Answer:

Yes, navigate to your approved requests Time > Time Off > Requests and select “Approved” from the status drop-down bar.  Now click “View” for whichever request and then “Decline” on the bottom left. You can do this even if the date of the approved time off has passed, and employees will get a notification. Those hours will be restored to the employee as if he/she did not take the time off.

Q.) Does the sick/PTO time show up on the reports?

Answer:

Yes, it will show up on the timesheet reports, CSV export, employee details report, employee summary report, and the Time Off report as a specific type of hour.

Q.) How many PTO/unpaid/sick policies can I set up?

Answer:

There are no limits to how many PTO and sick leave policies you can set up. Each employee can belong to as many PTO, Sick, and Unpaid policies as needed.

Q.) Are admins notified about requests made?

Answer:

Yes, either the admin or managers with proper permissions will be emailed when an employee makes a request.

Q.) How do I edit a PTO/unpaid/sick policy?

Answer:

Policy plans that have employees assigned to them cannot be edited. Otherwise, navigate to Time > Time Off > Policies and click “view” for the specific policy. Then you click “edit” in the upper left corner to modify the aspects of the policy. For full details, visit “How to Edit or Delete a Policy

Q.) Can I save the hire date for each employee?

Answer:

Yes, you can. When editing/creating an employee you can add their hire date, as well as assign them a PTO and sick policy right from this page.

Q.) Can I assign more time to an employee when building a plan than the policy will allow?

Answer:

This is allowed just so you can keep employee time accurate in case you switch to a new PTO/sick policy. However, they will not be able to accrue any additional time while they are over the maximum.

Q.) Can I make a request for an employee?

Answer:

Yes, head over to Time > Time Off > Requests > +Add Time Off. Here you can make requests on behalf of your employee and even approve them right away. 

Q.) Will the PTO/unpaid/sick time show up on the schedules or timesheets?

Answer:

Yes, it will. On the timesheets, it will show up with a plane icon for PTO time and an umbrella icon for sick time. Both are displayed in a striped blue shift for easy identification

Q.) How can I delete a policy?

Answer:

Navigate to Time > Time Off > Policies and click “view” for the specific policy.  Then you can click “delete” for the specific policy!  However, policies with active requests cannot be deleted. Policies with outstanding approved time-off requests cannot be deleted or edited. For full details, visit “How to Edit or Delete a Policy

Q.) Is there a way to change PTO from hours to days? (International)

Answer:

No, ClockShark uses hours as the unit of timekeeping in the time tracking system.  It is also useful in order for employees to request off half or even partial days, and also is flexible enough for employees that work longer shifts and fewer days per week (such as working "four tens").

Q.) Does the policy I just made comply with federal and state regulations?

Answer:

ClockShark Time Off software was built to be flexible enough to handle the complexities that state and federal regulations regarding sick and vacation time produce. We recommend that you always check with an HR or legal expert to understand if the plans you build comply with requirements.

Q.) How do I request time off?

Answer:

For full details, visit “How to Request Time Off