How to declare an absence for an agent

Is one of your agents on vacation, on sick leave, or unavailable for a meeting?
AntsRoute allows you to easily declare an absence to prevent any jobs from being scheduled during that period.

⚠️ Warning: If jobs are already assigned to the agent during the absence period, they will not be automatically removed. You will need to unschedule the route or re-optimize the affected routes.

In brief

You can declare an absence for an agent in two ways:

• One-time absence: for vacation, sick leave, or temporary unavailability during a specific period
• Recurring absence: for unavailability that repeats automatically (e.g., a meeting every Monday)

Absences can be declared from:

• the Resources module
• the Agenda tab

Declare an absence from the “Resources” module

1. Go to the Resources module.
2. Click the Agents tab.
3. Find the relevant agent and click “…” > Edit.
4. Open the Absences tab.
5. Click Add an absence.
6. (Optional) Select an absence type.
7. (Optional) Add a comment if needed.
8. Define the application period of the absence (see section below).
9. Click Save.

☝️ Good to know:
If the absence does not last the entire day, uncheck “All day”, then specify a start time and/or end time.

💡 To learn more about creating custom absence types, see the related article.
 

Define the application period of an absence

When creating an absence, you must choose how it should apply over time.

Two options are available.

1️⃣ Define a date:

This option allows you to create a one-time absence.

1. Select “Set a date” in the Application period field.
2. Enter the start date.
3. Enter the end date.
4. If the absence does not last the entire day, uncheck “All day”, then specify a start time and/or end time.

This is the standard option used for declaring vacation, sick leave, or temporary unavailability.

2️⃣ Define a recurrence:

This option allows you to create an absence that repeats automatically according to a defined frequency.

It can be useful for scheduling regular unavailability.

Examples:

• a team meeting every Monday morning
• a monthly training session
• an agent unavailable two Wednesday afternoons per month

To configure a recurring absence:

1. Select “Set a recurrence” in the Application period field.
2. Fill in the following information.
   • Starts on
     Choose the start date of the recurrence.
   • Ends
     Define when the recurrence should stop:
     • on: choose an end date
     • after: specify a number of occurrences
     • without end date: the absence will repeat indefinitely
   • Frequency
     Choose the recurrence frequency:
     • Daily
     • Weekly
     • Monthly
3. If the absence does not last the entire day, uncheck “All day”, then specify a start time and/or end time.
4. Click Save.

Which option should you choose?

• Vacation or sick leave ➡️ Define a date
• Exceptional unavailability ➡️ Define a date
• Weekly meeting ➡️ Define a recurrence
• Monthly training ➡️ Define a recurrence
• Fixed weekly unavailability ➡️ Define a recurrence

Declare an absence from the Agenda tab

You can also declare an absence directly from the aganda view.

1. Go to the Organize module.
2. Click the Agenda tab.
3. Select the desired date in the calendar.
4. Find the relevant agent and click “…” > Resources > Add an absence.
5. (Optional) Select an absence type.
6. (Optional) Add a comment.
7. Define the application period of the absence.
8. Click Save.

Edit an absence

You can modify certain information of an absence, such as the type or the comment.

1. Go to Resources > Agents.
2. Click “…” > Edit next to the relevant agent.
3. Open the Absences tab.
4. Click “…” > Edit next to the absence you want to modify.
5. Make the necessary changes.
6. Click Save.

Delete an absence

To delete an absence:

1. Go to Resources > Agents.
2. Click “…” > Edit next to the relevant agent.
3. Open the Absences tab.
4. Click “…” > Delete next to the absence you want to remove.
5. Click Confirm.

☝️ Good to know:
You can also delete an absence directly from the Agenda tab by right-clicking the absence and selecting “Delete this absence.”
 

🙋‍♀️ Need help?

If you experience difficulties adding absences for your agents, feel free to contact AntsRoute support by email or via the chat available in the web interface.