Guide
Digital Leave Management: Requests, Remaining Leave and Sick Notes Without Paper
·5 min read·digitalWAS solutions
Vacation planner software replaces paper forms, spreadsheets and hallway conversations with one fixed process: employees submit leave requests digitally, the manager sees who in the same team is already away, decides with one click, and the remaining balance updates on its own. Sick notes go into the same annual calendar, so staffing gaps show up before you promise a customer a date. This article covers what absence management for a small business needs, how approvals should run, what German law says about unused leave, and why leave, time tracking and scheduling belong together.
Where paper and spreadsheets break down
A form is filled in, signed at some point and copied into a spreadsheet. That works until two requests arrive for the same week, someone falls ill or last year's carry-over has to be counted. Then balances are wrong and two technicians from the same crew are off together. The fix is one place where request, decision, cover and balance meet.
From request to approval
The employee picks dates and absence type, sees their own remaining leave and submits, ideally on the go. In digital scaleUp solutions, requests are submitted and approved inside the system, and balance and annual calendar are maintained automatically.
The manager should see who from the same group is already away, how many days the person will have left and which jobs are scheduled. Approval takes one click, the employee is notified, and the decision stays on record.
Record who covers tickets, appointments and follow-ups. Because ticket system, CRM and tasks live in one system, they can be assigned to the stand-in, and the customer file shows who is responsible.
The annual calendar as an early warning
The annual calendar shows every absence on one timeline, and the view by group is what matters: a crew, a front desk or an inside sales team each have a minimum staffing level. A good calendar answers three questions at a glance: who is in on a given day, in which weeks a group is critically thin, and which pending requests would make it worse.
Sick notes in the same system
Sickness is the unplanned absence, so it belongs in the same calendar. Two legal notes, not legal advice: under section 5 of the German Continued Remuneration Act, employees must report incapacity without delay; since the electronic sick certificate, employers retrieve it from the health insurer, but the duty to report remains. Certified illness during a holiday is not counted against leave under section 9 of the Federal Leave Act.
Remaining leave: entitlement, carry-over and forfeiture
The statutory minimum under section 3 of the Federal Leave Act is 24 working days on a six-day week, 20 on a five-day week; contracts usually grant more. Under section 7 (3), leave must in principle be taken in the current year; carry-over needs urgent operational or personal reasons and generally ends on 31 March.
Since the European Court of Justice ruling of 6 November 2018 (C-684/16) and the Federal Labour Court ruling of 19 February 2019 (9 AZR 541/15), leave only lapses if the employer has specifically asked the employee to take it and warned of forfeiture. Without that notice the entitlement remains.
The software therefore needs entitlement per person including pro-rata, automatic deduction of approved days, carry-over shown separately with its deadline, a list of high balances, and the notice kept on record. digital scaleUp solutions keeps requests, approval, remaining leave, sick notes and the annual calendar in one module; details and pricing are on the product page.
Time tracking and scheduling
Since the European Court of Justice ruling of 14 May 2019 (C-55/18) and the Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), employers must record working time systematically; detailed legislation is still pending, the duty already applies. When leave and time tracking run separately, an approved holiday shows as an unexplained missing day. In one system it becomes the correct entry in the monthly timesheet; see time tracking in the trades. Scheduling needs the same data, and a public booking page should never offer someone who is on leave, as described in online appointment booking.
What the owner needs before committing to a date
| Question | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|
| Who from the right team is present that week? | Annual calendar with group view |
| Which pending requests could still change staffing? | List of undecided requests |
| How many hours are already committed to other jobs? | Time tracking and tasks |
| Are there sick notes shifting the plan right now? | Absence calendar, daily view |
Only when all four answers come from one system is a commitment reliable; see all-in-one software for SMEs.
Data protection
Absence data is employee data, and sick notes are particularly sensitive. With hosting in Germany, third-country transfers are not an issue; the provider processes data under a data processing agreement, Article 28 GDPR. Colleagues should see that someone is away, not why. More in GDPR-compliant CRM software.
Frequently asked questions
Does unused leave lapse automatically on 31 March?
Not by itself. The employer must first ask the employee to take the leave and warn of forfeiture. Software helps give that notice on time and on record, but does not replace legal advice.
Can colleagues see why someone is absent?
They should not. The team sees the absence; type and reason stay with the manager and HR.
What does it cost?
The leave module is part of digital scaleUp solutions: Starter at 49 euros per month for up to 5 users, Business at 129 euros per month for up to 25 users, Enterprise on request. More in the FAQ.
Start without paper
Try digital scaleUp solutions free for 30 days, no credit card required, or book a consultation and we will walk through your absence planning together.